34 And now, behold, is your knowledge perfect? Yea, your knowledge is perfect in that thing, and your faith is dormant; and this because you know, for ye know that the word hath swelled your souls, and ye also know that it hath sprouted up, that your understanding doth begin to be enlightened, and your mind doth begin to expand.
35 O then, is not this real? I say unto you, Yea, because it is light; and whatsoever is light, is good, because it is discernible, therefore ye must know that it is good; and now behold, after ye have tasted this light is your knowledge perfect?
36 Behold I say unto you, Nay; neither must ye lay aside your faith, for ye have only exercised your faith to plant the seed that ye might try the experiment to know if the seed was good.
37 And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up, and bring forth fruit unto us. And now behold, if ye nourish it with much care it will get root, and grow up, and bring forth fruit.
Alma 32:34-37 (Emphasis mine)
Is what is happening as the seed grows real, Alma(2) asks. Yes. It is light and light is good.
After having tasted of the light, you knowledge is not perfect. You must keep your faith. Continue to nourish it and make sure it continues to grow and bring forth fruit.
38 But if ye neglect the tree, and take no thought for its nourishment, behold it will not get any root; and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorcheth it, because it hath no root it withers away, and ye pluck it up and cast it out.
39 Now, this is not because the seed was not good, neither is it because the fruit thereof would not be desirable; but it is because your ground is barren, and ye will not nourish the tree, therefore ye cannot have the fruit thereof.
40 And thus, if ye will not nourish the word, looking forward with an eye of faith to the fruit thereof, ye can never pluck of the fruit of the tree of life.
Alma 32:38-40 (Emphasis mine)
What happens to a seed that is not nourished? It dies. It has no way to take root. It just withers away. It can’t stand the heat of the Sun.
Is this because the seed was bad? No. If the ground (your heart) is barren, there is no way it can be nourished and it can’t take root. So, the key to faith is that it must be nourished and allowed to take root and grow.
Hugh Nibley comments:
“Well, if this isn't real, nothing is real. It is something that's discernible, this knowledge. But he says it's not a perfect knowledge yet, of course. Verse 35: ‘Behold, after ye have tasted this light is your knowledge perfect? . . . Nay; neither must ye lay aside your faith [you keep exercising it all the time; you never stop] for ye have only exercised your faith to plant the seed that ye might try the experiment to know if the seed was good.’ You don't know whether it will grow or not yet…
“You must keep it up. If you neglect it, it will shrink to accommodate your own program. It's not because the seed wasn't good if that happens, but because your ground was barren and you would not nourish the tree. You have to create intelligence; you have to create faith. It's a funny thing. You pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, so to speak. You must look forward with an eye of faith. As long as it hasn't happened yet, you still have to look forward always with faith if you can ever pluck the fruit of the tree of life. You look forward to it with patience, and this goes on. The idea is to pluck the fruit which is most precious. It is worth the try. What else is there? There's nothing else to look for. It is most precious and sweet, ‘and ye shall feast upon this fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst.’ “ [1] (Emphasis mine)
41 But 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.
42 And because of your diligence
and your faith
and your patience
with the word in nourishing it,
that it may take
root in you,
behold, by and by
ye shall pluck
the fruit thereof,
which is most precious,
which is sweet
above all that is sweet, and
which is white above
all that is white, yea,
and pure above all that is pure;
and ye shall feast
upon this fruit
even until ye are filled,
that ye hunger not,
neither shall ye thirst.
43 Then, my brethren, ye shall reap the rewards of your faith, and your diligence, and patience, and long-suffering, waiting for the tree to bring forth fruit unto you.
Alma 32:41-43 (Emphasis mine)
But if you nourish the word, the tree grows through your faith and diligence. This faith and diligence will allow you to partake of the fruit, which is most precious and sweet and pure. When you eat, you will no longer hunger and you will reap the rewards of faith, diligence, patience, and long-suffering.
These are powerful promises made to the faithful. With proper nourishment, the tree that grows will lead you to eternal life.
Two closing thoughts. First, Martin Raish.
“Alma used the Tree of Life image to teach about the acquisition of faith in the word of God, which he compared to a seed. When planted in one's heart and nourished with much care, it would grow in the believer to yield the same sweet and pure fruit described by Lehi. By diligence and patience, one can ‘feast upon [this] fruit even until ye are filled, that ye hunger not, neither shall ye thirst’ (Alma 32:42). Other ancient texts also describe the faithful as trees in God's paradise (Ps. 1:3; Odes of Solomon 11).” [2] (Emphasis mine)
Next, Richard Rust.
“Light symbolism masterfully presents the gospel as essential in the process of leading toward eternal life … The first principle of the gospel, faith, is portrayed in the opening sections of the Book of Mormon as going through mists of darkness (temptations) to reach the tree of life whose fruit is ‘white above all that is white’ (Alma 32:42). Partaking of the fruit is described by Alma as tasting light (Alma 32:35). Tasting the light is not sufficient, though. Alma teaches that this tree of life, or tree of light, must be nourished until it becomes ‘a tree springing up unto everlasting life’ (Alma 32:41).” [3] (Emphasis mine)
[1] Lecture 55: Alma 32-35, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 2, 2011.
[2] Tree of Life, Martin H. Raish, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 2, 2011.
[3] Light: A Masterful Symbol, Richard Dilworth Rust, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 2, 2011.
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