Small Beginnings, Exponential Growth

     Jesus gave a parable comparing the beginning of his kingdom to a tiny mustard seed. That individual seed was so small and common that it seemed to be worthless. Its minuscule proportions were even more exaggerated when it was sown in a field.  But, it grew.  In fact, it grew so large that Matthew recorded it became a tree (Matthew 13:31-32). Luke said "it grew, and waxed a great tree" (Luke 13:19). Its growth was so significant that birds could rest among its branches and find shelter beneath them. Like Jesus's mustard plant, his kingdom would experience exponential growth. It would become a powerful force. Wilford Woodruff prophesied, "it will fill the world" (TPC: Joseph Smith, 137). Today, we see those prophecies being fulfilled. The gospel of Jesus Christ is spreading across every corner of the earth.

Mustard Seed

Fig and First

•      Fig are the first plants mentioned by name in the Bible. After Adam and Eve ate fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, "the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons" (Gen. 3:7).  By this we know that fig trees grew in the Garden of Eden. A unique feature of fig is that their rich green, palm-shaped leaves emerge in late spring or early summer, well after its fruit is already maturing. 

Fig leaf. #7734. Taken in Jerusalem May 2014. (Gen. 3:7).