Interlude: The Two Fruit Trees and the Harvesters

One summer evening, just past twilight, the wind picked up outside a small suburban house with two fruit trees, some distance from each other, both producing the same fruit. The Younger tree, fatigued from her first year of producing fruit, appreciated the cooling effect of the wind. This was a pleasant diversion from the ever-present sun which usually accompanied the summer days. Why can't every day be like this? she asked herself.

The Older tree, on the other hand, recognized what this meant. She wished to tell the Younger, but the wind was now too strong for her voice to carry. She would have to tell the Younger afterward.

In the distance, a door slammed. The property owner and his son approached, boots pounding against the sidewalk, with plastic bags rustling as they drew near. What is he doing? the young tree wondered. I don't need pruning, and it's definitely not time to harvest yet.

To her great surprise, the older of the two set to work on her under-ripe fruit, rapidly plucking with only a flashlight to work by.

What? Why?! she asked. Is he out of his mind? Is he really so hungry that he can't wait for nature to take its course? My fruit isn't ready yet!

While picking, the father reached for clusters of her fruit, where picking one fruit dislodged the more-ripe fruit, sending it tumbling to the ground. Oh, so not only is he impatient, but he's clumsy as well, she griped. He clearly knows nothing of fruit harvest, since he's wasting so much fruit. He should be ashamed of himself.

The father continued harvesting. In his haste, he pulled some of her leaves off of her limbs, and even broke a few branches. How dare you! she yelled internally. How dare you rob me, not only of my fruit, but of my very limbs! What right do you have in maiming me like this?

While she fumed in this manner, the father finished gathering what he could from her branches. He hadn't taken everything from her limbs, but his treatment still infuriated her. He had never treated her like this before, and she couldn't forgive him for this abuse.

During this time, while the father tended to the Younger, the son was sent to tend to the Older. He worked in the same manner as the father had with the Younger--plucking the unripe fruit rapidly, dropping fruit, and occasionally breaking branches--but the Older took it all in stride. This was merely the harvesters' method before a powerful storm. She had experienced this for decades, and understood the meaning behind the harvesters' erratic methods.

Even though her fruit was not yet ripe, hers was a fruit that could ripen after plucking if needed. The son had asked about this during a previous storm-harvest, and his father had patiently explained. The Older came to appreciate these exchanges between father and son; so much wisdom came from these discussions, which the Older would not have received otherwise.

The fruit that fell did not bother the Older, either. Although it was dark at the moment, she knew from past experience that the harvesters never wasted fruit when they could help it. During storm-harvests with greater sunlight, she could watch the harvesters stoop down to recover the fallen fruit. There is always a use to be found for good fruit, the father once told his son. Bruises do not make the fruit inedible, after all.

Not even the broken limbs and torn leaves irritated the Older any more. In her earlier years, she remembered well how much she resented what appeared to be careless branch-snapping. But one year, when the father had entrusted his property to another during a family trip, a storm had arisen where no fruit was harvested. At first, she had enjoyed the harvesters' absence and the newfound lack of stress. But as the storm grew in strength, the powerful winds had strained and even snapped some of her larger, fruit-heavy branches, and tossed her fruit far and wide. In the morning, most of her fruit lay broken and splattered on the ground. It took the father much work to salvage what limbs he could, though a few of her larger limbs required removal. The storm remained a powerful lesson for the tree in future storms, one she remembered whenever she saw her twisted and deformed (yet healed) limbs. In perspective, these limbs lost from the harvesters' plucking were a small sacrifice to pay for her survival and future fruit-bearing.

The Older knew from her experience the wisdom behind the harvesters' methods, but also recognized from her own past the confusion and pain the Younger was going through. Once the storm passed, after the howling wind and roaring thunder had subsided, the Older called to the Younger to ask how she fared. The Younger ranted against the storm and the harvesters, wishing they had left her alone. The Older simply listened. After the Younger calmed down somewhat, the Older explained her past experiences, her anger and frustration, and the understanding she eventually gained. The Older shared the bigger picture in her wisdom, which answered the Younger's confusion in the moment. The Younger soon thanked the Older for her clarification, and both trees rejoiced together.

