Hold to the Rod, the Iron Rod

[gr8ideas]

1 Nephi 8:30
30 But, to be short in writing, behold, he saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they

came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree.

Question: Must we let go of the Iron Rod and fall on our knees to reach up and partake of the fruit of the tree of Eternal Life?

[awake]

1 Nephi 8:30
30 But, to be short in writing, behold, he saw other multitudes pressing forward; and they came and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press their way forward, continually holding fast to the rod of iron, until they

came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree.

Question: Must we let go of the Iron Rod and fall on our knees to reach up and partake of the fruit of the tree of Eternal Life?

Maybe, once you finally arrive at the tree. But it seems that maybe the fruit was laying on the ground, for ripe fruit does fall to the ground, and that's why they fell down or they were just so exhausted from their pressing forward towards the tree, that they fell down and then were able to enjoy the wonderful refreshment and uplifting and renewing power of the fruit, the love of God.

[marc]

Great observation! It seems to me that if one feels his way toward the tree through the dark and dreary world where mists of darkness blind you, feeling your way forward until there is nothing to hold on to would cause one to momentarily stumble. We truly are feeling are way forward in life, relying upon the Lord and the Holy Ghost to be our guides. And it seems to me that after a life of trials and tribulations, it is natural to collapse with fatigue. Lehi describes the fruit as whiter than anything he has ever seen and it's an interesting observation considering how dark and dreary his surrounding is. I believe the whiteness of the fruit matched the whiteness of Christ and his twelve Nephite disciples when he smiled upon them.

25 And it came to pass that Jesus blessed them as they did pray unto him; and his countenance did smile upon them, and the light of his countenance did shine upon them, and behold they were as white as the countenance and also the garments of Jesus; and behold the whiteness thereof did exceed all the whiteness, yea, even there could be nothing upon earth so white as the whiteness thereof.

[gr8ideas]

I've always had this picture in my mind of kneeling next to the tree with uplifted arms to reach the fruit of eternal life, the fruit of the endowment. What I wonder is if we must let go of the rod to obtain the fruit? The rod being imbued with orthodoxy and restraint which is required to get us to the tree in the first place. Is obtaining Eternal Life itself a leap of faith, after all we must knock because to him that knocks will the Lord open.

[marc]

When the angel explains to Nephi what the tree symbolizes, he explains the condescension of Jesus Christ, His Atonement and His love for us. People arriving at the conclusion of their labors (moving forward, holding to the rod, maybe getting lost and finding their way again), find themselves (kneeling in your case) before the Savior. Throughout life, we experience symbolism, ceremony, ritual ordinances etc with faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, partaking of the sacrament to renew our covenants, receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood by the laying on of hands, and more sacred temple ordinances that lead to our endowments, all of which are very symbolic and ceremonial in nature. By the time we reach the veil, which in and of itself is more symbolism and ceremony, we arrive at the end of our labors to converse with the Second Comforter, "clothed" in righteousness. We have ceremonially been qualified and made pure. When we enter the celestial room, there is nothing more to do. We rest. We reflect on our journey and we rejoice. Everything we do in our church is symbolic and preparatory for the REAL THING. And very few of us literally seek it in THIS life, as much as the Lord has given us this offer and this promise. It might even shed a little more light on His promise in the Bible and other scripture that when we "knock", it shall be opened unto us. Yes, the tree of life is very symbolic.

[gardenerof12]

We read from Nephi:
1 Nephi 11:25 And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God,
Then we read in John:
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
I think that when we cross reference these scriptures with each other, we can see that the Iron Rod is more than just the scriptures, more than the words of the prophets. I think that these two scriptures together show us that Christ Himself is the Iron Rod. That means that when we “cling to the rod” we are clinging to Christ. When the Iron Rod leads us to the Tree of Life, it is Christ Himself who leads us there.
As far as falling down before the tree, our class discussed being humble before God.

[marc]

Very interesting, gardenerof12. The iron rod represents the word of God and the tree represents the love of God. There's so much to absorb in this chapter. It's also interesting to note that Nephi also describes the tree of life as the fountain of living waters. I reread the chapter and a few verses stick out:

8 And it came to pass that the Spirit said unto me: Look! And I looked and beheld a tree; and it was like unto the tree which my father had seen; and the beauty thereof was far beyond, yea, exceeding of all beauty; and the whiteness thereof did exceed the whiteness of the driven snow.

9 And it came to pass after I had seen the tree, I said unto the Spirit: I behold thou hast shown unto me the tree which is precious above all.

10 And he said unto me: What desirest thou?

11 And I said unto him: To know the interpretation thereof—for I spake unto him as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the form of a man; yet nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto me as a man speaketh with another.

12 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look! And I looked as if to look upon him, and I saw him not; for he had gone from before my presence.

13 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the great city of Jerusalem, and also other cities. And I beheld the city of Nazareth; and in the city of Nazareth I beheld a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair and white.

14 And it came to pass that I saw the heavens open; and an angel came down and stood before me; and he said unto me: Nephi, what beholdest thou?

15 And I said unto him: A virgin, most beautiful and fair above all other virgins.

16 And he said unto me: Knowest thou the condescension of God?

17 And I said unto him: I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.

18 And he said unto me: Behold, the virgin whom thou seest is the mother of the Son of God, after the manner of the flesh.

19 And it came to pass that I beheld that she was carried away in the Spirit; and after she had been carried away in the Spirit for the space of a time the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!

20 And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms.

21 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?

22 And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things.

23 And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.

24 And after he had said these words, he said unto me: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Son of God going forth among the children of men; and I saw many fall down at his feet and worship him.

