* ‘Fruit’

In June my wife, Kathy, and I attended the funeral of Jason Hall. At the time of his passing, he was 48 years old and serving as an elders quorum president.

Here are Jason’s words about an event that changed his life:

“[At age 15] I [was] in a diving accident. … I [broke] my neck and was paralyzed from the chest down. I lost complete control of my legs and partial control of my arms. I could no longer walk, stand, … or feed myself. I could barely breathe or speak.”¹⁴

“‘Dear Father [in Heaven],’ I begged, ‘if I could only have my hands, I know I could make it. Please, Father, please. …

“… ‘Keep my legs, Father; I just [pray for] the use of my hands.’”¹⁵

Jason never received the use of his hands. Can you hear the voices from the spacious building? “Jason Hall, God does not hear your prayers! If God is a loving God, how could He leave you like this? Why have faith in Christ?” Jason Hall heard their voices, but he did not heed them. Instead he feasted upon the fruit of the tree. His faith in Jesus Christ became immovable. He graduated from the university and married Kolette Coleman in the temple, describing her as the love of his life.^16below After 16 years of marriage, another miracle, their precious son, Coleman, was born.

How did they grow their faith? Kolette explained: “We trusted in God’s plan. And it gave us hope. We knew that Jason would [in a future day] be whole. … We knew that God provided us a Savior, whose atoning sacrifice enables us to keep looking forward when we want to give up.”^17below

Speaking at Jason’s funeral, 10-year-old Coleman said his dad taught him: “Heavenly Father [has] a plan for us, earth life would be awesome, and we could live in families. … But … we would have to go through hard things and we would make mistakes.”

Coleman continued: “Heavenly Father sent His Son, Jesus, to earth. His job was to be perfect. To heal people. To love them. And then to suffer for all of our pain, sorrows, and sins. Then He died for us.” Then Coleman added, “Because He did this, Jesus knows how I feel right now.

“Three days after Jesus died, He … came alive again, with His body perfect. This is important to me because I know that … my [dad’s] body will be perfect and we will be together as a family.”

Coleman concluded: “Every night since I was a baby, my dad said to me, ‘Dad loves you, Heavenly Father loves you, and you’re a good boy.’”¹⁸

President Russell M. Nelson described why the Hall family feels joy and hope. He said:

“The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.

“When the focus of our lives is on God’s plan of salvation … and Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening—or not happening—in our lives. Joy comes from and because of Him. He is the source of all joy. …

“If we look to the world … , we will never know joy. … [Joy] is the gift that comes from intentionally trying to live a righteous life, as taught by Jesus Christ.”¹⁹

A Promise as You Return

If you have been without the fruit of the tree for some time, please know that the Savior’s arms are always outstretched to you. He lovingly beckons, “Repent and come unto me.”²⁰ His fruit is plentiful and always in season. It cannot be purchased with money, and no one who honestly desires it is denied.²¹

If you desire to return to the tree and taste the fruit once again, begin by praying to your Heavenly Father. Believe in Jesus Christ and the power of His atoning sacrifice. I promise you that as you look to the Savior “in every thought,”²² the fruit of the tree will be yours once again, delicious to your taste, joyous to your soul, “the greatest of all the gifts of God.”²³

For Elder Anderson’s complete talk click . . . ‘Fruit’

references:

16 & 17: Personal correspondence to Elder Andersen from Kolette Hall.

18: Funeral talk by Coleman Hall, shared with Elder Andersen by Kolette Hall.