Yah, I know... it's been a while since my last post here. I haven't actually been the Gospel Doctrine instructor since the ward boundary change last year. I came across something which helped me understand Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life a little better than I had before. Amazing what happens when I actually read the lesson material before class...
The lesson manual pointed out there were four groups of people described in the vision:
A. Those who started on the path, but became lost in the mist of darkness (1 Nephi 8:21-23)
B. Those who managed to partake of the fruit, but then became ashamed and fell away (1 Nephi 8:24-28)
C. Those who partake of the fruit and remain faithful (1 Nephi 8:30)
D. Those who go straight for the GSB (Great and Spacious Building) without even getting on the path (1 Nephi 8:31-33)
I had one of those "how long has that been there??" moments. I'm not sure what the trigger was this time, but I realized, "This sounds an awful lot like the parable of the Sower!"
Let's look at the four groups of people described in Matthew 13:
1. Those who hear the word, don't understand, and are caught away by Satan (Matt 13:19).
2. Those who receive the word with joy, but fall away after tribulation or persecution (Matt 13:20-21)
3. Those who receive the word, but let the cares of the world take over (Matt 13:22)
4. Those who receive the word and bear fruit (Matt 13:23)
This reminded me of the matching sections on exams where you link items from one column to the corresponding item in the other column. I like it when things break down into pieces I can understand.
Here are my answers:
A3. They start off on the path, but their desires to reach the fruit get choked by the desires of the world.
B2. These people experience the joys of the gospel, but become ashamed or offended and fall away. This to me is the saddest group. They had first-hand experience of the fruit and how it was "desirable to make one happy" (1 Nephi 8:10). They ate the fruit and left. Not because the fruit didn't taste good, but because of how others made them feel about it. Maybe some of them came back, but too many do not. It reminds me of Lyman E. Johnson's story. He was the first apostle chosen in this dispensation, but eventually fell away and was excommunicated. He once told the brethren:
C4. These people went through all the same hard spots on the journey, passed through the same mists of darkness and endured the same tauntings from the GSB residents and still remained faithful.
D1. These guys thought the GSB looked more appealing than some glowing fruit and didn't even get on the path. Maybe they didn't understand how that little piece of fruit was worth all the effort. Maybe they didn't see how it could make them happy. Everyone at the window pointing their fingers seemed to be having fun.
A few other observations I had...
-I've often wondered about the man "dressed in a white robe" (1 Nephi 8:5) who was Lehi's guide at the beginning of the dream. He tells Lehi to follow, and that's the last we read of him. Was Lehi's experience similar to Nephi's? Did the 'man in white' stick around and explain things as they went along? What was Lehi thinking as he was walking through the "dark and dreary waste... for the space of many hours"? After all, he was being obedient and still found himself in a dark place.
-I found it a little interesting there was a very clear-cut path, albeit strait and narrow, and a rod of iron leading travellers to the tree of life and the fruit, but the way to the GSB was shrouded in the mist of darkness to the point where those trying to make their way had to "[feel] their way" (1 Nephi 8:31), which tells me they were walking blind. Many of them were drowned, many were lost, all just trying to get to the GSB so they could have fun pointing out the window at people eating fruit (sounds like a good time to me). Don't get distracted by the GSB travel brochures, read the fine print. Satan doesn't care if you get lost or drown along the way, he just wants you off the path and away from the iron rod, "for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself." (2 Nephi 2:27)
The lesson manual pointed out there were four groups of people described in the vision:
A. Those who started on the path, but became lost in the mist of darkness (1 Nephi 8:21-23)
B. Those who managed to partake of the fruit, but then became ashamed and fell away (1 Nephi 8:24-28)
C. Those who partake of the fruit and remain faithful (1 Nephi 8:30)
D. Those who go straight for the GSB (Great and Spacious Building) without even getting on the path (1 Nephi 8:31-33)
I had one of those "how long has that been there??" moments. I'm not sure what the trigger was this time, but I realized, "This sounds an awful lot like the parable of the Sower!"
Let's look at the four groups of people described in Matthew 13:
1. Those who hear the word, don't understand, and are caught away by Satan (Matt 13:19).
2. Those who receive the word with joy, but fall away after tribulation or persecution (Matt 13:20-21)
3. Those who receive the word, but let the cares of the world take over (Matt 13:22)
4. Those who receive the word and bear fruit (Matt 13:23)
This reminded me of the matching sections on exams where you link items from one column to the corresponding item in the other column. I like it when things break down into pieces I can understand.
Here are my answers:
A3. They start off on the path, but their desires to reach the fruit get choked by the desires of the world.
B2. These people experience the joys of the gospel, but become ashamed or offended and fall away. This to me is the saddest group. They had first-hand experience of the fruit and how it was "desirable to make one happy" (1 Nephi 8:10). They ate the fruit and left. Not because the fruit didn't taste good, but because of how others made them feel about it. Maybe some of them came back, but too many do not. It reminds me of Lyman E. Johnson's story. He was the first apostle chosen in this dispensation, but eventually fell away and was excommunicated. He once told the brethren:
"I would suffer my right hand to be cut off, if I could believe it again. Then I was full of joy and gladness. My dreams were pleasant. When I awoke in the morning my spirit was cheerful. I was happy by day and by night, full of peace and joy and thanksgiving. But now it is darkness, pain, sorrow, misery in the extreme. I have never since seen a happy moment." (As cited by Brigham Young, in Journal of Discourses, 26 vols. (London: Latter-day Saints Book Depot, 1854-86), 19:42.)He should be the poster boy for the GSB.
C4. These people went through all the same hard spots on the journey, passed through the same mists of darkness and endured the same tauntings from the GSB residents and still remained faithful.
D1. These guys thought the GSB looked more appealing than some glowing fruit and didn't even get on the path. Maybe they didn't understand how that little piece of fruit was worth all the effort. Maybe they didn't see how it could make them happy. Everyone at the window pointing their fingers seemed to be having fun.
A few other observations I had...
-I've often wondered about the man "dressed in a white robe" (1 Nephi 8:5) who was Lehi's guide at the beginning of the dream. He tells Lehi to follow, and that's the last we read of him. Was Lehi's experience similar to Nephi's? Did the 'man in white' stick around and explain things as they went along? What was Lehi thinking as he was walking through the "dark and dreary waste... for the space of many hours"? After all, he was being obedient and still found himself in a dark place.
-I found it a little interesting there was a very clear-cut path, albeit strait and narrow, and a rod of iron leading travellers to the tree of life and the fruit, but the way to the GSB was shrouded in the mist of darkness to the point where those trying to make their way had to "[feel] their way" (1 Nephi 8:31), which tells me they were walking blind. Many of them were drowned, many were lost, all just trying to get to the GSB so they could have fun pointing out the window at people eating fruit (sounds like a good time to me). Don't get distracted by the GSB travel brochures, read the fine print. Satan doesn't care if you get lost or drown along the way, he just wants you off the path and away from the iron rod, "for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself." (2 Nephi 2:27)
