As we read, ponder, and pray, there will come into our minds a view of the three gardens of God—the Garden of Eden, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Garden of the Empty Tomb where Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene. (From "the purifying power of Gethsemane", General Conference April 1985)In these gardens, we find trees as meaningful symbols to illustrate "the love of God" that Nephi understands the tree of life to represent. In the first garden, Adam takes fruit from a tree and brings about the fall of man. As a reversed act, Jesus Christ, "the firstfruits unto God" (2 Nephi 2:9) is "hanged on a tree" (Acts 5:30) and brings about the redemption of man. This is one of my favorite symbols in the scriptures.
Trees accompany the atonement. Gethsemane is a garden with olive trees. In fact, Gethsemane means "olive press". With the sins of the world weighed upon him, Jesus was really pressed like an olive, further enhancing the "firstfruits" symbolism. When the sins of man (Hebr. adam) weighed upon him, "his sweat was as it were great drops of (Hebr. dam) falling down to the ground (Hebr. adamah)" (Luke 22:44). How fitting if it really was Michael, who used to be Adam, who came as an angel to support him in that moment. At least that is what Bruce R. McConkie believed.
I know Luke probably didn't write the gospel in Hebrew and Jesus spoke Aramaic, but the Jews at the time were certainly well familiar with the Hebrew language, culture and symbolism. After he spilled that blood on the ground, Jesus was hanged on a tree or "lifted up". At the same time, he prepared a way from that ground to the tree. He did it to "draw all men unto me" as he said (see 3 Nephi 27:14). As stated in a previous post, the way from Man (adam) to God (el) is symbolized by the way from ground (adamah) to tree (elah). The atonement makes it possible because Jesus walked that way himself and prepared it for us.
It's all starting to come together for me, connecting this to previous topics on this blog. There have been many posts about covenants and the gathering of Israel. This is symbolized by walking a way through the wilderness and reaching a promised land or Garden of Eden, a much more fertile destination, or the wilderness itself becoming a garden. How can a wilderness become a garden? When trees start growing there. That happens when we till the ground. It is through covenants that we are able to walk the path that Christ prepared and enjoy the full effects of the atonement.