I love Lehi's vision. There is so much to learn, even now, after I have read this story hundreds of times, there is more I am taking away from these verses. Today, I want to focus on three groups Lehi mentions.
First group, 1 Nephi 8:21-23
"And I saw numberless concourses of people, many of whom were pressing forward, that they might obtain the path which led unto the tree by which I stood.
And it came to pass that they did come forth, and commence in the path which led to the tree.
And it came to pass that there arose a mist of darkness; yea, even an exceedingly great mist of darkness, insomuch that they who had commenced in the path did lose their way, that they wandered off and were lost."
Second Group, 1 Nephi 8:24-25, 28
"And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree.
And after they had partaken of the fruit of the tree they did cast their eyes about as if they were ashamed.
And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost."
Third Group, 1 Nephi 8:30
"But, to be short in writing, behold, he saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; 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."
Before you read on, what are your thoughts? What do you take away from these three accounts? I encourage you to pay attention to your thoughts and impressions as you ponder the stories of the scriptures, through those thoughts and impressions the spirit is able to speak to you personally and allow you to apply these stories in your individual lives.
Here are my thoughts.
In the first group Lehi speaks of, there is no mention of the rod of iron. What is the rod of iron? It is the word of God (1 Nephi 15:23-24). The first group who started out on the journey of this life were lost because they didn't have the iron rod to hold to. Without the principles and covenants of the gospel we cannot return to our Heavenly Father and neither can our brothers and sisters. President Brigham Young said, "The Latter-day Saints have got to learn that the interest of their brethren is their own interest or they never can be saved in the celestial kingdom of God" (Discourses of Brigham Young, p.271) and President Spencer W. Kimball said, "Zion is 'every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God.' (D&C 82:19)" (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 363). We have got to be praying for and caring about those who do not have the iron rod in their lives. This charity will qualify us for the Celestial kingdom of God and enable others to have the joy and peace the gospel can bring.
In the second group, Lehi says they were "clinging" to the iron rod and they eventually made it to the tree of life and partook of the fruit. My heart breaks for this group. They had the word of God, they made it to the Tree of Life and had partaken of the fruit and then because of those in the Great and Spacious building (1 Nephi 8:26-27), they became "ashamed... and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost. Elder Bednar said, "It is significant that the second group pressed forward with faith and commitment. They also had the added blessing of the rod of iron, and they were clinging to it! However, as they were confronted with persecution and adversity, they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost. Even with faith, commitment, and the word of God, this group was lost—perhaps because they only periodically read or studied or searched the scriptures. Clinging to the rod of iron suggests to me only occasional “bursts” of study or irregular dipping rather than consistent, ongoing immersion in the word of God."
When you think of clinging to something what comes to mind? My husband always says he imagines hanging on the side of a cliff and you've only got your fingertips on a branch which is slowly pulling out of the ground. I like that visual, to me I think maybe they are stretching so hard to keep one foot in the gospel and one foot in the church that they are only able to get their fingertips around the rod of iron. Elder McConkie said, "We cannot survive spiritually with one foot in the Church and the other in the world. We must make the choice. It is either the Church or the world. There is no middle ground." If we press forward down the straight and narrow path and forget to stop caring what those in the great and spacious building think about us, we will find ourselves becoming ashamed of the Gospel of Christ and eventually, following forbidden paths and becoming lost.
Now the third group. Lehi describes them as "continually holding fast to the rod of iron". The online dictionary states that to hold fast is to "stick to firmly". Elder Bednar said, "The third group also pressed forward with faith and conviction; however, there is no indication that they wandered off, fell into forbidden paths, or were lost. Perhaps this third group of people consistently read and studied and searched the words of Christ. Perhaps it was the constant flow of living water that saved the third group from perishing. This is the group you and I should strive to join." Lehi tells us in 1 Nephi 8:30 that this group "came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree." They didn't cast their eyes around to see what other people thought of them. The only thing that mattered was partaking of the fruit of the tree. As Elder Bednar said, we too must make this our priority. How do we continually hold fast? Just as Elder Bednar suggested, consistenly immerse yourselves in the gospel. Daily prayer, scripture study, fasting, serving and repenting of our sins and tresspasses against the Lord.
One more thing I would like to mention. In 1 Nephi 8:23, we read about the mist of darkness. This mist represents the work of the adversary, his distractions and temptations. This mist fell on all who were on the path. In 1 Nephi 15:24, Nephi tells us "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." We are not told that holding to the rod of iron will keep all temptations and sorrow from coming into our lives. We will all suffer the campaign of the adversary to win our souls. But, we are promised victory over the power of Satan if we will immerse ourselves in the gospel of our Savior.
I know the Gospel is true. I know if we will constintley hold fast to the word of God we will make it to the tree of life and be worthy to partake of the fruit. May we all try to tighten our grasp on the iron rod. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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