This talk was given on 7/17/2022 in the Ashdown Forest Ward in Cedar City, UT.
I’m so grateful that we have a temple in our community. As part of my preparation for this talk I went to the temple to ponder what Heavenly Father would have me share. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit will give each of us personalized guidance about what we can do to hold fast to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
According to the dictionary, to hold fast means to remain tightly secured to something or to continue to believe in or adhere to an idea or principle:
One example of holding fast comes from Lehi’s vision of the tree of life in the Book of Mormon, another testament of Christ. In his vision he sees a beautiful tree with delicious and desirable fruit. When an angel asked Nephi…
1 Nephi 11: 21… Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?
22 Nephi answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.
23 And the angel spake, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.
As I’ve been reading about Lehi’s vision I’ve been pondering what does the love of God feel like and how can we experience that joy?
I’ve wanted to know this because I’ve been wishing I had a way to help make things better when friends are discouraged or when my children have felt fearful, or when family members are feeling overwhelmed and anxious. I have thought that if only we could all feel God’s love that would help us keep going. So I’ve been praying that I could feel God’s love for me and that I can help my family and friends also feel his love.
In Lehi’s vision people were trying to get to the tree so they could partake of the fruit of God’s love but there were many obstacles and dangers that could prevent people from making it to the tree.
The people who successfully made it to the tree found an iron rod that they could hold onto, or in other words, hold fast, which would help them know where to go even when they were confused about which way to go and they couldn’t see anything around them.
We can recognize that our experiences are similar in our world today and that it is far too easy to get disoriented, lost and confused about what is right.
Henry B. Eyring – April 2022 General Conference talk “Steady in the Storms”
The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.”
Anyone with eyes to see the signs of the times and ears to hear the words of prophets knows that is true. The perils of greatest danger come to us from the forces of wickedness. Those forces are increasing. And so it will become more difficult, not easier, to honor the covenants we must make and keep to live the gospel of Jesus Christ.
For those of us who are concerned for ourselves and for those we love, there is hope in the promise God has made of a place of safety in the storms ahead.
This is why Nephi learned and taught us that this iron rod represented the word of God…
And when Nephi’s brothers asked…
1 Nephi 15: 23 …What meaneth the rod of iron which our father saw, that led to the tree?
He told them:
24…it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.
So as we hold fast to the word of God and nurture it in our lives we will be protected and able to resist temptations and attacks and destruction. And if we have let go or are not holding on consistently…
Ann Dibbs shared in April 2009 General Conference “Hold On”…
Let me reassure you that it is always possible for us to find our way back. Through repentance, made possible by the atoning sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we can regain and recommit to a strong grip on the iron rod and feel the loving guidance of our Heavenly Father once again. The Savior has extended an open invitation to us: repent, hold on, and don’t let go.
Now I’ve heard and read and talked about this vision of the tree of life and the rod of iron for many years so I thought I understood it. But this week, as I usually do in the temple celestial room, I found a set of scriptures and I opened them at random to know what Heavenly Father wants to teach me. I had opened up to the middle of Alma 32…
Alma 32: 28 Now, we will compare the word (of God) unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord,
Wait, what? I had to stop and read that again a few times
That made me stop and check myself. Could that sort of unbelief be thinking something like…
Does it really matter if I study the scriptures today?
Will I really feel better if I repent?
Why does it really matter if I have a current temple recommend?
How will it make a difference if I forgive that person?
Did I really get a prompting to contact my ministering sister?
Does it really matter if I pray and ask for help & guidance?
Does it really matter if I have a calling and fulfill it?
Will I really feel God’s love if I keep my covenants?
Have there been other ways I been unbelieving and resisted the Spirit of the Lord?
If I’m willing to try and give the words of God a chance in my life…
Alma taught: …behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.
I want to have my soul enlarged and my understanding enlightened which means I must do something to nurture the words of God in my heart AND not cast out His good words by my unbelief.
Recently I had a business trip so I wasn’t able to water my plants in my backyard and when I came home my little fig tree was pretty droopy and not looking good. So I immediately watered it and gave it some fertilizer and by the next day it had perked back up.
Likewise, if I allow the good seeds of the word of God grow in my heart, Alma teaches…
Alma 32:37 And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us. And now behold, if ye nourish it with much care it will get root, and grow up, and bring forth fruit.
38 But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out.
39 Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof.
40 And thus, if ye will not nourish the word (of God), looking forward with an eye of faith to the fruit thereof, ye can never pluck of the fruit of the tree of life (love of God).
This was an ah-ha moment for me. Each one of us has the opportunity to grow our own tree of life, and feel the love of God, within our hearts through the choices we make each day.
So when I study the scriptures I am planting seeds of the good word of God in my heart and when I try to follow the counsel we have received from President Nelson and our other church leaders I am nurturing those seeds. And every little thing I do to follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost help me hold onto and nurture the word of God in my heart. All of these things help me get closer to feeling God’s love for myself and for others. In fact, I have felt how much God loves each of you as I have prepared this talk.
So my prayer is that we choose to be like the people that Lehi saw in his vision…
1 Nephi 8:30 …behold, he saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron (or the word of God); and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree.
I want this fruit – this love of Christ – for myself and for my loved ones and for all of you. My prayer is that we will each nurture our own tree of life in our hearts by holding fast to the word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
President Eyring: When the storms in life come, you can be steady because you are standing on the rock of your faith in Jesus Christ. That faith will lead you to daily repentance and consistent covenant keeping. Then you will always remember Him. And through the storms of hatred and wickedness, you will feel steady and hopeful.
More than that, you will find yourself reaching out to lift others to safety on the rock with you. Faith in Jesus Christ always leads to greater hope and to feelings of charity toward others, which is the true love of Christ.
I am so grateful we have a loving Savior who provides the opportunity and help for us to repent and find peace. And I know that as I set aside doubt and unbelief and put my efforts into finding ways to nurture the word of God in my heart I do feel his love and joy. I invite and encourage all of us to hold fast to the word of God and the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to learn of Him and seek to follow his example. And my faith and witness is that we will be nourished and uplifted and helped by our Savior to be able to overcome any challenges or obstacles that we may face in our lives.
Check out this video representation of Lehi’s vision:
