The Tree or the Building (1 Nephi 8:26-33)

You’d think that after partaking of the fruit of the tree, everyone would love it and never leave.

That is not so. While some understood the preciousness of the tree and the fruit and stood nearby, beckoning to others to join them, others did not. Some people are distracted and fall away. Some people are ashamed because of the mocking of others. Some won’t even come near the tree, preferring instead to go straight over to that great and spacious building filled with those who mock and point their fingers.

Years ago, after reading this section, I stopped long enough to wonder which group of people I might be in. I’m not going to tell you what I discovered about myself. I will just say that I am in a different group now.

I am not where I want to be, but I am closer to behaving like Lehi and Nephi—unashamed and inviting others to partake. I pray for the courage to be more like them, to be able to say to the world, “Here I am. Here is what I believe. And I don’t care who knows it or what they think about it.”