What storms have arisen in your lives? What storms are coming?
Are they only personal storms, or are there global storms coming?
What will that coming harvest look like? What will it feel like?
Will you presume it to be chaos, without any intelligence or wisdom behind it?
Will you, instead, look back and find God's hand guiding these events for your benefit?
Will you allow His hand to guide you now for your future benefit?
Are you now?
How is He asking you to prepare? What does He ask you to become? To do?
After you have been converted, and become more able to comprehend God's working in your life, will you then strengthen your brethren?
How?

Lectures on Faith 2: 26-36

Intro | Preface
Lecture 1: 1 |  2-9 | 10-11 | 12-17 | 18-24
Lecture 2: 1-4 | 5-12 | 12-25

Continuing into paragraph 26:

"Moses also gives us an account, in the 4th of Genesis [that's Moses 5 in your Standard Works], of the transgression of Cain, and the righteousness of Abel, and of the revelations of God to them."

Revelations to them. God revealed things to both of them. While Moses didn't directly record the revelations of God to Abel, he did record two of the revelations of God to Cain.

"He [Moses] says: 'In process of time Cain brought of the fruit of the ground, an offering unto the Lord—And Abel also brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel, and to his offering (this, I imagine, was likely shown through a revelation, so this is the one to Abel which Moses records): but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect.'" (p. 26) Why would that be? Why would God accept a sacrifice that perfectly follows His commandments, and not accept a twisted version of His commandments? (Maybe Nadab and Abihu should have looked into this chapter of Genesis before offering "strange fire" in the tabernacle)

"'Now satan knew this [that God didn't respect Cain's offering], and it pleased him. [Why? Was this his plan all along when he commanded Cain to offer a sacrifice to God?]  And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why are you angry? why is your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not well, sin lies at the door, and satan desires to have you; and except you shall hearken unto my commandments, I will deliver you up: and it shall be unto you according to his desire.'" (p. 26)

Did you catch that? Cain, who declared his disdain for God (v. 16), and only sacrificed in obedience to Satan (v. 18-19), was able to hear God's voice. Keep this in mind; it occurs again later, and Joseph Smith comments further on it.

"'And Cain went into the field and talked with his brother Abel. And while they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and slew him. And Cain gloried in what he had done, saying, I am free! surely the flocks of my brother will now fall into my hands.

'But the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel, your brother? And he said, I know not: am I my brother's keeper? And the Lord said, What have you done? the voice of your brother's blood cries unto me from the ground. And now, you shall be cursed from the earth which has opened her mouth to receive your brother's blood, from your hand. When you till the ground, she shall not henceforth yield unto you her strength. A fugitive and a vagabond also, you shall be in the earth.

'And Cain said unto the Lord, Satan tempted me because of my brother's flocks. And I was also angry: for his offering was accepted, and mine was not: My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, you have driven me out this day from the face of men, and from your face shall I be hid also; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, every one that finds me will slay me, because of my oath; for these things are not hid from the Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Therefore, whoever slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him seven fold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.' " (p. 27-29)

To be honest, I don't quite understand that last paragraph. I know there are a lot of theories about this--from Hugh Nibley suggesting that Cain still walks this earth, to apocryphal accounts that say Cain was killed by Lamech's son--but I personally don't understand what this verse is saying. Maybe I just need to study further into scriptures and revelations as a whole, or maybe this requires direct revelation to understand. Maybe a combination of the two? We'll see (and unless I'm commanded otherwise, I'll share some of what I learn in the blog).

However, that's extraneous, and missing a vital, applicable principle: Even after Cain's deliberate murder of his own brother, he could still hear God speaking to him. It's clearly not what Moses experienced, where he saw God and viewed an enormous vision that left him exhausted, but Cain did hear God's voice, and recognized it as Him.

God wanted to speak with Cain even after this great sin . . .

Why on earth would we think God doesn't want to speak with us?

What if He is speaking, but we, unlike Cain, don't truly recognize His voice?

What if we just aren't listening, or haven't practiced learning how to listen?

