Who is the artists of the painting of the Mother of the Lord at the beginning of the article?
ChristianJanuary 22, 2016
Thank you, Mare. I was going to post the same thing. Equating the virgin to the tree of life is a highly selective reading of Nephi. He explicitly defines the tree, and it's not the virgin, but rather her Son who represents the love of God.
Central TexanJanuary 22, 2016
One thing to note about equating the fruit of the tree with the end result of salvation is that in the dream, some partake of the fruit but still become ashamed and fall away (1 Nephi 8:25,28)
marcJanuary 18, 2016
I'm going to respectfully disagree. The tree of life, according to the angel who tutored Nephi, represents the love of God as shown to Nephi in vision by His condescension.
1 Nephi 11:21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?
22 And I 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 he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.
Jesus Christ's condescension made possible the salvation of man. In other words, the result of Christ's atoning sacrifice, or the fruit of His offering, which is most joyous to the soul is salvation or in other words eternal life. Nephi explains this to his brothers who inquire about the meaning of the dream.
1 Nephi 15:36 Wherefore, the wicked are rejected from the righteous, and also from that tree of life, whose fruit is most precious and most desirable above all other fruits; yea, and it is the greatest of all the gifts of God. And thus I spake unto my brethren. Amen.
There are two passages in the Doctrine & Covenants that define this greatest gift:
D&C 6:13 If thou wilt do good, yea, and hold out faithful to the end, thou shalt be saved in the kingdom of God, which is the greatest of all the gifts of God; for there is no gift greater than the gift of salvation.
and
D&C 14:7 And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.
Enduring to the end is suggests we press forward along the iron rod until we come to the Tree of Life and partake of salvation. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).
LiabobiaJanuary 18, 2016
I thought Asherah was a pagan Goddess whom the Jews where warned by the prophets to not worship. That Nephi would have a vision from God with a pagan Goddess is confusing to me.
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MikeNovember 5, 2016
Who is the artists of the painting of the Mother of the Lord at the beginning of the article?
ChristianJanuary 22, 2016
Thank you, Mare. I was going to post the same thing. Equating the virgin to the tree of life is a highly selective reading of Nephi. He explicitly defines the tree, and it's not the virgin, but rather her Son who represents the love of God.
Central TexanJanuary 22, 2016
One thing to note about equating the fruit of the tree with the end result of salvation is that in the dream, some partake of the fruit but still become ashamed and fall away (1 Nephi 8:25,28)
marcJanuary 18, 2016
I'm going to respectfully disagree. The tree of life, according to the angel who tutored Nephi, represents the love of God as shown to Nephi in vision by His condescension. 1 Nephi 11:21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw? 22 And I 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 he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul. Jesus Christ's condescension made possible the salvation of man. In other words, the result of Christ's atoning sacrifice, or the fruit of His offering, which is most joyous to the soul is salvation or in other words eternal life. Nephi explains this to his brothers who inquire about the meaning of the dream. 1 Nephi 15:36 Wherefore, the wicked are rejected from the righteous, and also from that tree of life, whose fruit is most precious and most desirable above all other fruits; yea, and it is the greatest of all the gifts of God. And thus I spake unto my brethren. Amen. There are two passages in the Doctrine & Covenants that define this greatest gift: D&C 6:13 If thou wilt do good, yea, and hold out faithful to the end, thou shalt be saved in the kingdom of God, which is the greatest of all the gifts of God; for there is no gift greater than the gift of salvation. and D&C 14:7 And, if you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God. Enduring to the end is suggests we press forward along the iron rod until we come to the Tree of Life and partake of salvation. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).
LiabobiaJanuary 18, 2016
I thought Asherah was a pagan Goddess whom the Jews where warned by the prophets to not worship. That Nephi would have a vision from God with a pagan Goddess is confusing to me.
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