Man is not the author of the plan of salvation; and blind indeed are they who suppose that precepts, theories or systems originated or contrived by man can substitute or supersede the means divinely appointed for the redemption of mankind. To the groping, sightless soul is offered the unction of faith and the ability to repent; and in the Siloam of baptism shall be received the enlightenment that guides the soul, once blind, now seeing, along the path leading to eternal life. -- 99 -- THE ROD OF IRON A Dependable Support UNTO Lehi, a prophet of Jerusalem, who by Divine command had gone with his family from the city into the wilderness, came the word of the Lord in vision. The man stood by a tree, the fruit of which he found to be sweet, and "desirable to make one happy"; for, as he ate of it his soul was filled with peace and joy unspeakable. Near the tree, separating it from a spacious plain wherein great concourses of people had gathered, flowed a turbulent river of muddy, filthy water. The head of the stream was visible in the distance, and from this to the tree, alongside the river's treacherous bank, ran a narrow path, paralleling which was a rod of iron, firmly secured, and so placed that one could hold to it while treading the pathway. Numerous people were observed moving toward the head of the stream, striving to lay hold on the iron rod, but dense mists of darkness arose, and enshrouded them, so that many became bewildered, and, abandoning their purpose of reaching the tree, were lost in the murky depths of the river. Of the more faithful and determined, he saw and testified: "And it came to pass that I beheld others pressing forward, and they came forth and caught hold of the end of the rod of iron; and they did press forward through the mist of darkness, clinging to the rod of iron, even until they did come forth and partake of the fruit of the tree." (Book of Mormon, 1 Nephi 8:24; read chaps. 8 and 15). An explication of the vision was given through inspiration. The tree shown to the prophet was the tree of life, and its fruit the salvation of the soul. Of the rod of iron it is written: "That it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction." (1 Nephi 15:24). The river of foul waters typified the great gulf separating "the wicked from the tree of life, and also from the saints of God", and the state of loss and condemnation, which shall be the inevitable fate of the wilfully and unregenerate wicked.