The quaking trees are a good 15 feet high now - standing as a testament to, and a fulfillment of, the faith of a 5-year-old boy.
That boy is now, somehow, a good 6 feet tall - standing as a testament to the notion that faith isn't something that's only for children.Nine years ago, those twig-thin quakies were, at best, 3 feet tall. Undaunted by their frail appearance, the 5-year-old planted the trees, with just a little help from a patient father. As they dug the holes, added fertilizer and water and gently placed the saplings into the earth, Dad talked about faith.
"Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, have organized this world in a very special way. They have provided everything we need - physically and spiritually - to live. They have allowed the good earth to provide much of what we need - if we will till and cultivate it as they have directed."
Cultivating that earth provides wonderful lessons about faith.
Dad continued.
"Why," the unbeliever might logically ask, "would something grow just because you stuck it in the ground?"
"I don't know," the believer might faithfully reply, "but the Lord has so said; therefore I will pursue that course."
Given his son's age, Dad knew the 5-year-old would lack first-hand experience with planting and reaping.
But he would equally likely have faith, even the faith of a child.
And so, he would plant.
And as the boy received the same tender nurturing from loving parents that he in turn provided for the young trees, both grew. One physically. One spiritually.
"And behold, as the tree beginneth to grow, ye will say: Let us nourish it with great care, that it may get root, that it may grow up and bring forth fruit unto us. And now behold, if you nourish it with much care it will get root, and grow up, and bring forth fruit.
"But if ye will nourish the word, yea, nourish the tree as it beginneth to grow, by your faith with great diligence, and with patience, looking forward to the fruit thereof, it shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree springing up unto everlasting life." (Alma 32:37,41.)
Over the years, the trees were very much a part of the father's and son's lives. They provided shade for outdoor gatherings. During a particularly dry summer, the boy, then 10 years old, took responsibility for keeping the trees watered. And while the trees sometimes made mowing the surrounding lawn a little more challenging, they were never unwelcome.
During that same time, no one seems to consciously realize that the trees had, in fact, grown. The father took it for granted. And the son, now seasoned with 10 or 12 years of life's experience, just assumed it would always be so.
But the two never forgot the trees. And in fleeting - and staying - moments of pondering and thought, the trees were indeed a testament to faith - the simple faith to follow, and to believe, that the earth - and everything else under the Lord's direction - will obey His commands and provide as He has promised.
In short, when we exercise faith to do what He says, the Lord is, in fact, bound. His promise is sure. (See D&C 82:10)
Many years earlier, before his son was even born, the father, then serving as a bishop, looked over the congregation of his ward and thought to himself, "The greatest need the members of this ward have is to repent." This was much less a condemnation than an affirmation that repentance allows each of us to change and improve - and that it is a vital tool for all of God's children.
But as the bishop again sat in front of the ward some weeks later, the inspired thought came: "The greatest need for the members of this ward is to have faith - that which precedes repentance."
Over the years, those quakie trees have reminded the father of this and many other faith-centered experiences, and that faith is a term of action that, when applied with conscious specificity, moves us ever closer to God.