In Lehi's vision of the Tree Of Life, he describes four groups of people. There are those who never even make it to the path or the iron rod but wander down forbidden paths and drown in the river of filthy water. There are those who start on the path but when the mists of darkness arise, they let go of the iron rod and are lost. There are those who cling to the iron rod and make it to the tree to taste the fruit but then they hear and give heed to the mocking and scorn of those in the great and spacious building and become ashamed and abandon the tree and its fruit. And then there are those who press forward through the mists of darkness, holding fast continually to the iron rod so that they may partake of the fruit of the Tree of Life and then they give no heed to the comments of those in the great and spacious building. In a similar way, the Savior describes four groups of people in His Parable of the Sower. Some seeds fall by the wayside and are immediately snatched up by birds. Some seeds fall among thorns and are choked. Some seeds fall among stony ground and are scorched by the heat of the sun. And some fall among good soil and bring forth fruit. Both the vision and the parable are describing the same kind of people. Those who never even start on the path or touch the iron rod, which represents the word of God, are like the people represented by the seeds, and the seeds also represent the word of God, that fell by the wayside. In both cases, these people never experienced the word of God. They never planted that seed in their hearts nor did they have the chance to taste the fruit. For the seeds that fell among thorns, the Savior says that the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. Does this not sound like the mists of darkness? And when the mists of darkness - the cares and distractions and temptations of this world - arose, those who started on the path but were lost never got to taste the fruit, or in other words, were unfruitful. And for the seeds that fell among thorny ground, the Savior says that they have no roots compared to the seeds that fell among good soil, and I think that deep root system is a good way of looking at the difference between those in Lehi’s vision who merely clung to the iron rod versus those who held fast continuously to it. The seeds with deep roots could abide the heat of persecution, but those who were merely clinging to the surface gave too much heed to the tribulations and persecutions that arose and became offended and ashamed. Both Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life and Jesus’s Parable of the Sower separately have much to teach us about the word of God and building a testimony and working towards earning and tasting and sharing the fruits of the Spirit, but when we study them together we can learn even more.
