in verse 28 it reads,
Now, we will compare the word unto a ssed. 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.
this scripture made me think of the tree of life, which represents eternal life, that is spoken of in 1 Nephi 8 and 11, when Lehi has a dream about the tree of life and when Nephi wants to understand the dream that his father had.
the seed that we plant and nourish can spring up to this tree. this tree is what we know to be the love of God. which we can read in 1 Nephi 11: 21-22, " And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw? And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things." we we plant the seed within us and nourish it, we begin to feel so much more of the love of God.
so how do we nourish this seed? by reading the scriptures, praying continually, going to church, serving others, attending the temple regularly, fulfilling our church callings, consecrating our all, being Christlike, putting off the natural man, following the prophet, heeding the promptings of the Holy Ghost and by loving others. there are so many other things that we can be doing as well. i know that as we strive to be like Jesus that we can be filled with the love of God.
it is amazing to me that every time i open the scriptures and when i listen to the counsels of Heavenly Father, whether it be through the Holy Ghost or the mouth of His prophet, my testimony in the gospel is strengthened ten fold. this past weekend when i was listening to general conference i kept hearing the apostles and the prophet talk about faith and planting the seed of faith and how it can grow into an everlasting tree. it dawned on me that this is what i wanted to blog about. it is what i have been studying and pondering about for the last little while. the church is so true!
as we all plant that seed of faith in our lives and nourish it with the good word of Christ, i promise you that you will be filled with the love of God.
now what if we do not have the faith strong enough to nourish the seed? in Alma 32:27 it reads, "But behold, if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words." i love this scripture because it puts it so plainly and well, that we can "experiment" and "let the desire work inside of us". when we do as we are asked to do then we are promised that we will be blessed. our tree will grow and we will be able to have a portion of his words.
i am so thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who shows unto us the things that we must do to return to live with Him. He truly is our loving Heavenly Father. i am so thankful to be apart of the church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints, for i kow that it the one true church on the earth today
i encourage all of you to take this challenge that Alma has put forth, to plant a seed of faith and to nourish it, and watch it begin to grow. will you plant your seed of faith?
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