If God's words "never cease" (Moses 1: 4), and God appears silent in our lives, what needs to change?

Paragraph 30: "The object of the foregoing quotations is to show to this class the way by which mankind were first made acquainted with the existence of a God: that it was by a manifestation of God to man, and that God continued, after man's transgression to manifest himself to him and his posterity: and notwithstanding they were separated from his immediate presence, that they could not see his face, they continued to hear his voice."

This answers the question at the start of this Lecture: How did mankind receive the idea that God exists? It was through the Knowledge of the first generation of mankind, which they taught to their posterity:

"Adam thus being made acquainted with God, communicated the knowledge which he had unto his posterity; and it was through this means that the thought was first suggested to their minds that there was a God. Which laid the foundation for the exercise of their faith, through which they could obtain a knowledge of his character and also of his glory." (p. 31)

Now, Adam couldn't impart Knowledge to his posterity directly. Knowledge, in these examples throughout the Lectures, refers to directly Knowing something is true. This is more than Faith (believing God lives, and acting as though He is real), and even more than understanding (comprehending the arguments for whether God exists). This is Knowledge through experience (seeing and communicating with God as Moses and Joseph Smith did). Anciently, this was known as Gnosis, which we'll get to later. Adam literally cannot impart this kind of Knowledge to his children, because he cannot control this experience in their lives. He could only allow God into his own life, and thereby receive that Knowledge. For his children, he could testify that he Knew; he could testify that the way was open for them to Know as well; but until his children exercised Faith in his promise and acted accordingly, they could not Know.

"Not only was there a manifestation made unto Adam of the existence of a God, but Moses informs us, as before quoted, that God condescended to talk with Cain after his great transgression, in slaying his brother, and that Cain knew that it was the Lord that was talking with him: so that when he was driven out from the presence of his brethren, he carried with him the knowledge of the existence of a God: and through this means, doubtless his posterity became acquainted with the fact that such a being existed." (p. 32)

Apparently, Cain had exercised his faith enough to Know God lives, and to recognize His voice. Even though he chose to turn away from that path to God, he retained the Knowledge and experience he had obtained previously.

"From this we can see that the whole human family, in the early age of their existence, in all their different branches, had this knowledge disseminated among them; so that the existence of God became an object of faith, in the early age of the world. And the evidences which these men had of the existence of a God, was the testimony of their fathers in the first instance." (p. 33)

From here, we now have at least two main branches of humanity who shared the existence and reality of God to their posterity: Cain to his family of darkness, and Adam to all of his descendants, which was ultimately preserved through his righteous children.

"The reason why we have been thus particular on this part of our subject, is, that this class may see by what means it was that God became an object of faith among men after the fall; and what it was that stirred up the faith of multitudes to feel after him; to search after a knowledge of his character, perfections and attributes, until they became extensively acquainted with him; and not only commune with him, and behold his glory, but be partakers of his power, and stand in his presence." (p. 34)

This is how mankind began to have faith in God: the testimony of those who Knew stirred up the faith of those who didn't yet Know, and stirred them up enough to act on that faith and "feel after him" (as Nephi mentioned in 1 Ne. 17: 45). In time, this act of feeling after Him, searching out His character, perfections, and attributes, they began to commune with Him, behold His glory, and "not only" this, "but be partakers of his power, and stand in his presence."

Is there a difference between beholding God and standing in His presence? Does that require patience and preparation, feeling after Him and searching into His characteristics? Does it require growth "line upon line"?

"Let this class mark particularly that the testimony which these men had of the existence of a God, was the testimony of man." (p. 35) And what is testimony? How do we use it outside of religion? In law, it refers to "evidence given under oath by a witness" (Nolo's Plain English Law Dictionary, Testimony). So then, what is a witness? "A person who testifies under oath at a deposition or trial, providing firsthand or expert evidence" (ibid, Witness).