25 And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God, which led to the fountain of living waters, or to the tree of life; which waters are a representation of the love of God; and I also beheld that the tree of life was a representation of the love of God.

26 And the angel said unto me again: Look and behold the condescension of God!

27 And I looked and beheld the Redeemer of the world, of whom my father had spoken; and I also beheld the prophet who should prepare the way before him. And the Lamb of God went forth and was baptized of him; and after he was baptized, I beheld the heavens open, and the Holy Ghost come down out of heaven and abide upon him in the form of a dove.

28 And I beheld that he went forth ministering unto the people, in power and great glory; and the multitudes were gathered together to hear him; and I beheld that they cast him out from among them.

29 And I also beheld twelve others following him. And it came to pass that they were carried away in the Spirit from before my face, and I saw them not.

30 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the heavens open again, and I saw angels descending upon the children of men; and they did minister unto them.

31 And he spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked, and I beheld the Lamb of God going forth among the children of men. And I beheld multitudes of people who were sick, and who were afflicted with all manner of diseases, and with devils and unclean spirits; and the angel spake and showed all these things unto me. And they were healed by the power of the Lamb of God; and the devils and the unclean spirits were cast out.

32 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the world; and I saw and bear record.

33 And I, Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the world.

[Rand]

We read from Nephi:
1 Nephi 11:25 And it came to pass that I beheld that the rod of iron, which my father had seen, was the word of God,
Then we read in John:
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
I think that when we cross reference these scriptures with each other, we can see that the Iron Rod is more than just the scriptures, more than the words of the prophets. I think that these two scriptures together show us that Christ Himself is the Iron Rod. That means that when we “cling to the rod” we are clinging to Christ. When the Iron Rod leads us to the Tree of Life, it is Christ Himself who leads us there.
As far as falling down before the tree, our class discussed being humble before God.

I have pondered on this for some time. I agree Garderof12, the Word is indeed Christ.

So what in the Modern Church is the equivalent of partaking of the Fruit of the Tree?
I think it is participating in the Temple ordinances.

[Elizabeth]

The Lord holds forth a glorious promise to those who love him and demonstrate this love by faithful, devoted service and the living of his eternal principles. When the winds of change blow fiercely and the waves sweep over us, we have a tree or rod of principle to which we can cling for safety. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ which has been restored to the earth in its fulness.

May the Lord bless us, each one, to hold fast to the iron rod, I humbly pray, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
PRESIDENT SPENCER W. KIMBALL

[Elizabeth]

The Iron Rod, no. 274

1. To Nephi, seer of olden time,
A vision came from God,
Wherein the holy word sublime
Was shown an iron rod.

[Chorus]
Hold to the rod, the iron rod;
’Tis strong, and bright, and true.
The iron rod is the word of God;
’Twill safely guide us through.

2. While on our journey here below,
Beneath temptation’s pow’r,
Through mists of darkness we must go,
In peril ev’ry hour.

3. And when temptation’s pow’r is nigh,
Our pathway clouded o’er,
Upon the rod we can rely,
And heaven’s aid implore.

4. And, hand o’er hand, the rod along,
Through each succeeding day,
With earnest prayer and hopeful song,
We’ll still pursue our way.

5. Afar we see the golden rest
To which the rod will guide,
Where, with the angels bright and blest,
Forever we’ll abide.

Text: Joseph L. Townsend, 1849–1942
Music: William Clayson, 1840–1887
1 Nephi 15:23–25
1 Nephi 8; 1 Nephi 12:17

[marc]

Someone once told me that all of first Nephi is an endowment.

[SpeedRacer]

The doctine is clear. The iron rod is the word of God. All of it. Scriptures, General Conference, and every revelation you have personally recieved. So yes, it is the words of Christ, leading you to him. Look closely at the interchangeability of the tree and fountain of all righteousness in the explanation. It happens once. The tree is Christ. He is literally leading you to Himself.

The notion that you can let go of the rod to get to Christ should be dropped. You should only make your grasp firmer by fully embracing all forms of the word of God.

[Gad]

I think the meaning of the verse is clear. You hold to the scriptures which lead you to Christ (the Second Comforter) . When you come into His presence you cannot stand (at least initially) in which case you let go of the scriptures fall down before Him until He helps you to stand up and partake.

The fruit of the Tree in the modern church is the same as it always has been for everyone. If you want to be in the same place as Nephi, Lehi, Abraham, etc you must do and experience what they did in their life.

[SpeedRacer]

I think the meaning of the verse is clear. You hold to the scriptures which lead you to Christ (the Second Comforter) . When you come into His presence you cannot stand (at least initially) in which case you let go of the scriptures fall down before Him until He helps you to stand up and partake.

The fruit of the Tree in the modern church is the same as it always has been for everyone. If you want to be in the same place as Nephi, Lehi, Abraham, etc you must do and experience what they did in their life.

The interpretation given does not say the rod is the scriptures. That is man's interpretation. It says the word of God. I love the rest of your post though.

[Gad]

I think the meaning of the verse is clear. You hold to the scriptures which lead you to Christ (the Second Comforter) . When you come into His presence you cannot stand (at least initially) in which case you let go of the scriptures fall down before Him until He helps you to stand up and partake.

The fruit of the Tree in the modern church is the same as it always has been for everyone. If you want to be in the same place as Nephi, Lehi, Abraham, etc you must do and experience what they did in their life.

The interpretation given does not say the rod is the scriptures. That is man's interpretation. It says the word of God. I love the rest of your post though.

I agree with you that the word is more than the scriptures. In my own notes I put the word of god as including scriptures, personal revelations, words of angels, words of true messengers.

EDIT - There are probably more.