The Tree By Which I Stood
I was struck by a phrase that is repeated three times in Lehi’s vision of the tree of life as I read 1 Nephi 8 morning. Lehi related to his family what happened after he arrived at the tree and partook of the fruit. He said, “And I beheld a rod of iron, and it extended along the bank of the river, and led to the tree by which I stood. And I also beheld a strait and narrow path, which came along by the rod of iron, even to the tree by which I stood; and it also led by the head of the fountain, unto a large and spacious field, as if it had been a world. 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.” Three times in these verses he referred to “the tree by which I stood,” and it was from that vantage point that he beckoned to his family to come and join him. I think that this statement teaches us that once we find the tree, we should stay there and stand by it. Lehi did not go off e...