It's interesting that this definition of testimony--an eyewitness providing firsthand evidence--perfectly fits how Adam taught his posterity: "for previous to the time that any of Adam's posterity had obtained a manifestation of God to themselves, Adam their common father had testified unto them of the existence of God, and of his eternal power and Godhead. For instance, Abel, before he received the assurance from heaven that his offerings were acceptable unto God, had received the important information of his father, that such a being did exist, who had created, and who did uphold all things. (So this is how Adam taught Abel, which led Abel to be accepted of God. An important example of righteous parenthood, I think.) Neither can there be a doubt existing on the mind of any person, that Adam was the first who did communicate the knowledge of the existence of a God, to his posterity; and that the whole faith of the world, from that time down to the present, is in a certain degree, dependent on the knowledge first communicated to them by their common progenitor; and it has been handed down to the day and generation in which we live, as we shall show from the face of the sacred records." (p. 35-36, emphasis added)

This part we'll go into next time. For now, it's enough to say that Adam's eyewitness account which he shared with his descendants inspired great faith, which led some of them to press forward in faith, believing and acting upon what they didn't yet see, until they in fact saw for themselves, and knew for themselves. We'll see how the pattern held in the next paragraphs.

Lectures on Faith 2: 12-25

Intro | Preface
Lecture 1: 1 |  2-9 | 10-11 | 12-17 | 18-24
Lecture 2: 1-4 | 5-12

After discussing the original, paradisaical state of mankind, and the knowledge they had, "We shall next proceed to examine the account given of his fall, and of his being driven out of the garden of Eden, and from the presence of the Lord." (p. 12)

"Moses proceeds: 'And they [Adam and Eve] heard the voice of the Lord God as they were walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where are you going? And he said, I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I beheld that I was naked, and I hid myself.'"

A tangent: Moses uses the name "The Lord God" three times in this paragraph alone, and multiple times in the verses ahead. Could this mean "The Head God," or similar to "Lord of Lords?" And does it mean that, when the verses don't use the phrase "The Lord God," it means another of the Eloheim? (Check the last post for clarification of the "Eloheim" which Joseph taught)

"'And the Lord God said unto Adam, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree whereof I told you that you should not eat? If so, you should surely die? And the man said, The woman whom you gave me, and commanded that she should remain with me, gave me of the fruit of the tree, and I did eat.

"'And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this which you have done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.

"'And again, the Lord said unto the woman, I will greatly multiply your sorrow, and your conception: in sorrow you shall bring forth children; and your desire shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you.'"

Again, a tangent: We Gentiles read the phrase "rule over you" and immediately think of the "phenomenal cosmic power" we get to wield against others; we think we get to put ourselves over others. And because this "ruling" must by definition be despotic and cruel, God must be saying women are inferior to men. Therefore, this must not be from God, since men and women are equally able to connect with God directly (2 Nephi 26: 33, with many examples throughout the scriptures).

Think about this, though: Who is prescribing man to "rule" over the woman? How does the One prescribing the "rule," rule His subjects? Does the Sermon on the Mount, or D&C 121's direction of persuasion through gentleness and meekness, or King Benjamin's "rule" over his subjects, reflect how He who commanded this "rule" would desire that men rule?

How does the King of Kings wish for his Kings and Queens to rule over others?

How easy is it for us to "set up stakes for the Almighty," to say what God must and must not do? (TPJS, pg. 320-321, 327)

Continuing, "'And the Lord God said unto Adam, because you have hearkened unto the voice of your wife [rather than God's; this isn't saying men should never listen to their wives, but rather saying that God should be at the head], and have eaten of the fruit of the tree of which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat of it! cursed shall be the ground for your sake: in sorrow you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns also, and thistles shall it bring forth to you: and you shall eat the herb of the field. By the sweat of your face shall you eat bread, until you shall return unto the ground—for you shall surely die—for out of it you were taken; for dust you were, and unto dust you shall return.' This was immediately followed by the fulfillment of what we previously said: Man was driven, or sent out of Eden.

"Two important items are shown from the former quotations: First, After man was created, he was not left without intelligence, or understanding, to wander in darkness, and spend an existence in ignorance and doubt—on the great and important point which effected his happiness—as to the real fact by whom he was created, or unto whom he was amenable for his conduct. God conversed with him face to face: in his presence he was permitted to stand, and from his own mouth he was permitted to receive instruction—he heard his voice, walked before him, and gazed upon his glory—while intelligence burst upon his understanding, and enabled him to give names to the vast assemblage of his Maker's works."

