The Journey to the Tree of Life

What desirest thou? Nephi is asked this question several times in 1^st Nephi 11, when asking the Lord to see the vision his father had seen (1)… Do we truly have that desire to partake of the fruit of the Tree of Life, or eternal life, given us through the sacrifice of our brother Jesus Christ? In 1^st Nephi 11:22, Nephi is told the meaning of the tree his father saw. “…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.” This is how the quest for that ultimate gift starts. We must have a desire. As depicted in the picture below, Adam and Eve partook of the fruit of the tree of good and evil, after specifically being told not to. As we know, there is and has to be opposition in all things. Because Adam and Eve did this, we were able to come to earth and fulfill the Great Plan of Salvation. When Adam and Eve tried to go back to the Tree of Life, the way was guarded by a cherubim, or angel with a flaming sword. Thus, their journey along the iron rod began. I had never thought about it that way…. They were the first to go through the whole process: desire, belief, baptism, and then clinging to the Rod with only their faith. Lehi and his family had the Liahona and we in modern times have patriarchal blessings, scriptures, words of prophets, etc… to guide us along this narrow path. In the end, we hope to be able to reach the Tree of Life and partake of the fruit. We will be able to receive the blessings of eternal life because of our righteousness and dedication to the true principles of the gospel throughout our lives.

Once we have a desire, then what? Nephi says, “For it came to pass after I had desired to know the things that my father had seen, and believing that the Lord was able to make them known unto me, … I was caught away in the spirit of the Lord, yea, unto an exceedingly high mountain..” (2) There he was shown some beautiful, powerful things that we can only imagine. We have to believe that God has power to do ALL things. With His power, we can move mountains.

When I was 7 years old, I lived in Malaysia with my family for a few months because of my dad’s job. One day we were shopping in an extremely busy area and I had to tie my shoe. I reached down and did so and when I stood back up, my family was nowhere to be seen. As a child (or even now I imagine), this was an extremely scary situation to be in. I looked all over the square, high and low, and didn’t know where I was. I was lost in Malaysia. I remember sitting down on a bench and crying. I said a prayer to my Heavenly Father asking him to help me because I REALLY wanted to find my family… I believed that He would somehow help me. When I finished with my prayer I looked up and an old, Malayan man was looking at me with his head cocked to one side. He said (in plain English surprisingly enough, “Do you need some help maam?” He took my hand (something told me it was okay to hold this stranger’s hand) and led me up several flights of steps. He led me right into the shop where my family was frantically searching for me. I ran to them, barely able to see because of the tears blurring my vision. I turned around to thank him and he was gone. When you have a sincere desire and believe that God can do miracles, ANYTHING is possible.

Once we have that firm belief, Alma says, “Come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye also may be partakers of the fruit of the tree of life” (3). Furthermore Nephi tells us that the iron rod is the word of God and that if we “... hold fast unto it, [we] would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower [us]…” (4).We need to be studying the scriptures daily! They are our sure way to make it to the tree of life! They contain all the information we need. Elder Bradford says, “Do you study the scriptures? I solemnly testify that the holy scriptures are the word of God. Constant study of them is the act of holding to the iron rod. They will guide you to the tree of life. I exhort you to go to the tree of life, where you will find the pure love of God” (5).

The road from that tree of knowledge of good and evil to the Tree of Life is not an easy one. Along the way are rivers of filthy water, great and spacious buildings, and mists of darkness. We are constantly in a war with Satan and he is aware of our weaknesses. He will continually try to tempt us and tell us that the great and spacious building is really where the party is! This is not the case! Following the crowd or what is most popular is often the wrong choice. We need to be brave, have Nephi’s courage, and stand up for what we believe in.

Once Lehi and his family (excluding Laman and Lemuel) partook of the fruit, they were filled with exceedingly great joy! Lehi says, "... 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. And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy" (6). So will we, when we finally make it there and our Father says, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

1. 1^st Nephi 11:2-10
2. 1^st Nephi 11:1
3. Alma 5:62
4. 1^st Nephi 15:21-36
5. Elder William R. Bradford
   Of the Seventy “Unclutter Your Life”
6. 1st Nephi 8:11-12