The Trees of the Garden

In the parables of Jesus Christ, the processes of sowing seeds and growing plants, trees, and fruit have been used as metaphors for different aspects of the reception and utilization of the Gospel in our lives. It was a fruit tree that plunged mankind into mortality, and it is a fruit tree that secures us eternal life. Parables of trees that were planted, grafted, pruned, uprooted, hewn down and whose branches were burned are used frequently in the scriptures. Vines and wheat are also metaphors in the scriptures.

Why does the Lord use trees and plants as teaching tools? Certainly, because the cultivation of trees and plants is familiar to most of us; but, I believe, it is because trees, vines and wheat bear fruit, and it is the fruit with which the Lord is most concerned. As we consider these different trees and plants, we should bear in mind that it is the fruit the Lord is after, and which is “most precious” unto Him (Jacob 5:61). He is the Lord of the vineyard and it takes much work and labor to produce good fruit.

The story of life begins with two famous trees — the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life, which were planted by the hand of the Lord in the Garden of Eden. Understanding what these trees and their fruit represent is essential to our understanding the Plan of the Lord, because it is these two trees which represent the beginning and the desired end of our probation.

The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil

“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen. 2:17).

This scripture implies that God was giving a warning to Adam and Eve, to let them know that — unlike the other fruit in the Garden — the fruit of this tree had severe consequences to the person who ate it, including death. Remember, the fruit itself was not good and evil. The fruit was the knowledge of good and evil. That knowledge was essential in order to know how to choose the good from the evil!

Man’s knowledge of good versus evil and his decision to choose the good is the process by which mankind becomes like our Father in Heaven. Adam and Eve’s fall resulted from their yielding to the temptation of Satan and disobeying the Father.

Certainly, the fruit of the tree can represent mortality. It is through the experiences of this earth life that we learn the difference between, and the effects of, good and evil. Eve said, “Were it not for our transgression we…never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption…” (Moses 5:11). In choosing mortality, we all became subject unto death; and not only that, but suffering, pain, disappointment, sickness and all sorts of misery, as well. No wonder there was a strict warning!

Yet, as the Lord told Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail, “…know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good” (Doctrine & Covenants 122:7).

Here, in mortality, we are veiled from the presence of God. Similarly, Adam and Eve — after being cast out of the Garden — were veiled from the presence of the Lord. This earth life is a time of testing. God said, “And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them” (Abr. 3:25). Satan is allowed, as he was in the Garden, to tempt and to try us.

This tree also had the power to open one’s eyes. The serpent tempted Eve with the statement, “Ye shall not surely die; For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Moses 4:10-11). Adam said, “…because of my transgression my eyes are opened…” (Moses 5:10).

What was the first effect of having their eyes opened? “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they had been naked” (Moses 4:13). Adam and Eve had to have their eyes “opened” in order to see their nakedness. Nakedness in the scriptures often refers to sin.

Similarly, we need to have our eyes opened to see our “nakedness” or our sins. Many people are blinded to their own sins. It wasn’t until the shock of an angel telling him that what he was doing was wrong that Alma the younger saw “that he had rebelled against God (Alma 36:14). It was not until King Benjamin’s people viewed their own carnal state that they had the mighty change of heart (Mosiah 4:2).

C. S. Lewis wrote, “When a man is getting better, he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is getting worse, he understands his own badness less and less. A moderately bad man knows he is not very good — a thoroughly bad man thinks he is all right” (Mere Christianity, p. 87). Unless we have these eye-opening experiences that motivate us to repent in this life, we must stand before God at Judgment Day and “shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness…” (2 Nephi 9:14).

The process of discerning good from evil or truth from error is not always easy for mortals in this fallen world. Often there seem to be “gray” areas. It is a fact of science, that when there are low levels of light, colored objects appear to be various shades of gray. It takes light in order for man to “see things as they really are” (Jacob 4:13). Truth is equated with light, and it is the light of truth that enlightens our eyes (or in other words, opens them to understanding).

When we are born into this world, we are all given a conscience (the light of truth) which gives us knowledge of good and evil. Jesus said, “I am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:2). Thus, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil is also representative of Jesus Christ. We must grow in light and truth, because “Light and truth forsake that evil one” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:37). Yielding to the temptations of Satan “taketh away light and truth through disobedience” (Doctrine and Covenants 93:39).

In this sense, we need to partake continually of the fruit (which is truth) of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (Christ) so that we may grow in the knowledge of the Lord and be filled with light until there “shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things” (Doctrine and Covenants 88:67).

