Most Joyous to the Soul by Ariane Williamson

A few years ago my family and I traveled to Muir Woods in California. At first I wasn’t thrilled about killing a few hours walking around in a forest, and I had a pretty bad attitude about the whole trip. Then we got out of the car, and entered a haven of foliage. Lush, verdant trees surrounded me; clean air engulfed me, and the words written on a sign outside the woods echoed in my ears like the rustle of leaves overhead: “Few are altogether deaf to the preaching of trees. Their sermons on the mountains go to our hearts; and if people in general could be got into the woods, even for once, to hear the trees speak for themselves, all difficulties in the way of forest preservation would vanish.”[1] The beauty and sacredness of the forest struck me very profoundly. I was reminded of a fourteen-year-old boy who sought the refuge of a grove of trees and what these glorious creations have come to mean for people of all nations and tongues.

Throughout folklore, trees are often used to embody immortality, life, and/or fertility. In ancient Norse mythology, a Yggdrasil, or World Tree, was believed to connect the earth with heaven, where a great eagle nested in the upper boughs. Ancient Egyptians believed in a sacred acacia tree of Saosis, from which their gods emerged, and it was acknowledged as the tree that provided life and death. In the Bible we know that Adam and Eve were given commandments regarding trees in the Garden of Eden; Genesis 2:9 states, “And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.” Even during the American Revolution, the Sons of Liberty used a tree as the symbol to identify themselves as those who wanted freedom. With all the magnificence and symbolism that trees are associated with, it is little wonder that Lehi envisions a tree as a symbol of life and Christ.

Lehi tells his sons in 1 Nephi 8:10, “I beheld a tree, whose fruit was desirable to make one happy.” When Nephi goes to the Lord to find out what Lehi’s vision means, the Spirit comes to him and shows him the vision. Nephi then asks what the tree means, and he is shown a vision of the birth of Christ. He goes on to explain that the meaning of the tree “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.”[2] The tree of life gives the fruit of eternal life, which is “most desirable,” and it comes from the source of eternal life: Christ.

The tree of life has been used in scripture to represent many things. Truman G. Madsen wrote that, “through our own sacred history, the tree of life has symbolized Israel, the family of the faithful, and the Redeemer of Israel.” [3] In 1 Nephi 1:12-14 we read “concerning the house of Israel, that they should be compared like unto an olive tree, whose branches should be broken off and should be scattered… [and after] they should be gathered together again.” The image of an ancient olive tree, carefully tended and pruned, is a powerful depiction of our own lives, shaped by the touch of the Master’s hand.

Anyone who has visited the Sacred Grove or found repose in a secluded wood can deny the peace and spirit found amidst the majesty of trees. As an angel related to Nephi, the tree of life is “the most joyous to the soul.”[4] By providing clean air, trees literally become a source of life. And by looking to Christ, we find a source of eternal, celestial life.


Works Cited:

1. John Muir, "The National Parks and Forest Reservations", Sierra Club Bulletin Vol. 1, No. 7 (January 1896)
2. 1 Nephi 11:22
3. Truman G. Madsen, “The Olive Press,” Ensign, Dec 1982, 57
4. 1 Nephi 11:23