I got ahead of myself in the last post, talking about the Knowledge which Adam had received from God. That's what Joseph is saying here. Adam did not need to doubt or wander in ignorance about whether God truly existed; he Knew. He Knew who created him, whom he was accountable to, whom he had talked to, and whom he had learned from.

"Secondly, we have seen, that though man did transgress, his transgression did not deprive him of the previous knowledge with which he was endowed, relative to the existence and glory of his Creator; for no sooner did he hear his voice, than he sought to hide himself from his presence."

Here's where that Knowledge comes into play: what Adam and Eve had learned and experienced, they still knew, and they knew that even after partaking of the fruit they weren't supposed to take.

"Having shown, then, in the first instance, that God began to converse with man, immediately after he "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life," and that he did not cease to manifest himself to him, even after his fall, we shall next proceed to show, that, though he was cast out from the garden of Eden, his knowledge of the existence of God was not lost, neither did God cease to manifest his will unto him.

"We next proceed to present the account of the direct revelation which man received, after he was cast out of Eden, and further copy from the new translation:

"'After Adam had been driven out of the garden, he began to till the earth, and to have dominion over all the beasts of the field, and to eat his bread by the sweat of his brow, as I, the Lord had commanded him: and he called upon the name of the Lord, and so did Eve his wife also. And they heard the voice of the Lord from the way toward the garden of Eden, speaking unto them; and they saw him not, for they were shut out from his presence: but he gave unto them commandments that they should worship the Lord their God, and should offer the firstlings of their flocks for an offering unto the Lord. And Adam was obedient unto the commandment.

"'And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying, why do you offer sacrifices unto the Lord? And Adam said unto him, I know not; but the Lord commanded me to offer sacrifices.

"'And the angel said unto him, This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, who is full of grace and truth. And you shall do all that you do in the name of the Son: and you shall repent and call upon God in his name forever. In that day the Holy Spirit fell upon Adam, and bore record of the Father and the Son.'"

Again, temple-goers ought to recognize this. These verses from Moses, beginning at "and after many days," were put into the Endowment ceremony word-for-word. Not only was Joseph's Biblical corrections important enough to use in the Lectures on Faith, they were also important enough to be used in the temple Endowment itself. So again, we're dealing with important stuff here.

Continuing to Joseph's explanation, "This last quotation, or summary, shows this important fact, that though our first parents were driven out of the garden of Eden, and were even separated from the presence of God, by a vail, they still retained a knowledge of his existence, and that sufficiently to move them to call upon him. And further, that no sooner was the plan of redemption revealed to man, and he began to call upon God, than the Holy Spirit was given, bearing record of the Father and Son."

So even being driven out of the Garden of Eden, with a vail separating their view of God's presence, didn't cover up their memory and knowledge. They remembered God and called out to Him. And it says the angel came to teach Adam and Eve "after many days." This isn't a specific time period. However, given the context in the next verses of Moses 5, this would be decades, if not a century, of dutiful and obedient sacrifices, without the complete knowledge of why they were doing this sacrifice. Really puts into perspective our "trials" of waiting for months or a couple years before receiving answers, doesn't it?

(And, third tangent: it's true that the verses only directly name Adam as the one conversing with the angel. But if you look at Moses 5: 11, Eve "heard all these things" and spoke with great Wisdom immediately after Adam had finished prophesying. So, is it impossible to claim that Adam and Eve were both there offering sacrifice? Could this have been a decade-long effort for both parties, where both received this Gift of the Holy Ghost? Is it possible that, in many cases when Adam is named, Eve is also there since they were "one flesh," and it is not good for Adam to be alone (Moses 3: 18 & 24)? Could Moses have only named Adam "to be short in writing"?)

This has been looking into Adam and Eve's experience thus far. In the next post, Joseph gets into what happens when they pass their knowledge on to their posterity.