Satan told Eve that by partaking of this fruit, she would be as God. Eve saw that this tree was, “good for food…and a tree to be desired to make her wise” (Moses 4:12). Some Christian writers condemn Eve for partaking of the fruit, implying that she was “grasping” for Godhood. Eve made the right choice, however, Godhood is not something that can be simply grasped and internalized.

Spiritually, we are little children and cannot understand Godhood by simply “partaking.” That would be like expecting a five-year-old child to understand the concepts of calculus before he learns the basics of arithmetic or algebra. The Lord does expect us to grow up into His likeness, however, and the knowledge of good and evil is essential to that process.

The fruit tasted sweet to Adam and Eve while in the paradise of the Garden. Ahead lay the trying years of mortality. They, as is the case with the rest of us, would find the fruit can also be bitter at times. In speaking about the two trees in the Garden, Lehi stated, “it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter” (2 Nephi 2:15).

We know that the fruit of the tree of life is “sweet above all that is sweet” (Alma 32:42), and so Lehi must have meant that the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was bitter. Life is hard for many people and sin is the cause of much unhappiness. Even having our eyes opened can be bitter as we see ourselves “as we really are” with all our weakness, sins and faults. But true repentance turns the bitter into sweet.

Many have wondered what kind of fruit the tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil could have been. Apocryphal writings suggest that it could have been the fig tree [i] , the grape [ii] , or the olive tree [iii] . It is interesting to note that all three of these kinds of fruit are used in the same type of parables in the scriptures.

In Isaiah 5:1-7, we read about the Lord’s vineyard that produced wild grapes and the Lord asked, “What could have been done more for my vineyard, that I have not done in it?” Jesus gave a parable of a barren fig tree that dresser wanted to cut down. The Lord of the vineyard replied, “Let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it; and if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down” (Luke 13:6-9).“I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness, I saw your fathers as the first ripe in the fig tree in her first time" (Hosea 9:10).

             These parables correspond very well with Zenos’ allegory of the olive tree in Jacob 5, with the trees representing the house of Israel. 

After having their eyes opened, Adam and Eve saw that they were naked, and made themselves aprons of fig leaves to hide their nakedness. One of my childhood memories is a huge umbrella-shaped fig tree in our yard, whose leaves almost touched the ground. It was the only fruit tree that I knew that “hid” its  ripe fruit.  One had to look under its leaves to find the ripe fruit.  I loved to climb that tree, but was careful not to brush against the leaves, because they itched and irritated my skin. I found it interesting that Adam and Eve made aprons out of fig leaves and I realized that this is what Satan tries to get each of us to do, like the fig tree, to cover up the “fruit” of our doings or, in other words, to cover up our sins.

Like the itchy fig leaves, our consciousness of sin will “irritate” our souls until we stop trying to hide our sin and repent. Fig leaves are not the answer to our nakedness. We must be clothed with the robe of righteousness — and it is Jesus Christ who clothes us, just as He clothed Adam and Eve in coats or robes of skins to cover their nakedness. This covering is symbolic of the atonement, which covers our sins. “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered” (Romans 4:7).

In summary, the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil can represent mortality, where we learn through our experience to distinguish the good from the evil. It can also represent the “eye-opening” light of Jesus Christ, with its fruit being truth. The fruit of the tree can also represent the spiritual condition of the posterity of Adam and Eve as illustrated in Zeno’s allegory, through the choices they made in mortality, some being bitter and others sweet.

The Tree of Life

After Adam and Eve partook of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, the Lord clothed them with coats of skins:

And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life (Genesis 3:22-24).

We learn from this scripture that the Tree of Life causes one to live forever and that it is guarded by cherubim. Cherubim also guard the Ark of the Covenant, where the Lord dwells. Isaiah exclaimed, “O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubim…” (Isaiah 37:16) Cherubim also guard the temple (Ezekiel 10:3-5).

In the temple, Ezekiel saw four cherubim having four different kinds of faces full of eyes. John the Revelator also saw four cherubim with six wings, and with faces of a lion, ox, man, and eagle, near the throne of God. Isaiah saw a figure with six wings in the temple (Isaiah 6). Figures of cherubim were profusely displayed in the courtyard, forecourt, the Holy Place, on the veil, and in the Holy of Holies in King Solomon’s temple.

