The Book of Mormon Prophet Lehi is perhaps best known for his vision of the Tree of Life and the Great and Spacious building.
Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw?
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.
And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.
1 Nephi 11:21-23
Many Latter-day Saints mistakenly believe that the tree and its fruit represent the Church. This is not completely incorrect, but it is far too narrow an interpretation. The love of God extends far beyond the membership of the LDS Church.
The mocking majority
And I also cast my eyes round about, and beheld, on the other side of the river of water, a great and spacious building; and it stood as it were in the air, high above the earth.
And it was filled with people, both old and young, both male and female; and their manner of dress was exceedingly fine; and they were in the attitude of mocking and pointing their fingers towards those who had come at and were partaking of the fruit.
And after they had tasted of the fruit they were ashamed, because of those that were scoffing at them; and they fell away into forbidden paths and were lost.
1 Nephi 8:26-28
Mocking (adjective) – making fun of someone or something in a cruel way; derisive.
Oxford Languages
It is a mistake to assume that the people in the building who were mocking those near the tree of life were not members of the church. Both Matthew and Mark recorded that the “chief priests” were mocking Christ as he hung on the cross (Matthew 27:41-42, Mark 15:31).
The building
The characteristics of this building were:
- It was large and spacious.
- It was full of people of all ages, male and female.
- It was “in the air.” This means that it was literally without a foundation.
The characteristics of the people in the building were:
- They wore “exceedingly fine” clothing.
- Their attitude was one of “mocking and pointing fingers” and “scoffing” at those who followed the truth.
Nephi tells us that the building represents the “vain imaginations and the pride of the children of men” (1 Nephi 12:18).
The “multitude of the earth”
And the multitude of the earth was gathered together; and I beheld that they were in a large and spacious building, like unto the building which my father saw. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Behold the world and the wisdom thereof; yea, behold the house of Israel hath gathered together to fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
1 Nephi 11:35
Most of the people on the Earth were in the building. They did not have the word of God (the iron rod) and they did not seek the love of God (the tree). They DID, however, value fine clothing. This indicates that they prioritized the possession of material things.
It is important to note that many of the people in the building, who were deceived by the wisdom of the world, were of the “house of Israel.”
History has shown that not long after the rebellious children of Israel crucified their deliverer, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Second Temple. The people’s pride and “worldly wisdom” had made them unable to recognize Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah.
People have not changed
And it came to pass that I saw and bear record, that the great and spacious building was the pride of the world; and it fell, and the fall thereof was exceedingly great. And the angel of the Lord spake unto me again, saying: Thus shall be the destruction of all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, that shall fight against the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
1 Nephi 11:36
Since the tree on one side of the river represents the love of God, the building on the other side represents the love of self. Self-centered pride is still the natural state of most people and, without repentance, it will once again lead us to destruction.
As for the “mocking” part, have you ever watched or listened to right-wing media? All they do is jeer at and denigrate people and organizations who try to do good and help people. Right-wing media is clearly fighting against God because they promote anger, outrage, disgruntlement, racism, sexism, materialism, and self-righteousness. People who truly have the love of God love everyone, everywhere, without precondition – as He does.
FauxNews has never promoted brotherly love. It doesn’t fit their business model. As for their audience – any person who calls mainstream news “fake” and refuses to listen to anything but self-reinforcing propaganda is stubbornly proud and mistakes his ignorance for knowledge.
The Saints are in danger
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 16:18-19
Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.
As in the days of Lehi before the Babylonian exile, as in the days of Christ before the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, the members of the Church of Jesus Christ are misplacing their allegiances and letting their pride blind them.
Today, many American Latter-day Saints have abandoned the tree of life and are looking down on the poor, the needy, the sick, and the elderly, from comfortable perches in the great and spacious building.
Thanks for the thought-provoking article. Pride is something I think is easy to see when we are one on one with a person but it’s much harder to see in a larger group or in how we think or how we put our thoughts into practice. We will probably help our neighbor who lives next door but what about the Immigrant from Honduras stranded on the border? I could give a lot more examples. I think in the eyes of the Lord though it’s important how we act both in person with our neighbors but also in more theoretical positions like how we vote or who we support in the political realm.
Thank you for this Insight today….I hope to share it with my friends and family who are planning to vote for Trump. I just read The Politically Homeless Christian by Aaron Schafer, who is not LDS, (available on Amazon). He mentioned very similar themes, but of course, not the version of the Tree of Life that is in LDS scripture. He instead talks about how many Christians have completely forgotten the two greatest commandments…To Love God and your neighbor as yourself (you can’t just love God…if you love God, then you love your neighbor too). He also delves into the Biblical scriptures about helping the foreigner and the poor and needy which is of course loving your neighbor because all of these are our neighbors.
“Accumulate Accumulate This is Moses and the Prophets.” K. Marx
The sheer size of the Ensign Peak Advisors hedge fund suggests we believe the preeminent virtue is material wealth accumulation.
It’s much harder to see mocking when those that are being mocked are seen as enemies. The latest is mocking “grumpy old men.” The two men mentioned are candidates being mocked by a political rival. At first I laughed because it rang true. Now I see it as mocking, true or not. The phrase does carry political weight and that was why it was chosen as a tactic.
Today’s “Great and Spacious Building” is full of modern MAGA cowards, including some who claim membership in our church. But patriotic Americans and LDS believers must not forget one of the most dangerous and sad days in U.S. history, the Jan. 6 assault on our once-sacred U.S. Capitol. We should work to ensure that DJT can’t ever run again by defeating him and his comrades this November.
I’ve protested Trump in mass marches when I was in DC to speak at conferences or train government officials, etc., at least once for each of his four terrible, hateful, dangerous, lying years as he soiled our formerly beautiful White House with his criminality.
All committed Latter-day Saints and believers in the Constitution should demand that the QAnon criminals be imprisoned to stay for a long time. There is no justice for DJT not being in jail today. His corrupt and spacious building of Mar-a-Lago needs to be plowed into the sea. It’s impossible for any faithful LDS member or patriotic American to ever vote for Trump. God save America from the disgraced fascist.