I have always loved, loved, loved Alma 32 from the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ. That’s because it describes the most important experiment anyone could ever do. That’s the “experiment upon the word.” That means planting the word of God, the scriptures, into one’s heart, praying about it, asking God if it’s true, then acting on it. I just love Alma’s metaphor because it pairs perfectly with Lehi’s vision of the Tree of Life. The seed is the word, and when planted in receptive soil, it grows into a testimony tree, whose fruit is the love of God. The fruit is such an apt symbol because what makes fruit is that it has seeds. It’s just so splendid that fruit represents love, because what else do we want to propagate more with seeds, than love?

Brother Jared Halverson has so many insights into Alma 32 and this experiment in the videos below. One of my favorites is where he says that when people say “The Church isn’t true,” he asks if they have been true to the Church. He points out that it wouldn’t be smart to say “The gym isn’t true,” if someone hasn’t been going to the gym. The gym works for the person if the person works out at it. The Church works for people if they work at it.

I love the acronym he gives to help us remember how this “experiment upon the word” will unfold:

S= Swell

E= Expand

E=Enlighten

D=Delicious

It’s just so beautiful to experience this process and have in the end something so delicious from Jesus: a knowledge of Him, a love of Him, and an increased sense of love from Him. He always loves us, unconditionally, but it is easier to FEEL His love when one has a testimony of Him. The seed, the word of God, grows in your heart to become like a portable tree, growing deep inside you, that gives you everything symbolically that a tree gives: nourishment, shelter, shade, and beauty. I love that Jared connects the knowledge that comes from a testimony with a desire to go forth and do good.