A few years ago, I attended a week-long high adventure camp as an advisor to the young men of my congregation. The week was full of a variety of activities from ziplining to hiking to canoeing and many more.

One activity was an obstacle course. The objective was to be timed, figure out which obstacle was your most challenging, improve on that one obstacle and then improve your overall time.

The obstacle course had a rope swing. This rope swing was my undoing. As I jumped and grabbed a hold of the swing, my grip was too low and loose. The rope turned past 180 degrees and headed back to the tree. Right before I arrived back at the landing I could feel that I was barely hanging on; that is when my hands slipped and I fell into a gulch below. I got up, hoping no one heard me swear, and realized that the pop I heard was me.

This was clearly going to be defined as my most challenging obstacle now–the one I needed to work on. I really was in pain (I would find out the next week from the orthopedic surgeon that I had torn some ligaments across the top of my foot).

But, not willing to be defeated by the rope swing, and wanting to show these young men what it means to get up after you fall and not quit (and that I was not really that awkward), I committed to ride the rope swing again. This time, I was holding on for my life–there was no way I would have anything less than the grip it would take to successfully swing over the edge and back to the landing.

The second attempt was successful despite the injured foot.

In Lehi’s dream of the Tree of Life, he notices four groups of people in various stages of their journey—only two of the groups make it to the tree, and they both only make it there by holding to the rod of iron.

In the account, both “catch hold of the end of the rod of iron” (read more: The End of the Rod of Iron). And both groups only grab a hold of the end of the rod of iron after “pressing forward”. So, it takes effort to get to the end of the rod and then more effort to get to the tree once you have caught hold of the end of the rod.

Maybe the fact that we have to press forward to just get to the end of the rod signifies that it takes time and effort to find the word of God and get a testimony of it. The other groups that start on the path never catch hold of the iron rod, which suggests they never accept the word of God or have a testimony of it. Conversely, the two groups that start on the path catch the end of the rod after some effort, implying that they accept the word of God.

But catching hold of that end is not an end at all, but rather the beginning of a different part of the journey on the strait and narrow path that leads to the tree of life; similarly, accepting the word of God alone is not enough to save us.

As they move along the path, those that catch the end of the rod press forward “clinging” (1 Nephi 8:24) or “continually holding fast” (1 Nephi 8:30) to the rod. The rod has become integral to their journey–in fact, crucial to their survival.

But why this difference between “clinging” and “continually holding fast”?

Maybe its the difference between the grip that will help us swing all the way around to our destination and the grip that will increase our chance of slipping and falling before we can land safely. Maybe “continually holding fast” reflects how determined we are to reach the landing.

David A. Bednar explained:

“Clinging to the rod of iron suggests to me only occasional ‘bursts‘ of study or irregular dipping rather than consistent, ongoing immersion in the word of God . . .

“What, then, is the difference between clinging and holding fast to the rod of iron? Let me suggest that holding fast to the iron rod entails, in large measure, the prayerful, consistent, and earnest use of the holy scriptures as a sure source of revealed truth and as a reliable guide for the journey along the strait and narrow path to the tree of life—even to the Lord Jesus Christ.”¹

Interestingly, both groups successfully walk the path, both catch hold of the rod of iron, and both partake of the fruit. But only one of the groups is not lost. Read “Tasting vs. Being Filled: The Fruit in Lehi’s Dream“.

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1. “Lehi’s Dream: Holding Fast to the Rod“, David A. Bednar, Ensign, October 2011