The Tree of Life

[BagleyDarwin]

The Tree of Life:

There are two trees that are talked about in the Garden of Eden. There is the Tree of Life; and, there is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

If he is willing, I need “Kingdom of ZION” on LDS Freedom Forum to explain to me more fully what he knows about the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, because I haven't spent much time studying or learning about that tree.

I do know (or at least believe) that the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil had the power or ability to remove the “spirit fluid” or “spirit matter” from the veins of Adam and Eve and replace that spirit fluid with blood. Blood is what makes us mortal. If we study the characteristics of blood, we see that blood cells die. As mortal beings, we have tiny living organisms (blood cells) in our veins that are born and that eventually die. Likewise, we are born and eventually die, because we have blood in our veins. There's a tiny bit of spirit or life in each blood cell, but the blood cells were designed to die.

During the resurrection from the dead, when God replaces the blood in our veins with “spirit fluid” or “spirit matter” or “spirit cells”, we will at that time become immortal and unable to die. The Gods are the source of this spirit fluid, because they can see and touch the stuff, and because they control the reservoirs of it, and because it runs within their veins.

In continuation, the Gods have and “Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden” had spirit fluid or spirit matter running through their veins. The spirit matter is malleable and can be used to build stuff such as “spirit cells” and “spirit bodies”, but the spirit matter is eternal or co-eternal with God. It's the spirit matter in the veins or the spirit fluid in the veins that makes them immortal because spirit matter is eternal in nature. It is my personal belief that Heavenly Mother uses the spirit matter or spirit fluid in her veins to construct spirit bodies (or spirit children) in her womb; then Heavenly Father puts “the spark” or “the spark of life” or the light, truth, and Intelligence into each spirit body and that spirit body then becomes a living soul or a living entity, what most people simply call a “spirit”. Heavenly Mother is the source and the birth of the spirit body; and, Heavenly Father is the source of the “seed”, or the spark, or the spirit matter, or the Intelligence that goes into the spirit body and gives the spirit body life. We call it many different things, but Heavenly Father is the source of the “spark of life” or seed or Intelligence that make inert spirit bodies come alive.

So, what does this have to do with the Tree of Life?

First let me start by defining “element” or physical matter. When it comes to physical matter, the matter that we can see and detect with our physical instruments, Joseph Smith and the LDS General Authorities have taken to calling this stuff “element”. When it comes to physical matter, think of the elements on the periodic table in chemistry for an example of what I am talking about. “Element” or physical matter is different than “spirit matter” in that the elements can be seen or detected with physical eyes or the natural man, and spirit matter is more pure or refined and cannot be seen by the natural man. “Spirit matter” requires spiritual eyes or spirituality to be seen. Element or physical matter can be seen or detected with our physical instruments, and spirit matter cannot.

It is my personal contention that our resurrected Lord Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith, and the LDS General Authorities are in complete harmony with Official LDS Church Doctrine. The problem comes in the fact that we Latter-day Saints often use different vocabulary and different interpretations than the ones they use, which creates a great deal of confusion.

So, what does all this have to do with the Tree of Life?

The physical construct of the Tree of Life is composed of “element” or what we typically call physical matter in the scientific community. Just like any other tree, the Tree of Life is comprised of physical cells that give it its bulk or its presence. In other words, the Tree of Life can be seen with physical eyes, touched with physical hands, and detected with physical instruments, because it is comprised of element or physical matter. The fruit of the Tree of Life is built with physical elements. The fruit of the Tree of Life can be eaten by physical bodies and used to help a physical body to live and grow.

Now, it was revealed to me or it came to me as insight that within the Tree of Life, instead of having sap running up through its bark, the Tree of Life has “spirit fluid” or “spirit matter” or “spirit cells” running up through its “veins” and into its fruit. Sap (tree blood) is what makes a tree mortal. In contrast, the Trees of Life have spirit fluid running up through their veins or bark making them immortal. The fruit of the Tree of Life is filled with “spirit juices” or spirit matter or spirit fluid, and it is good. It is the most good fruit.

