The Tree of Life

Courtesy of President Lunt, in stake conference today:

In Lehi's vision of the tree of life, we tend to associate the fruit of the tree with eternal life, or some future reward. But wait, there were some who left after tasting the fruit (1 Ne 8:24), even though the fruit was "desirable above all other fruit" (1 Ne 8:12). How do we explain that?

He used Alma's sermon on faith to explain. Alma 32:42 does indeed label the fruit as eternal life, but Pres. Lunt tied it in with the "test on the seed." You can't just automatically enjoy and appreciate the fruit, you have to prepare for it. He gave an example of how he went to general conference once when he was young. He and his friend had a really hard time getting there, and once they got there, the benches were uncomfortable and the ushers crowded in so many people that it was unpleasant for him. His friend, on the other hand, could only talk about what a great experience it was. I'm reminded of Henry Eyring's father telling him how he's never heard a bad sacrament meeting talk. (Can't remember exactly what his father did, maybe I'll look it up later...) Anyway, to prepare for the fruit, you have to work on the seed and prepare it and nourish it, as Alma said. And remember that the fruit is symbolic of a process, not of an event. That was the gist of the talk. And once again, we see how Alma 32 is a great lesson on faith.