Finding The Tree of Life

 I was listening to a podcast today where a quote from Mark Twain was shared. He said:

I have been pondering about that quote today.

I guess it is an age-old right of passage to question three things in life - where did I come from, why am I here, and where will I go after this life. Thankfully, the Plan of Salvation within the gospel of Jesus Christ answers all of those questions. Since I grew up in the church, I never had to really wonder what the answers to those questions were. From my childhood, I have known that I lived in the pre-existence before I was born, I'm here on earth to gain a body, gain experience, serve others & God, and prove myself worthy to live with Him again. I know where I'm going after this life - back to heaven where we all once lived before being born on the earth. I've never had a reason to question these things. It has always made perfect sense to me. 

It is clear for me to see that according to Mark Twain I have, without a doubt, experienced the two most important days in my life!

Being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is something I've always been proud of and I cherish my membership in the Church. I'm so very grateful for the covenants I have made with the Lord at my baptism and at the temple. I will NEVER break my covenants, but there are many who make them and for whatever reason don't take the covenants to heart and end up breaking them. A covenant is a promise between you and the Lord, Jesus Christ. That's not something I take lightly.

I have a favorite piece of art in our home. It is hanging on the wall in the main bedroom downstairs.

It  might be difficult to tell, but this is a painting that tells the story of Lehi's dream in the Book of Mormon. In the dream or vision, Lehi is led to the Tree of life which is a representation of the love of God. After Lehi partakes of the fruit, he is anxious for his family to partake of it. Lehi describes the fruit as "desirable to make one happy." The fruit on the tree is a symbol for the blessings of the Atonement and the partaking of the fruit represents receiving ordinances and covenants so the Atonement can affect us in a positive way in our lives. 

When we partake of the fruit, we want to share the goodness with others. The thing is, we can't leave the tree and take it to them. Nobody who has partaken of the fruit can go over to the great and spacious building, knock on the door, and try to spread the joy. We can beckon them to come to us, but they need to have the desire to come to the tree themselves. That's why Lehi, in his dream, rejoiced when most of his family partook of the fruit, but he was disappointed when Laman and Lemuel refused to partake.

Now that we are getting closer to the time when the Savior will return to the world for the last time, it is ever more important and urgent to get all friends and family to partake of the fruit. A relationship with Jesus Christ is imperative in order to survive the turbulent times of the last days. We are each responsible to get ourselves into God's kingdom. Because of free agency, we can't make that decision for anyone else. They need to want it in their lives. I pray that the people of the world wake up to this fact and partake of the fruit of the Tree of Life before it's too late.