So, what happens when Heavenly Mother eats of the fruit of the Tree of Life? Well, the physical elements in the Tree of Life are used to replenish any physical elements that she might need replenished. The spirit matter or the spirit fluid or spirit juices from the fruit of the Tree of Life goes into her veins to replenish any spirit fluid that she looses or uses while creating spirit bodies for her children. I believe that's the way it works. It fits with the Official LDS Church Doctrine that I have read.

In the Book of Mormon, what does the Tree of Life represent? It represents the Love of God. When Nephi was shown the representation of the “Love of God” or the “Tree of Life”, Nephi was shown Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. It is Heavenly Mother's love (or spirit matter or spirit fluid) that is used to construct and sustain the spirit bodies of her children. The angel did NOT show Nephi a father or the Father when depicting the Tree of Life or the Love of God. The angel showed Nephi a mother, Mary the mother of Jesus Christ, as the interpretation for the Tree of Life and the Love of God. I personally find that significant.

I believe that the Tree of Life is a direct representation of Heavenly Mother and symbolizes Heavenly Mother and her function in the plan. After spirits (spirit bodies) are born from Heavenly Mother, I believe that it is her love that feeds them and makes them grow. She radiates this love or spirit matter. The Tree of Life or Heavenly Mother is the love of God or in this case the love of the Goddess; but, since the Gods (when they finally become Gods) are a married or sealed male and female couple, the Love of God applies equally to both. When it comes to the Gods, the male God cannot receive a fulness or produce a fulness without the female Goddess, and vice versa. Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother radiate “spirit matter” or love, and that love feeds their spirit children and makes their spirit children grow, both literally and metaphorically. Love is spirit food or spiritual food, and that love radiates out of Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother.

In summary, the Love of God (or the Love of Heavenly Mother and Heavenly Father) is spirit food or spiritual food. The Gods radiate love or spirit matter, and it feeds their children and helps their spirit children to thrive and grow. When the Gods need replenishment of either physical matter or spirit matter, they go to the Trees of Life and eat the fruit to get it. Thus, the Tree of Life becomes a representation or a symbol of the Gods and the “Love of God”, because the Tree of Life is a source of replenishment for any spirit matter (or love) that the Gods and Goddesses might radiate, use, or lose while producing and raising their spirit children. What is running in the veins of the Tree of Life? It is spirit matter or the “Love of God”, the same “spirit matter” or “love” that Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother radiate to feed their children and help them to grow. It works literally, and it works metaphorically. It works, and the Gods know how it works. We might not understand it all, but they do.

As of today, this is how I visualize it all working in the pre-mortal realms. My beliefs might change as further light and knowledge come my way; but, this is how I see it now.

Darwin Bagley

30MAY2014 Version

[dauser]

Lehi is partaking of the fruit of the Tree Of Life which is white and most delicious to the taste.

Across the river/divide we see a great and spacious building with no foundation, lifted up, full of proud well dressed people symbolizing Telestial power and authority, pointing the finger of scorn.

Like flies to a corpse, the inhabitants of the earth are attracted to The Great And Spacious Buildings. (Full of the saving power of Government education, Government Assistance, Doctorcraft, Pharmacraft, Lawyercraft, Priestcraft, Porncraft, Kingcraft).

The great and spacious building at the center of any Telestial community, is not the home, it is not the church, It is not the temple, it is The Anti-Temple, The Bank and it's control over the money, government, media, school (eduction) and all they make popular.

Lehi is partaking of The Sacrament, taking THE NAME of Jesus Christ, which is most white and most precious....The Sacrament trumps Great And Spacious Stench.

[BagleyDarwin]

Sounds like a good theory....makes sense in some places....but how did you come to your conclusion?

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I came to my conclusions by reading lots and lots of written material from the LDS First Presidency, the LDS General Authorities, Joseph Smith's revelations, and input from other Latter-day Saints:

LDS Quotes:
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=33106#p485729" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The Two Trees by Valerie Hudson:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1f1M_JVbZw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Of course, I would like to hear other theories as to how it really works or as to how others think it works, which is why I posted it here. I'm open to input.