Why must there be guards? Joseph Smith explained, “the conditions of God’s kingdom are such, that all who are made partakers of that glory, are under the necessity of learning something respecting it previous to their entering into it… he must have been instructed in the government and laws of that kingdom by proper degrees, until his mind is capable in some measure of comprehending the propriety, justice, equality, and consistency of the same” (TPJS, p. 51). There must be someone to make certain they are prepared before allowed to enter.

We are taught, as Latter-Day Saints, that angels stand as sentinels or guards to determine our worthiness to enter into the Celestial Kingdom. Brigham Young stated, “Your endowment is to receive all those ordinances in the House of the Lord, which are necessary for you… to enable you to walk back to the presence of the Father, passing the angels who stand as sentinels, being able to give them the key words, the signs and tokens, pertaining to the Holy Priesthood, and gain your eternal exaltation…” (Discourses of Brigham Young, comp. by John A. Widtsoe, p. 637).

There was also a flaming sword guarding the Tree of Life. Paul's letter to the Ephesians speaks of putting on the whole armor of God. One piece of that spiritual armor is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17). Doctrine and Covenants 27:18 states that the sword is the Spirit of God. From this insight, we can understand that the flaming sword that God placed in the hands of the cherubim is the sword of the Spirit or the Word of God.

Paul writes, “For the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of body and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). What an awesome weapon in the hands of the cherubim!

The two edges represent what the sword can do: “either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction” (1 Nephi 14:7). The cherubim are endowed with the Holy Spirit and wield that sword to guard the Tree of Life. Since their sword is a discerner of the heart and mind, there is no way that a person can deceive them. The Tree of Life is protected from the unworthy.

There are several ancient accounts of the Tree of Life symbolism. Among the closest parallel with Lehi’s dream are scenes that appear on a number of small gold plates dating from the fifth century B.C. to the third century A.D., engraved in Greek and found in Italy, Sicily, Crete, and Macedonia. These plates depict the dead, wandering in the world of the shades, and warn them to avoid a destructive spring on their left. They enjoin the souls to keep to the right, where they will encounter another spring beside a white cypress tree. After pausing for refreshment and nourishment from the spring and the tree, the wanderers continue to the lake of memory, where, after responding appropriately to questions posed by the lake guardians, the travelers receive eternal memories and enter into the gods’ presence. The texts on many of the plates state that those who successfully complete the journey become gods themselves (C, Wilford Griggs, “The Tree of Life in Ancient Cultures”, Ensign, June 1988, 27, (emphasis added)).

In the different cultures, the Tree of Life has been depicted variously as an olive tree, a palm tree, a cypress tree, a lotus plant, a persea tree and others. Joseph Smith’s father had a dream very similar to Lehi’s. In his dream, the Tree of Life was like unto a chestnut tree. He related:

…beyond me, was a low, but very pleasant valley, in which stood a tree, such as I had never seen before. It was exceeding handsome, insomuch that I looked upon it with wonder and admiration. Its beautiful branches spread themselves somewhat like an umbrella and it bore a kind of fruit, in shape much like a chestnut bur, and white as snow, or, if possible, whiter. I gazed upon the same with considerable interest, and as I was doing so, the burs or shells commenced opening and shedding their particles, or the fruit which they contained, which was of dazzling whiteness. I drew near, and began to eat of it, and I found it delicious beyond description. (He then invited his family to join him even though people in a large and spacious building were mocking them) …we all rejoiced together. The more we ate, the more we seemed to desire, until we even got down upon our knees, and scooped it up, eating it by double handfuls” (Lucy Mack Smith, The History of Joseph Smith by His Mother, p. 57-58).

Neither Lehi’s dream nor Nephi’s vision mentions the cherubim or the guardians of the Tree of Life; but in both accounts there were four main groups depicted. These groups correspond very well with the four groups of seeds in the parable of the sower in the Gospels and are instructive on what and what not to do to reach the tree.

Two groups reach the tree, but only one stays. There are hints to why they didn’t stay. The one group did “press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron” (1 Nephi 8:24), while the other group did “press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron …and fell down and partook of the fruit” (vs. 30).

When one clings to something, it is because there is a force pulling him in the opposite direction. In this case, it was the desires of the world. The other group didn’t have any problem holding fast to the rod because they had lost the desires for the things of the world. But, once having arrived at the tree, the “clingers” were soon ashamed by the scoffings of the world. It is also noteworthy that this group did not fall down at the tree. Those who truly partake of the atonement of Christ, instinctively fall down in the most sublime reverence and gratitude. Christ is also representative of the Tree of Life.

