With the color, texture, and sweetness of berries, bananas,
watermelons, and mangoes,
fruit has long been a treasured delicacy.
During his earthly ministry,
the Savior compared good fruit to things of eternal worth.
He said: “Ye shall know them by their fruits.
Every good tree brings forth good fruit.”
He encouraged us to gather fruit and to life eternal.
In a vivid dream that we all know well
in the Book of Mormon,
the prophet Lehi finds himself in a dark and dreary wilderness.
There is filthy water, a mist of darkness,
strange roads, and forbidden paths
as well as a rod of iron along a strait
and narrow path leading to
a beautiful tree with fruit that makes one happy.
Recounting the dream, Lehi says, “I did partake of the fruit.
It was most sweet above all that I had ever tasted,
and it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy.”
This fruit was more desirable than any other fruit.
This precious fruit symbolizes the wondrous blessings of
the Savior’s incomparable Atonement.
Not only will we live again following our mortality,
but through our faith in Jesus Christ,
our repentance, and keeping the commandments,
we can be forgiven of our sins and one day stand clean
and pure before our Father and His Son.
As we have all learned,
even after savoring the precious fruit of the restored gospel,
staying true and faithful to
the Lord Jesus Christ is still not easily done.
We continue to face distractions and deceptions,
confusion and commotion, enticements and temptations
that attempt to pull our hearts away from the Savior and
the joys and duties we have experienced in following Him.
Just compare it to when you've gone without for
a while that delicious fruit, whether it be an actual fruit,
food, whatever it might be, water,
and you’re just yearning for it, and then you get it.
It usually tastes quite
a bit better at that moment than maybe if you had it day to day.
And that’s how I experience the Spirit come back.
It was a flood. It was a rush of just sheer joy and happiness,
and that the Atonement’s real. I did fall way a little bit.
I let myself slide. But through the Atonement,
I could come back.
I started reading a lot of opinions about not only
the Church but about Christ Himself,
and just it started to confuse me.
I also had friends who were on the fence as well and like,
“Wow, I should make a decision.” At that point, it said
many of His disciples left. And He turned to His Twelve,
and He said, “Will thou also go away?”
When I heard that in my mind it was like it hit me so hard,
like He was saying it to me, “Will you also go away?”
And then Peter’s answer when he said: “Lord, to whom shall we go?
Thou hast the words of eternal life.”
That was my answer.
Although we need not fear, we are to be on guard. At times,
little things can upend our spiritual balance.
Please don't allow your questions, the insults of others,
faithless friends, or unfortunate mistakes
and disappointments to turn you away from the sweet,
pure, and soul-satisfying blessings that come from
the precious fruit of the tree.
Keep your eyes and your hearts centered on
the Savior Jesus Christ and
the eternal joy that comes only through Him.