Partaking of the Fruit

In Lehi's account of his dream of the Tree of Life, he tells us about the fruit, which Nephi later tells us represented the Love of God., the sacrifice of our Savior.  Lehi tells us that he did partake of the fruit.  And I've been pondering about whether we partake of the fruit in our lives.

I had written something on partaking of the fruit yesterday, but wasn't happy with it.  So I just left it on the screen and went away to do other things.  Today, when I came back to edit it, there was nothing there.  It's OK.  I would have started over anyway.  I've thought and pondered during the course of the Sabbath day what partaking of the fruit looks like, and the ways in which we do or do not partake.

The most obvious answer is that when we accept the Gospel, we partake of the fruit.  In the vision, many people found their way to the Tree, using the Rod of Iron, and partook of the fruit, but then fell away because of the cares of the world, or the peer pressure of the finely-dressed people in the Great and Spacious Building.  What I'm trying to say here is that we don't just partake once and then we're set for life.  That's a lot like the Born-Again theory.  Just say it once and you never need to worry again.

No, in our Church, we believe that we must keep pressing forward, keep partaking of the fruit.

In my mind, I could see a video game with little clusters of fruit here and there in our little video world.  We wander through this world, and if we pick up those clusters of fruit, here some and there  some, a little bell rings and we accumulate extra points (the Spirit).  But what if we wander around and ignore the fruit and miss the extra points?  What if we don't partake?

At church yesterday, it seemed that we'd be partaking of the fruit by just being there.  At least that seems like what should happen.  We partook of the Sacrament.  That would be partaking of the fruit, right?    But were we thinking about what to make for dinner, or about the Savior?  We listened to the speakers.   Were we focusing on the message presented or were we dozing?  Did we sing the hymns with joy and the Spirit, or were our minds elsewhere, if we sang at all!  Don't get me started on that one!  How can we have the Spirit in our meetings when half of the people never even open their mouths?

The same principle applies in so many area of our lives.  We can partake of the fruit as we pray and study our scriptures.  Or we can go through the motions and miss the fruit and miss the blessings.

Sometimes I do better than other times.  But I desperately want and need to have the Spirit with me at all times, and so I want to try harder to partake of the fruit whenever and wherever I have the chance.

Tender Mercies

Lehi talks about the tender mercies of the Lord in 1 Nephi 8:8 while recounting his dream of the Tree of Life.  That reminded me of Elder Bednar's talk in conference in April 2005.  He said: " . . . I testify that the tender mercies of the Lord are real and that they do not occur randomly or merely by coincidence."

We need to open our hearts and our eyes to see the tender mercies around us.  If we just attribute everything to coincidence, we shut our minds to the blessings that the Lord is pouring out on us.  Elder Bednar said:  "We should not underestimate or overlook the power of the Lord’s tender mercies. The simpleness, the sweetness, and the constancy of the tender mercies of the Lord will do much to fortify and protect us in the troubled times in which we do now and will yet live."

It's so easy to just crash through our days, trying to get everything done that we often miss seeing the beauty around us.  A beautiful sunset, a rainbow, a toddler's smile, a kind touch from a friend, so many things will lift us and bless us if we pause and listen with a grateful heart. 
 

Words of a Prophet

Nephi rebuked those brothers and others who were rebelling, saying, " . . . thus the Spirit of the Lord constraineth me that I should speak." (1 Nephi 7:15)

Nephi's words seem very harsh, but he tells his brothers clearly that he's not speaking of himself, but what he has been instructed of the Lord.  Prophets can speak very clearly and pointedly, and we need to take heed to their words.

Our prophet, Thomas S. Monson, usually speaks more gently than Nephi did at this time.  But we can always be confident that when he speaks in General Conference, he speaks the words that the Spirit of the Lord constrained him to speak.

So, if someone asks us what our Prophet said in our last conference as he was constrained by the Lord, could we answer them?  I had to go look at the April Conference 2011 records to remember.

Here are some of his statements:

• I declare that the welfare program of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is inspired of Almighty God.
• . . . your sacrifice could be setting aside the time in your busy lives to visit the temple regularly.
• Your sacrifice may be bringing your life into compliance with what is required to receive a recommend, perhaps by forsaking long-held habits which disqualify you. It may be having the faith and the discipline to pay your tithing. Whatever it is, qualify to enter the temple of God. Secure a temple recommend and regard it as a precious possession, for such it is.
• . . . may we make whatever sacrifices are necessary to attend the temple and to have the spirit of the temple in our hearts and in our homes.
• May we follow in the footsteps of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who made the ultimate sacrifice for us, that we might have eternal life and exaltation in our Heavenly Father’s kingdom.