Darwin Bagley

[davedan]

If the Tree of Kowledge of Good and Evil had any literal physical effects, it may habe caused Adam and Eve's cells to begin to divide.

1. Each division shortens telomers (Chromosomal ends). When the telomers get short enough the cells stop dividing (senescence) resulting in decreased organ dysfunction, eventual organ failure and death. (like a timer).

2. You cannot produce blood cells from the marrow without cell division.

3. You cannot produce gametes and procreate without cell division.

Cell division may have started the death clock. However, I cant say how physiology would have worked before cell division.

[BagleyDarwin]

If the Tree of Kowledge of Good and Evil had any literal physical effects, it may habe caused Adam and Eve's cells to begin to divide.

1. Each division shortens telomers (Chromosomal ends). When the telomers get short enough the cells stop dividing (senescence) resulting in decreased organ dysfunction, eventual organ failure and death. (like a timer).

2. You cannot produce blood cells from the marrow without cell division.

3. You cannot produce gametes and procreate without cell division.

Cell division may have started the death clock. However, I cant say how physiology would have worked before cell division.

Excellent! Thank you.

I never thought about it in those terms before.

One thing that I did notice (from John Pratt's calendars) is that there seems to have been a delay between the partaking of the forbidden fruit and the expulsion from Eden or the official start of mortality, possibly up to three years. The effects of the fruit were not instantaneous and it took awhile for their mortality to kick in. Apocryphal writings say that Adam was very sick and near death when he left Eden -- I was given the impression that Eve had to carry him out. Three years is a long time to have a tummy ache or dysentery. Its interesting to note that Eve seemed to handle the effects of the forbidden fruit better than Adam did, again making it clear that women are designed to be more durable than men are. Men tend to burn hotter or brighter and thus burn out quicker. Women tend to set a better and more realistic pace. Women are also a lot tougher than they look.

http://www.johnpratt.com/items/docs/lds/dates.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Ashes to ashes, and dust to dust.
It's all starting to make my innards rust.

Darwin Bagley

[Louisianamama]

As a young woman the lesson of tree of life seemed to tie into holding to the rod. They gave us a little iron rod engraved "hold to the rod". It meant a lot to me for years I remembered those little lessons. I've looked for the rod, to give out as I was covered the subjects during primary and couldn't find them online. One more reason living inside Utah makes things a bit easier with lessons.

[soloheart]

Max Skousen's sees there are 4 levels of Gospel: first 2 are related to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the last 2 levels are related to the Tree of Life. Here are 3 of 4 volumes:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Vf2 ... sp=sharing

[BagleyDarwin]

Max Skousen's sees there are 4 levels of Gospel: first 2 are related to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the last 2 levels are related to the Tree of Life. Here are 3 of 4 volumes:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Vf2 ... sp=sharing

"How to Grow the Tree of Life in Your Heart" by Max Skousen.

Thank you.

Be sure to report back here if they ever put up his Fourth book.

[JaredAlmond]

Max Skousen's sees there are 4 levels of Gospel: first 2 are related to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and the last 2 levels are related to the Tree of Life. Here are 3 of 4 volumes:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Vf2 ... sp=sharing

"How to Grow the Tree of Life in Your Heart" by Max Skousen.

Thank you.

Be sure to report back here if they ever put up his Fourth book.

The tree of life in your heart might be the most important tree to find. It also is, in my opinion, where the "Tree" is found.

[jimmyd]

I believe the Tree of Life is nothing more than the Light of Christ. It is in all things through all things and of all things. Pure Intelligence. It is not a fruit we literally eat. It is a "Fruit" we ultimately must, "Become" It is really what we ARE, what we Become, to be ONE with Christ and the Father... It is (the Tree of Life) within each and every one of us to varying degrees. As the DnC says. Whatever degree of Intelligence, ( Light and Truth, Pure Love of Christ ) we attain unto in this life. It will rise with us in the Resurrection. The more we possess of IT, the greater the advantage we will have in the life to come...
Adam and Eve were born in the same manner we are born. There is no other way that Adam came to be. Or Eve.