We Did Take Seed

In his account of their travels to the promised land, Nephi made several references to the seeds that they brought with them. He said, “And it came to pass that we had gathered together all manner of seeds of every kind, both of grain of every kind, and also of the seeds of fruit of every kind” (1 Nephi 8:1). When they departed south into the wilderness he said again, “And it came to pass that we did gather together whatsoever things we should carry into the wilderness, and all the remainder of our provisions which the Lord had given unto us; and we did take seed of every kind that we might carry into the wilderness” (1 Nephi 16:11). As they entered the boat to travel across the ocean Nephi recorded, “We had prepared all things, much fruits and meat from the wilderness, and honey in abundance, and provisions according to that which the Lord had commanded us, we did go down into the ship, with all our loading and our seeds, and whatsoever thing we had brought with us, every one according to his age.” He made sure to include their seeds in the list of what they brought with them. And then when they arrived in the promised land he mentioned them again: “And it came to pass that we did begin to till the earth, and we began to plant seeds; yea, we did put all our seeds into the earth, which we had brought from the land of Jerusalem. And it came to pass that they did grow exceedingly; wherefore, we were blessed in abundance” (1 Nephi 18:6, 24). The seeds of grain and fruit that they had brought in faith grew in abundance to provide for their nourishment in the promised land.

                Perhaps Alma thought about the seeds his forefathers brought to the promised land when he made this well-known analogy to the Zoramites: “Now, we will compare the word unto a seed. Now, if ye give place, that a seed may be planted in your heart, behold, if it be a true seed, or a good seed, if ye do not cast it out by your unbelief, that ye will resist the Spirit of the Lord, behold, it will begin to swell within your breasts; and when you feel these swelling motions, ye will begin to say within yourselves—It must needs be that this is a good seed, or that the word is good, for it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me.” For him the word of God was like the seeds we plant, and interestingly, Nephi went to great lengths to carry both with their family to the promised land. And just as the benefit of the seeds they brought was not seen for many years after their initial departure when they gathered them, so too the power of the word of God in the brass plates was not fully realized among their people until long after their arrival. Both brought nourishment and sustaining life, continuing their effect generation after generation to bless the Nephites. The lesson then for us is to nourish the word of God in our own lives, to do our best to plant it in our hearts and seek patiently the blessings it will bring: “If ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life” (Alma 32:28, 41). After Nephi separated from his brethren he recorded this: “And the Lord was with us; and we did prosper exceedingly; for we did sow seed, and we did reap again in abundance…. And I, Nephi, had also brought the records which were engraven upon the plates of brass…. And it came to pass that we began to prosper exceedingly, and to multiply in the land” (2 Nephi 5:11-13). Here he mentioned both the physical seeds and the word of the Lord and how they were blessed and prospered exceedingly because of them. He and his family had “put all [their] seeds into the earth” and so too we can put our hearts fully into the scriptures the Lord has given us. And then we will, in time, be spiritually “blessed in abundance” and find for ourselves “a tree springing up unto everlasting life.”