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1. Animals and plants have spirits or souls. This would include the Witness Trees at the Sacred Grove. ("Witness Trees" here is the term used by a senior missionary who told me a few years ago that there were a few Witness Trees left). 2. Man (in his/her mortal body) can not see God and live. Let us presume this also applies to plants and animals, since they have souls and "are children of God." 3. I called the Sacred Grove Visitor's Center in Palmyra NY and asked if I could purchase a Witness Tree - after it has died and when it's being removed. The kind Mission President told me: All trees, Witness or otherwise, are left in the grove for the health of the forest / grove. None are removed. Also, I couldn't buy one if they were removed per Church policy. (IMHO - perhaps trying to avoid members building shrines? which I heard as a reason why a nearby Temple when it was under construction, members were not allowed to have, keep or buy parts of the Temple that were being replaced. 4. Intelligences exist, are eternal, and eventually earn mortal bodies. I presume Intelligences are something like atoms, quarks, protons, neutrons, dark matter, etc. 5. The Savior's Disciple Thomas went to or may have preached in India after the Savior's resurrection. After he died a family he had been teaching had a son who died. THe father went to Thomas' grave and took something, dust, bones, a bone, etc. back to his son, sprinkled it on him and he was healed. Hypothesis: The Witness Trees have been translated. Their offspring, "Half Witness Saplings" which we'll call Halflings (Sorry Tolkien), at the cellular level will manifest effects non-Witness Trees do not. The Proposed Experiment: 1. Travel to the Sacred Grove 2. Pick up seeds from Witness Trees as identified by senior missionaries 3. Bring them home and plant in greenhouse 4. At the same time, plant seeds of the same tree. 5. When the halflings and the other sample population are of sufficient age, examine part of their cells without killing them. QUESTIONS: 1. Is the faith of the person growing the seeds a confounding factor? a significant factor? is it material? Is it relevant - as the grower did not place the trees in the Sacred Grove. 2. What would Halfling tree cells look like? What would they manifest that would differentiate themselves from trees of the same type? Advanced healing? 3. Of the ten types of trees that grow in the Sacred Grove, five produce products for human consumption. 3 of those 5 make lotions or similar creams for healing. Would using them to help heal - along with lotions or active ingredients of the same type being used to heal, reveal a faster healing rate using the Halflings material? Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum): Maple syrup, maple sugar, and maple cream are made from the sap of this tree. Black Cherry (Prunus serotina): The fruit of this tree is edible and can be consumed raw or used to make jams, jellies, and wine. The wood is also used to make cherry flavoring and oil. American Beech (Fagus grandifolia): The nuts of this tree, known as beechnuts, are edible and can be roasted or pressed for oil. White Ash (Fraxinus americana): The seeds of this tree are edible and can be used as a coffee substitute. Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus): The seeds of this tree, known as pine nuts, are edible and can be used as a snack or added to recipes. Additionally, some of these trees may also provide other products, such as: Timber: Many of the trees in the Sacred Grove, including the Sugar Maple, American Beech, and Eastern White Pine, are harvested for their wood, which can be used for furniture-making, construction, and other purposes. Dye: The bark and leaves of some trees, like the Black Cherry and American Beech, can be used to create natural dyes. Further, for lotions and healing: Black Cherry: The kernel oil from black cherry seeds can be used in skincare products, including lotions, due to its moisturizing and emollient properties. Eastern White Pine: Pine tar, derived from the resin of eastern white pine, has been used historically in skincare products, including lotions, for its antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. Sugar Maple: While not typically used in lotions, sugar maple sap can be used to produce a natural humectant, which can help retain moisture in the skin. Sources: 1. Joseph Smith's King Follett Discourse (1844) - "The animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms are all spiritual..." Joseph Fielding Smith's "The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith" (1938) - "The spirit of the animal, the spirit of the plant, and the spirit of the mineral are all governed by the same laws..." Bruce R. McConkie's "A New Witness for the Articles of Faith" (1985) - "All living things—men, animals, plants, and minerals—are children of God, and as such, they have a spark of divinity within them..." "True to the Faith" (2004) - "All living things have a spirit and are children of God... 2. Joseph Fielding Smith's "The Way to Perfection" (1931): "Man cannot see God and live, for the glory of the Lord is too great for mortal eyes to behold...But through translation, man can become like the angels, and see and know as they do." Bruce R. McConkie's "A New Witness for the Articles of Faith" (1985): "To see the face of God, one must be translated, changed from mortality to immortality, from corruptible to incorruptible, from mortal to immortal." "True to the Faith" (2004): "To behold the glory of God, one must be purified and changed through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and thus become worthy to see the face of God." 3. Uh...I really called and this is what I was told. 4. Abraham 3:22-23: "Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones; And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These will I make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; yea, even from the beginning; thou wast chosen." Doctrine and Covenants 93:29-33: "Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be. All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence. Behold, here is the agency of man, and the condemnation of him that maketh a mock of it. The glory of God is intelligence, or, in other words, light and truth." Joseph Smith's King Follett Discourse (1844): "The intelligence of spirits had no beginning, neither will it have an end...The intelligence of man is coequal with God's intelligence." Joseph Fielding Smith's "The Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith" (1938): "The intelligence of man is eternal; it has always existed and will always exist. It is a part of the eternal Godhead." Bruce R. McConkie's "A New Witness for the Articles of Faith" (1985): "Intelligences are eternal, coequal with God, and have always existed." 5. The Acts of Thomas (3rd century apocryphal text): This text describes Thomas' missionary work in India and includes the story of the sick son being healed by Thomas' bones. The Apocryphal New Testament (edited by M. R. James, 1924): This collection of apocryphal texts includes "The Acts of Thomas" and provides an introduction to the text. Eusebius' "Ecclesiastical History" (4th century): Eusebius mentions Thomas' missionary work in India and Parthia (modern-day Iran). Gregory of Nazianzus' "Oration 33" (4th century): Gregory mentions Thomas' missionary work in India and his martyrdom. The "Thomma Parvam" (an ancient Tamil Christian text): This text describes Thomas' missionary work in India and includes the story of the sick son being healed. The "History of the Church of the East" (by the Rev. A. Mingana, 1928): This book provides an overview of the history of Christianity in India and mentions Thomas' missionary work. Regarding the specific story of the sick son being healed by Thomas' bones, it is mentioned in: The Acts of Thomas (Chapter 17) The Thomma Parvam (Chapter 10)