"And it came to pass that I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy.
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.
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
This is part of the story of Lehi's Dream. I like that in the dream he could tell that the fruit would make him happy, and the first thing that Lehi does after tasting the fruit is look for his family in order to share this experience with them.
We learn in 1 Nephi 15 that the tree here is representative of the tree of life. Whether that is the same tree of life that it speaks of in the Garden of Eden is unknown, but I am guessing that it is different. This fruit is spoken of as being sweet, whereas in 2 Nephi 2:15 tells us that the fruit of the tree of life from the garden is bitter (or if the wording is out of order, one of the trees was bitter, but Eve perceives the other tree as "good for food" in Moses, and elsewhere as delicious, so it still seems likely that the tree of knowledge was sweet and the tree of life bitter).
The tree here is representative of the love of God (1 Nephi 11:21-22), and the tree in the Garden of Eden is representative of eternal life (Alma 42:3). There is a lot of crossover between those two concepts, but we also know that Adam and Eve couldn't have eaten of the tree of life, or they would have lived forever in their sins, which isn't the case in this dream... the tree of life here is something that everyone should go to and partake of now. :) The idea of being anxious to share the love of God with others is exactly the way the gospel should be, right? It isn't about changing people's minds, but about helping them to also have the chance to experience something amazing. It reminds me of 3rd Nephi when people spent all night traveling so that they could be where Christ was going to appear.
I like that the fruit is so dramatically good. Sweeter and whiter than anything else--something that fills the soul with joy. Today, like Lehi, let's find our way to the tree and partake of the love of God in our lives. Let's experience for ourselves the dramatic goodness and joy that can fill our souls and lives. And when we have tasted, let's not forget and wander off, or be ashamed when others mock. Instead, let's do as Lehi did and encourage others to also experience the dramatic deliciousness of love and joy and goodness. :)
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.
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
This is part of the story of Lehi's Dream. I like that in the dream he could tell that the fruit would make him happy, and the first thing that Lehi does after tasting the fruit is look for his family in order to share this experience with them.
We learn in 1 Nephi 15 that the tree here is representative of the tree of life. Whether that is the same tree of life that it speaks of in the Garden of Eden is unknown, but I am guessing that it is different. This fruit is spoken of as being sweet, whereas in 2 Nephi 2:15 tells us that the fruit of the tree of life from the garden is bitter (or if the wording is out of order, one of the trees was bitter, but Eve perceives the other tree as "good for food" in Moses, and elsewhere as delicious, so it still seems likely that the tree of knowledge was sweet and the tree of life bitter).
The tree here is representative of the love of God (1 Nephi 11:21-22), and the tree in the Garden of Eden is representative of eternal life (Alma 42:3). There is a lot of crossover between those two concepts, but we also know that Adam and Eve couldn't have eaten of the tree of life, or they would have lived forever in their sins, which isn't the case in this dream... the tree of life here is something that everyone should go to and partake of now. :) The idea of being anxious to share the love of God with others is exactly the way the gospel should be, right? It isn't about changing people's minds, but about helping them to also have the chance to experience something amazing. It reminds me of 3rd Nephi when people spent all night traveling so that they could be where Christ was going to appear.
I like that the fruit is so dramatically good. Sweeter and whiter than anything else--something that fills the soul with joy. Today, like Lehi, let's find our way to the tree and partake of the love of God in our lives. Let's experience for ourselves the dramatic goodness and joy that can fill our souls and lives. And when we have tasted, let's not forget and wander off, or be ashamed when others mock. Instead, let's do as Lehi did and encourage others to also experience the dramatic deliciousness of love and joy and goodness. :)
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