 I pray that I can take the words of our living prophet into my life and my heart, and follow his teachings and instructions with faith that he is speaking the words of the Lord.

Ye Have Forgotten

"How is it that ye have forgotten . . .", Nephi asks this of his brothers three times in 1 Nephi 7.  He is chastising them for rebelling on their journey back to his parents in the wilderness.

Remembering is so important in remaining faithful and keeping the Spirit with us.  It's mentioned in both of the sacrament prayers. 

Nephi mentions three things that he wishes his brothers would remember.

• Ye have seen an angel of the Lord.  We also have had spiritual manifestations - testimony builders - that we need to keep in remembrance and never forget.
• What great things the Lord has done for us.  We are so blessed!  And it's so easy to forget those blessings and begin to take them for granted.  Counting our blessings and praising the Lord for them protects us against the hard-heartedness that Laman and Lemuel demonstrate.
• The Lord is able to do ALL things for his children IF they exercise faith in Him.  Nothing is too hard for the Lord, yet we doubt and fear.  We need to follow Nephi's example and GO and DO.

 The cross-references to the word "forgotten" are worth looking at.  This one from Deuteronomy 4:9 says, "Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;".  One way of remembering is to teach the things you know to others.  This embeds them deep down into our hearts.

Look up the word "remember" and you find many wonderful verses.  Remembering is a great key to joy and happiness in this life and in helping us return to our Heavenly Father and having eternal exaltation in the next.

 

Being Grieved for the Hardness of Their Hearts

1 Nephi 7:8  As they returned from adding Ishmael and his family to their group, Laman and Lemuel and some of Ishmael's sons and daughters rebelled against Nephi, wanting to return to Jerusalem.  Nephi was forced to rebuke them, and tells us that he was grieved for the hardness of their hearts.

I love the cross-references for the word "grieved". 

• Mosiah 28:3  Now they were desirous that salvation should be declared to every creature, for they could not bear that any human soul should perish; yea, even the very thoughts that any soul should endure endless torment did cause them to quake and tremble.
• Alma 31:2  For it was the cause of great sorrow to Alma to know of iniquity among his people; therefore his heart was exceedingly sorrowful because of the separation of the Zoramites from the Nephites.
• 3 Nephi 17:14  And it came to pass that when they had knelt upon the ground, Jesus groaned within himself, and said: Father, I am troubled because of the wickedness of the people of the house of Israel.
•  Moses 7:41  And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto Enoch, and told Enoch all the doings of the children of men; wherefore Enoch knew, and looked upon their wickedness, and their misery, and wept and stretched forth his arms, and his heart swelled wide as eternity; and his bowels yearned; and all eternity shook.

This grieving for the wickedness of men isn't just annoyance or momentary worry.  This is gut-wrenching, quake-and-tremble, exceedingly sorrowful, eternity-shaking misery.  I can tell I'm not there yet, because when I see wickedness I mostly shake my head and am disgusted.  Nephi's kind of grieving is based on love for those people who are sinning.  If you don't love them, you really don't care that much what they do.  This is another manifestation of charity, or the pure love of Christ.  Charity loves those people, and "suffereth long" for their sins.  I pray to be filled with this love.

She Was Comforted

The return of Nephi and his brothers brought much joy and celebration to Lehi and Sariah.  In 1 Nephi 5:1-8 we read of Sariah's worries and fear concerning her sons' safety and her joy at their return.

Lehi had a testimony of his calling, but Sariah was apparently only following him out of obedience or habit.  Then came her test.  Her sons were gone for possibly weeks or months.  What if they were dead?  Was Lehi really inspired to leave behind everything and head off into the wilderness, or was he a fool?  Sariah had to know these things for herself.  She needed great faith.  She was comforted by the words of Lehi and probably the Spirit, and when her sons returned, she had her faith confirmed and I'm sure she grew in testimony and power.  She was to have many more challenges and trials, and her mission lasted the rest of her life, but she now had more spiritual strength.

It seems to me a lot like our feelings when we left on our mission.  We worried about what we might need to do, about how our families would fare while we were gone, about whether or not we would be capable of doing all that was required of us. Sometimes as couples leave for their missions, the wife is more afraid than the husband.  Possibly, he filled a mission in his youth and she didn't.  He may have held more leadership positions through their lives; he may have had more time to study the Gospel. 

But the wife needs her own testimony of the work.  She needs to know that the Lord will build on her personal strengths and experiences, whatever those are.  She needs to "wax strong in the presence of God".  Spending time at the temple, fasting, personal prayer, scripture study - all of these things can bless her life and strengthen her testimony.  Then, as Sariah, she will be comforted.