All things denote there is a God (1): Trees

For many years, I have loved reading my scriptures.  There is a calm, a zen, a wholeness that comes when I read the scriptures and feel the truth of what I am reading, when my soul resonates with the words and feelings I'm absorbing.  (Lest anyone thing I'm a super scriptorian, I'll admit that I'm not very good at remembering where to find specific scripture references, and often have to search to find what I want.)

Years ago, I came across this scripture in the Book of Mormon, and I have enjoyed finding ways to prove its truth.  (If you don't want a summary of the background in this chapter, skip to the next paragraph.)  To give Alma 30:44 a little context here's the background story: There is a man (named Korihor) who doesn't believe in God or Jesus, and he has gone around trying to convince the people that they are following foolish traditions for preaching and/or believing in God, Jesus, and etc.  A very faithful people are very bothered by his troublemaking and what he's teaching, and so they bring him before Alma (the prophet) and the chief judge (who I think was named Nephihah), and Korihor does his best to convince them that they are wrong to believe in God, the scriptures, the spirit, and Jesus Christ.  Alma says many awesome things to Korihor, but one of my favorites is:

 "All things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator."

"All things denote there is a God" has resonated with me as I have looked at different pieces of the world around me, and I have found many different ways that it is true.  As spring has begun it's process of bursting forth, and I've begun planting my garden, and seeing leaves bud, I've thought about trees a lot.  I believe that trees denote there is a God.

Trees, through photosynthesis, are able to use light and convert it into what they need to grow, to become bigger, stronger, and taller.  Trees (and plants) that get the light they need are "happier".  They are able to transport water and nutrients through their xylem and phloem to all parts of the plant, even if it's 200 feet tall.  It seems impossible for water and liquid nutrients to be able to be lifted so high, but trees do it.  In seasons when there is less light, and colder temperatures, trees go dormant, they "sleep".  Growth slows, almost halts, until there is more energy available to them.   If a tree has deep roots, it can withstand strong winds, and often trees develop deeper roots when they grow up having to face strong winds. When a tree has been cut down and is being burned as firewood, it is releasing that same "sunlight" that it stored up.

This is FULL of spiritual parallels.  Jesus is the light and the life of the world  (Psalms 36:9, John 1:4, 3 Nephi 9:18)  When we bask in that light, that warmth, we can grow bigger, stronger, and taller.  Our growth potential (like a tree) is pretty amazing, but it's not an overnight process; little by little we get stronger, tougher, higher, and we have to continue to reach up and out.  I have noticed that in my own life, I am happier when I am making sure I get enough "light" each day.  Jesus is also the "living water" (John 4:10&11), and is able to nourish our souls, able to deliver living water to whatever parts we need, unless we cut them off.  We pruned our grape vines a few weeks ago, and in the warmer spring weather, the plant has been sending its liquid nutrients through the vines, causing the cut areas to drip.  If we cut ourselves off, living water can't flow through us.  We all have our seasons, our hard times, when we slow down, but even then, as long as we continue to stay rooted deeply, and wait for and seek for light and truth, we'll grow again. Opposition is like the wind, and we can choose to dig deeper and become more firmly rooted when we face it, or we can let it knock us down.  As we face trials and challenges and become more firmly rooted, we are better and stronger, and more prepared for what storms may come.  And sometimes, we may be called upon to share part of our light, the light we've absorbed with others.  We share the light, the truth, the goodness we've absorbed with others in times of darkness and cold, and we are able to give hope, warmth, and comfort to those who need it, through the power we have been given by the Son of God.

Trees can also represent people, in their various stages and seasons.  For example: An apple tree in winter does not have leaves, blossoms, or fruit.  It could easily be misjudged for almost any other type of tree, or someone might think it is dead.  In the early summer, it may not look like it will have a lot of fruit, or it might look like the fruit is all tiny, and someone might think "That apple tree is broken".

You can't always see everything that's going on, and it would be sad to judge a tree by only seeing it in one moment.  I might look at a tree in the early spring and think "That tree over there is budding, but this one is not.  This one must be a worthless tree."  And I might be completely wrong, I have some beautiful flowering trees that just bud later than other trees.  It's important to not judge other people when we can't see their whole story.  And different trees are good at different things: some flower elegantly in the spring, and some don't flower at all.  Some are great at growing fast and tall, and others are short.  Some might have fruit, and some may provide a wonderful shady spot.  All trees can be good for things, and sometimes it's a matter of putting the right tree into the right place, just like sometimes we have to find our niche before we can really grow into the best people we can be, and before we can really appreciate ourselves.

It may seem silly, but I really think God designed trees because He loves us, and to help us understand Him better.  When I was a kid, my mom would sometimes come home from the grocery story with a box of Better Cheddars (one of my favorite snacks as a child) and say "I was thinking of you."  I don't know how much time, how much individual effort He put in when He created the world, but I like to imagine that as He was in the process of creating, maybe He thought of different individuals.  I think weeping willows are like a magical wonderland, and I love fruit.  I wonder if He thought of me (or you) when He put some of those trees here on Earth for us, to help us to find Him in our daily lives.