Stay By the Tree

Here in beautiful New Zealand, regularly sprinkled into our everyday missionary responsibilities, meetings, travels, news articles, etc., we are privileged to associate with and be taught by wonderful, inspiring church leaders and teachers. One of these great leader teachers is our Pacific Area President, Elder Kevin W. Pearson. We have developed a great respect and love for him and are fortunate to be taught by him quite frequently. He is a master speaker who can, on a moment’s notice, stand and deliver powerful and knowledgeable testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, the Prophet Joseph Smith and the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Every time we hear him speak we go away inspired and strengthened. (Sister Pearson is also a wonderful speaker and I hope to emulate her skill and testimony someday.)

You might remember Elder Pearson’s talk in General Conference, April 2015, Stay By the Tree, referring to the tree of life in Lehi’s dream. It contains some great one- and two-liners that we were reminded of by our Sacrament meeting speaker last Sunday. And now that we know him and have heard him speak more times, we recognize some familiar themes. Here are some of my favorite lines from his talk:

Two of Satan’s most powerful tools are distraction and deception.

We struggle when we are caught between competing priorities. Casual obedience and lukewarm commitment weaken faith.

Eternal life with our loved ones is sweeter and more desirable that any other thing.

We can fill our lives with accomplishment and well-doing, but in the end, if we do not enter into sacred covenants to follow Christ and faithfully keep them, we will have utterly and completely missed the mark.

Let me be clear: to “hang in there” is not a principle of the gospel. Enduring to the end means constantly coming unto Christ and being perfected in Him.

God’s commandments are strict by not restrictive. They protect us from spiritual and physical danger and prevent us from getting lost.

Tribulation is an inevitable and indispensable part of our eternal progression. When adversity comes, don’t let something you don’t understand unravel everything you do know.

Search the Book of Mormon every day, every day, every day! It’s the key to spiritual survival and avoiding deception. Without it, we are spiritually lost.

Don’t be distracted and deceived. To heed is to give careful attention. Heeding those who do not believe in Christ will not help you find Him. Search #spaciousbuilding for knowledge will not lead you to truth. It’s not posted there. Only the Savior has “the words of eternal life.”

As we yield our hearts to God, the Holy Ghost changes our very natures, we become deeply converted unto the Lord, and we no longer seek the spacious building. If we stop doing those things that bring about deepening conversion, we regress spiritually. Apostasy is the reverse of conversion.

True disciples continue to awaken unto God each day in meaningful personal prayer, earnest scripture study, personal obedience, and selfless service. Stay by the tree.

Our daily discipleship will determine our eternal destiny.

If you are struggling, confused, or spiritually lost, I urge you to do the one thing I know will get you back on track. Begin again to prayerfully study the Book of Mormon and live its teachings every day, every day, every day!

This is Nephi’s promise to you: “And I said unto them…whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.”

I would encourage you to go back and read the entire talk. It is a wonderful guide, a pattern for us to follow if we desire to have the faith and endurance, the testimony and knowledge, the sweetness of peace, joy, and hope in our lives that we are promised as covenant holders in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I add my testimony to that of Elder Pearson’s that the things he has said are true. I pray for each of you that you will recognize the great blessings available to those who are true followers of the Savior, who gave His life that we all might live eternally with Him and with our loved ones. “God bless us, every one” to endure faithfully to the end.

(BTW: Elder Pearson was also Jake Slater’s mission president in the Tacoma Washington Mission.)