The
Tree of Life
Last week I
wrote about the parable of the seed and how our lives are compared to a seed
that is planted in the ground. The seed represents the Gospel of Jesus Christ
and depending on the type of soil it is planted in determines if the seed will
grow or not. If we provide good soil and nourish the seed it will grow within
us and a testimony of the Gospel will develop until it is fully grown and
produces the fruit that shows in the way we live our lives.
Lehi, the Book
of Mormon Prophet, had a vision of the Tree of Life. He said he was walking
through a dark and dreary waste. After many hours he prayed for deliverance and
then found himself in a large and spacious field. He said:
10 And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy.
11 And it came to pass that I did go forth and partake of the fruit thereof; and I beheld that it was most sweet, above all that I ever before tasted. Yea, and I beheld that the fruit thereof was white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen.
12 And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy; wherefore, I began to be desirous that my family should partake of it also; for I knew that it was desirable above all other fruit. (1 Nephi 8:10-12)
Lehi tells his
family of his dream and his son Nephi desires to know the meaning of the dream.
He goes to the Lord and asks to know the meaning of what his father saw and he
was given the same vision. He is also shown a vision of the birth of Jesus
Christ and his ministry in the meridian of time. An angel explains the meaning
of his vision:
18 And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is
the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.
19 And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in
the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for
the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!
21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea,
even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of
the tree which thy father saw?
22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which
sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men;
wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things. (1 Nephi
11:18-22)
Through these
scriptures we learn that the Tree of Life represents the love of God. What is
the love of God? It is His Son, Jesus Christ. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the
most desirable above all things. It brings us the greatest joy as well as
salvation in the Kingdom of God. The gospel seed that is planted in good soil
and is nourished and allowed to develop will eventually become the tree of life
and the fruit is our lives as we live the gospel and is the outward sign of our
Christ centered lives.
A group of young
men and women from Salem, Oregon participated in a memorable youth conference
that taught them the importance of staying on the path that leads to the tree
of life. The youth were taken on a 45-minute walk at night that simulated
Lehi’s journey to the tree of life. It was on a dark and rainy night and the
path was muddy and there were stones and logs that blocked their way. There
were also other youth and leaders that were along the path trying to convince
them that they should leave the path and take a short cut to the tree of life.
After it was over some of the youth made these comments:
“‘Shaunelle
Lakey, 17, testified: “The fact that it was so muddy and rainy that night
relates a lot to life, because lots of times we have so many trials, especially
as teenagers. Near the end, when we came to the tree of
life, it was so beautiful. Coming to the tree that night was a relief
for a lot of people. That’s how I think it’s going to be when we go back to our
Heavenly Father, so that’s what we have to look forward to.”
“They learned to help one another make it to
the end. Kayla Merriman, 17, said: “You need to always keep trying. The person
above me on the hill reached out his hand and said, ‘Here, I’ll help you.’ When
we made it to the end, everyone was so happy, even though we were wet and muddy
and cold. You just have to endure!”
“We need our own testimonies,” said Haley
Prychun, 17. “We can’t always rely on our parents. I’m so glad to be surrounded
by strong youth.”
“Isaac Bergevin, 18, related his experience to
the conference theme: “The holiest place was at the hill, because it was there
that people worried about each other. That brought us together.”
“One of the most memorable lessons was learned
by those who left the path. They felt disappointed as they had to wait in
“spirit prison” and watch their brothers and sisters walk by them on the path.
“Jackie Haws, 18, said: “Because I was on the
youth committee, one of my jobs was to try to lead others astray. Because of
this, I ended up going to ‘spirit prison’ and being separated from the others.
I felt such shame in prison. But I’m so grateful for repentance. I need it
every day.” (In Search of the Tree of Life”, New Era, January 2004)
These youth
learned that it is not easy to stay on the path that leads to the tree of life.
But if we ignore those around us that try to lead us from that path and if we
continue to cling to the rod of iron (which represents the word of God) and
follow the prophet we will one day make it to the tree of life and partake of
the fruit that is most desirable above all other fruit.
As the seed that
we planted is nourished and grows in our lives, the fruit of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ really does become most desirable. We desire to associate with
others that have the same goals that we have. We keep the commands of God
because doing so is the only way to have true happiness and freedom. We serve
others because that is what Christ did and we want to follow his example. This
is the type of life that Nephi described when he said that they “lived after
the manner of happiness” (2 Nephi 5:27). This is the life of anyone who is a
disciple of Jesus Christ wants to live. This is the life that I desire and
strive for every day.
Your questions
and comments are welcome.