Rooted in Covenants and Reaching Out to Others

By Anne Maxson

Near the women’s initiatory desk in the Meridian, Idaho temple, there is a beautiful painting of Mary and Elizabeth. It is a scene from their time together in Luke 1. Mary is seated and Elizabeth is kneeling in front of her. Arms outstretched, they are holding hands. Both are smiling as they look at each other. It is one of my favorite paintings to ponder. 

I love the perspective of two women, reaching out, supporting, encouraging, and loving one another as they find strength in their common divine identity as well as the recognition of their specific divine missions. 

Our family visited Redwood National Forest in Northern California a few years ago. While there, we learned that the Redwood trees have a very unique strength. The trees can grow to over 300 feet tall and weigh more than one million pounds. As if the height and weight weren’t enough of a challenge to stay upright, being located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, they have to endure fierce winds that blow and blow and blow. 

Thinking about it from a physics perspective, you would think they would have a very deep root system to support their height and weight and to keep steady in the winds. However, it turns out that their root systems are extremely shallow compared to their height - only about three to six feet. How does that work? Though shallow, their root systems can stretch out for hundreds of feet. More importantly, they intertwine their roots with those of neighboring trees. They find their strength to stand tall and strong in the face of the buffeting winds through an interconnected web of strength from each other. 

Similarly, we can provide and receive strength from each other as we reach out in love and encouragement to those around us. We can work to strengthen our roots by focusing on the study of the central doctrines of the gospel. 

In the talk “Lessons Learned in Inviting Christ to Author My Story” given at the 2024 BYU Women’s Conference, General Relief Society President Camille N. Johnson said, “Spend your precious time striving to understand foundational points of doctrine that nourish the roots of the tree…

The nature of my covenant relationship with God
The Savior and his atonement
How to exercise faith in Him
The glorious plan of happiness

When you have a leaf question, consider how it connects back to the branch and then to the trunk, or core fundamental doctrine of the gospel. For example, when I am firmly rooted in the truth that god loves us and directs his work through living prophets, when I know that ‘trunk doctrine,’ I can be content in not knowing the answer to a leaf question.”

As we encounter friends and family around us who may be drifting from the church while facing those leaf questions or even strong coastal winds that shake them to the core, we can strive to make sure that our roots are there, reaching out to them to offer love and support. 

And if we are the ones who are struggling, we can know that there is a network of those around us - our family, ward members, and others - who can provide us with support and encouragement while we strengthen our roots. 

Like Elizabeth and Mary, we can be like those majestic redwood trees, strengthening and allowing each other to grow side by side.