The tree can be symbolic of Jesus (1 Nephi 11:21) and the love He has for us. The fruit is the evidence of His love, the atonement. Eve said that she was glad that she ate of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil because of the knowledge she had gained, but was also very joyful in her redemption from sin through Jesus Christ (Moses 4:11).

The tree of life can also be symbolic of Mary, with the fruit being her son, Jesus Christ.  Nephi described the tree with --  “the beauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty; and the whiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow” [1 Nephi 11:8].  Asking for the interpretation of the tree, the angel showed him Mary.  Nephi described Mary in similar terms of the tree of life.  “And I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white…A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins” [1 Nephi 11:13, 15]. 

Alma (chapter 32) tells us that in order to grow a Tree of Life within ourselves, we must plant the seed (which is the Word, which is Christ) and nurture it with great diligence, until it bears fruit, that we will partake of, that is white and sweet beyond comparison. Alma is telling us that we must first believe in Jesus Christ, and then continue to learn of Him and emulate Him, until we reach a point where (like the brother of Jared) we are redeemed from the Fall and allowed back into His presence (Ether 3:13).

We must also be diligent like unto Nephi, who received this commendation from the Lord, “And thou hast not sought thine own life, but hast sought my will, and to keep my commandments. And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever” (Helaman 10:4-5).

In the book of John (17:3) we read, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” Jesus also said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also” (John 14:6-7). There is no other way to return to dwell with Christ and our Heavenly Father.

Summary

In final analysis, both trees of the Garden represent Jesus Christ. As Jesus said, “I am the light and the life of the world. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end” (3 Nephi 9:18). Paul stated that Jesus Christ is “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).

As we journey from Tree to Tree, we need to grow in the knowledge of good and evil, continually choosing the good, enter into sacred covenants so that we are able to give the angelic sentinels the evidence or signs of our knowledge and good works and partake of the Tree of Life. In doing so, we become the firstfruits of the Tree of Life and may it be said of us, “These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb” (Rev. 14:4) and “Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the firstfruits of His increase” (Jeremiah 2:3).

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[i] Jewish tradition identifies the Tree as a fig tree. Rabbi Nehemiah said, “The tree of which the first man ate was the fig, the thing wherewith they were spoilt, yet were they redressed by it. As it is said: And they stitched a fig-leaf” Berahot 40a].

In the non-canonical Book of Adam and Eve, we find further confirmation of this viewpoint: “I sought a leaf to cover up my nakedness and found none, for, when I ate, the leaves withered off every tree in my plot except for the fig, and from it I took leaves and it made me a girdle, even from the tree of which I ate” [20:5].

According to Apocalypse of Moses 20, Eve ate the fruit of the fig tree. There is an interesting vision in Jeremiah (24th Chapter). The Lord showed Jeremiah a vision of two baskets of figs — “One basket had very good figs… and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad. Then said the Lord unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil” (24:2-3). 

[ii] Charlesworth, Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 1:667, n. 4q, notes that the tree is identified as the vine by the second-century sages: R Meir [TB Sanhedrin 70a] and R. Judah b. Llai [Genesis Rabbah 15:7] and that it is mentioned in Apocalypse of Abraham 23:1-10, the fruit of the tree with which Eve was tempted is described as “like the appearance of a bunch of grapes of the vine.

In the Apocrypha, Baruch states that an angel explained to him that the grape is the forbidden fruit, and notes how much sorrow has come from drinking wine. He then points out that the sacrament uses wine because of the symbolism that even as the Fall of man came from the grape, so also does salvation (from footnote in John Pratt “Decision Days Ahead”, Meridian Magazine, III Baruch 4:8,16-17. See Charles, R.H., The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament London: Clarendon Press, 1913, vol II, p. 536).

[iii] Even though, according to the Apocalypse of Moses, the Olive tree was considered the Tree of Life, there are problems. The olive tree best fits the description of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil whose fruit is bitter, yet is good for food and is also good for light. In Zenos’ allegory, the olive trees are capable of producing good and evil fruit, valuable roots and worthless roots, branches that are wild and tame.

In John Pratt’s Article, “Decision Days Ahead,” Meridian Magazine, he draws a comparison with the olive branch carried by the dove to Noah as representing the fruit given to Adam and Eve. “What if the day on which the dove brought Noah an olive leaf represented the day on which Eve brought some of the fruit to Adam?”