I had an internship during graduate school at a hospital that was near a Costco. For a poor student this was really convenient at lunch time. Since my dad was kind enough to have me on his membership, I was able to head over to Costco during the lunch break, make several quick rounds of all the sample stations, and then head back to work.

Resourcefulness eliminating hangriness.¹

But, you know . . . it was never satisfying.

Sampling or just tasting the items from those stations was never quite filling enough. I guess I could have made a few more rounds, but I didn’t know how to do that without getting the stink eye² from the workers.

Two Groups at the Tree

You may recall in Lehi’s dream that there were two groups that made it to the Tree of Life by holding to the iron rod and by pressing forward along the strait and narrow path.

But the groups had different fates.

The first group is described this way: “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 8:28).

And the second group this way: ” . . . they came forth and fell down and partook of the fruit of the tree” (1 Nephi 8:30). It is implied that this group does not fall away, and I assume their experience was much like Lehi’s when he partook of the fruit: “And as I partook of the fruit thereof it filled my soul with exceedingly great joy” (1 Nephi 8:12).

Both groups partake of the fruit, but in seemingly different ways.

One tastes.

The other is filled.

Tasting Is Not Enough

The group that tastes is the group that notices the mocking of others and becomes ashamed.

The group that is filled doesn’t seem to notice the mocking at all. In fact, Lehi himself doesn’t seem to notice it until he is trying to understand why those who tasted “did cast their eyes about as if they were ashamed”(see 1 Nephi 8:25).

That difference is significant.

Tasting is “to try by eating a little; or to eat a little.”³

Being filled is to be “made full; supplied with abundance.”⁴

Tasting is not enough.

Being filled is what can satiate our souls to the point that the “great and spacious building” loses its power to demand our attention.

What Are We Filling Ourselves With?

So, what is the fruit? What are we filling ourselves with?

Nephi saw that the tree represented the “love of God.” (1 Nephi 11:22)

When we partake of the fruit of the tree, we are partaking of the love of God.

David A. Bednar taught: “The fruit on the tree is a symbol for the blessings of [Jesus Christ’s] Atonement. Partaking of the fruit of the tree represents the receiving of ordinances and covenants whereby the Atonement can become fully efficacious in our lives.”⁵

And that change comes through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The fruit is supposed to change us. It needs to become part of who we are. And that change comes through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

When we eat something, it becomes part of us.

The same should be true when we partake of the fruit of the tree.

Becoming Something

And what does it change us into?

Dallin H. Oaks taught:

“We are challenged to move through a process of conversion toward that status and condition called eternal life. This is achieved not just by doing what is right, but by doing it for the right reason—for the pure love of Christ. The Apostle Paul illustrated this in his famous teaching about the importance of charity. The reason charity never fails and the reason charity is greater than even the most significant acts of goodness he cited is that charity, ‘the pure love of Christ’, is not an act but a condition or state of being.

“Charity is attained through a succession of acts that result in a conversion. Charity is something one becomes. Thus, as Moroni declared, ‘except men shall have charity they cannot inherit’ the place prepared for them in the mansions of the Father.”⁶

The path in Lehi’s dream leads us to what we want to become: like God.

With that, the difference between tasting and being filled seems even more important. The goal is not merely to experience the love of God. It is to be changed by it.

Feasting Along the Path

I wonder if Nephi had all of this in mind when he wrote the following:

“And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.

“Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life” (2 Nephi 31:19-20).

Feasting.

Not sampling.

If we are going to walk that “rigorous, difficult path” and if we are going to “continually hold fast to the rod“, then we need to do more than just taste the fruit when we arrive at the tree.

I Will Be Filled

No more walking from station to station trying just enough to satisfy the hunger while avoiding the stink eye.

No. I want this to become part of me.

I will fall to my knees.

I will partake.

I will be filled.

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1. I know this is not a word, but its parent is in the dictionary. See https://www.dictionary.com/browse/hangry. The phrase “hangry” was first recorded in 1915-1920. Who knew?
2. See https://www.dictionary.com/browse/stink-eye. This one has been around since the 1960s.
3. see Websters Dictionary 1828 https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/taste
4. see Websters Dictionary 1828 https://webstersdictionary1828.com/Dictionary/filled
5. “Lehi’s Dream: Holding Fast to the Rod,” Ensign, Oct. 2011, 34
6. “The Challenge to Become“, General Conference, October 2000