15 And to bring about his eternal purposes in the end of man, after he had created our first parents, and the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and in fine, all things which are created, it must needs be that there was an opposition; even the forbidden fruit in opposition to the tree of life; the one being sweet and the other bitter.
One thing about God of which I am completely convinced is
that He takes the eternal perspective on everything. He seems to be absolutely
focused on “the end of man,” in our case, and not so worried about our
day-to-day inconveniences and trials. When I say that, I don’t mean He doesn’t
care about them, because he does love and care about us. Otherwise our prayers
for daily blessings would be left unanswered. What I mean by the eternal
perspective is that these daily concerns are considered in light of how they will
prepare us for our eternal reward. That’s why the Lord could tell Joseph Smith
that his adversity and affliction would be, “but a small moment,” when he was
held in horrible conditions in Liberty Jail for about six months. I’m sure to
Joseph and those held with him this did not seem like a “small moment,” but to
the Lord, forever more concerned with “his eternal
purpose in the end of man,” this was a chance to see if Joseph would “endure it
well,” and if so, “God shall exalt thee on high” (D&C 121: 7–8). God’s work
and glory is “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man,” not
the momentary ease and comfort of man (see Moses 1:39).
So day-to-day trials are only really important if they affect
our eternal status. If it were not for this long view of life there would be
little real purpose for our lives here on earth. If there is no eternal reward
our sufferings are pointless. When we take the long view like God does, then
our day-to-day trials and temptations come into perspective, and we see them
for what they are: a chance to prove ourselves worthy of exaltation. Paul
recognized this when he said, “…the sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:
18). In order for us to make sense of our trials we have to adopt this long
view that the end is worth the process of getting there. It is the purpose of
opposition.
How could we prove ourselves worthy without opposition? We
can’t. It’s a bit like an athlete who wants to produce a highlight film to show
he is worthy of getting signed by a team. He won’t include too much of the
routine, easy plays he makes, but rather the ones he makes against greater
odds. In other words, against greater opposition, when the chances of failure are
greater. Sometimes that opposition comes from other players, and most often the
opposition comes from himself. Spiritually we are not that different. We are
often our own worst enemies. Keeping the long view in mind, the “eternal
purposes in the end of man,” helps us deal with the day-to-day setbacks.
Lehi teaches that after all things (plants, animals, etc) had
been created God needed to provide opposition, a chance for Adam and Eve to
exercise their agency. That seems to be the main purpose for providing the Tree
of Life and its opposite, the forbidden fruit. I think the Lord could have
given any other commandment and accomplished the same end. For example, he
could have just as easily told them to not enter this meadow, or don’t swim in
that lake. It still would have provided a commandment to break (although not
one that also provided the symbolism of consuming or internalizing the
commandments). So I don’t know if there was anything special about the species
of tree that would make it provide knowledge of good and evil, but at least the
act of breaking a commandment gave that knowledge. So I don’t think it matters
whether the trees were literal or figurative. What matters to me is not what
form the choice took, but that Adam and Eve were given a choice. The Tree of
Life, representing God’s love, is a fitting opposite to the forbidden fruit,
symbolically if not literally.
- Genesis 2: 17 (16–17)
- Isaiah 45: 18 (17–18)
- Matthew 5: 48
- Romans 8: 17 (14–21)
- 1 Nephi 15: 36 (22, 28, 36)
- Mosiah 3: 26
- Alma 12: 22 (21–23)
- Alma 12: 26
- Alma 32: 40
- D&C 29: 43 (42–44)
- Moses 1: 31, 39
- Moses 3: 17
