Post by Nephi –
With my great desire to see and understand what my father had both seen and heard, I learned that with that great blessing came a grave responsibility. In this post I want to tell you a small portion of both the great vision I was blessed to receive, along with the charge I received from the Spirit of the Lord.
As I mentioned in my last post, after pondering and seeking the Lord in fervent prayer, I was caught up in the Spirit of the Lord and was taken to a high mountain to be shown a glorious vision. Once upon this mountain which I had never seen before, the Spirit asked me what I desired. I told the Spirit that I wanted to behold the things that my father had seen. I was asked if I believed my father had indeed seen the tree of which he had spoken. I boldly replied “You know I believe all my father’s words.” With that the Spirit cried with a loud voice, “Hosana to the Lord, the most high God; for he is God over all the earth, yea, even above all. And blessed art thou, Nephi, because thou believest in the Son of the most high God; wherefore, thou shalt behold the things, which thou hast desired.”
The Spirit then told me that after I would behold the tree which bore the fruit my father tasted, I would behold a man descending out of heaven and I would see him and after I had seen him I would bear record that it is the Son of God.
I had heard the words of my father and I’ve listened intently to other prophets sent by God to declare His word. I had studied the words of Isaiah which we found on the plates of brass. I had soaked up the words of the prophet Jeremiah back in Jerusalem. And as I mentioned in an earlier post, I had even received a witness of Christ. This new declaration however, penetrated my soul. The Spirit told me that I would behold the Son of God and I would stand as a witness that He is the Son of God. This sacred responsibility powerfully entered my heart. Many prophets had given their lives living up to this responsibility. Would I be one of them?
The Spirit did not leave me to ponder this long. Interrupting my thoughts, I heard “Look! And I did look and beheld a tree, it was like the tree my father had seen. Its beauty was far beyond, well, its beauty exceeded all beauty and its whiteness was whiter than the driven snow. After I saw the tree, I began speaking to the Spirit. I spoke with him just as a man speaks to another man, I saw that he was in the form of a man, yet, I knew it was the Spirit of the Lord and He spoke with me just as a man speaks with another.
He asked me what I wanted and I replied, “I see you showed me this tree which is precious above all, I want to know the interpretation of it.”
He asked me to again look, and as I looked, I expected to see Him but He wasn’t there. But as I looked, I beheld our great city Jerusalem and also some other cities. One of those cities was the city of Nazareth, and in Nazareth I saw a most beautiful virgin. I guess I could describe her as exceedingly fair and white. Then I saw the heavens open and an angel came to me and asked me what I was seeing.
I told him about this virgin and that I thought she was more beautiful and fair than all other virgins. Then he asked if I knew about the condescension of God.
I replied that I knew God loves His children but that I didn’t know the meaning of all things. He then said to me
“Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.”
I saw that she was carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time and then I saw the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms. Then the angel told me I was witnessing the Lamb of God, even the Son of the Eternal Father! No blogger could describe the power of this experience. This was now what I had been commanded to proclaim. I was witnessing what would take place in about 600 years. The coming of the Messiah.
Again the Angel interrupted, asking me if I knew the meaning of the tree which my father had seen.
I then understood. I told him the tree represented the love of God, which spreads itself around the world into the hearts of His children here on earth and it is the most desirable of all things. The angel added it is also the most joyous to the soul.
After the angel said that, he again asked me to look, which of course I did, and I saw the Son of God going forth among the children of men, and I saw many of them fall down at His feet and worship Him. More on the Son of God in my next post but let me now talk a little about the tree which my father saw.
When my father described the tree he said “whose fruit was desirable to make one happy,” a fruit which was white and sweet beyond anything known to his experience. Partaking of the fruit brought unspeakable joy. This fits perfectly with what I had just learned – The tree represents the love of God. I learned that the tree represented the love of God as manifest in the gift of His Son. Partaking of the fruit of the tree thus represented the partaking of the powers of Christ and His atonement which includes forgiveness of sins, as well as feelings of peace, joy, and gratitude. Ultimately through this love of God or the “powers of His gospel” we can be qualified to partake of the greatest fruit of the Atonement- which are the blessings associated with eternal life.
Book of Mormon – 1 Nephi 10
