Introduction: The Red Tree and the White Fruit
Lehi’s dream in the Book of Mormon offers one of the most compelling symbolic visions in all scripture. He describes a great and spacious field, and in the middle of it a tree whose fruit was “desirable to make one happy” and “white, to exceed all the whiteness that I had ever seen” (1 Nephi 8:10–12). That tree is the love of God, revealed in Jesus Christ, and the fruit represents eternal life, joy, and salvation.
Yet notice what holds up that fruit. A tree with roots sunk into the earth, a trunk rising upward, branches spreading outward. In covenant color theory, this tree is red, the cross of Christ, stained with His blood. The tree itself is the bridge, the place of transition. The purpose is not to cling only to the trunk or settle in the branches. The purpose is to pass through the red tree so that we may partake of the white fruit of light.
This insight reframes the way we read the whole of scripture. Red always marks transition. It is never the final stage. It signals that we are leaving one condition behind and moving toward something greater. When red appears in scripture — in blood, in fire, in scarlet garments, in sacrifice — it always stands at a threshold. And the great truth of the gospel is that only in Jesus Christ do those red thresholds lead upward into white light.
Without Him, red becomes counterfeit: false transitions that trap us in rivalry and pride. With Him, red is the bridge: the passage into forgiveness, joy, and radiant love.
This essay will explore that pattern in depth: how red signals transition, how Christ redefines it as the bridge to light, how false reds deceive, and how disciples can embrace red moments as thresholds of grace.
Part I: Red as Transition in the Covenant Story
Exodus: The Red Threshold of Freedom
The night of the Passover set the pattern for all covenant history. Israel marked their doors with lamb’s blood, red across the threshold (Exodus 12:7, 13). That blood was not the end. It was the bridge. Passing through red, Israel walked out of Egypt into freedom. Without the blood, they would have remained slaves. With it, they were redeemed.
And then, almost immediately, Israel faced the Red Sea. Here too red marked transition. Behind them, Pharaoh’s army raged. Before them, the waters loomed. Crossing the sea was a terrifying threshold. But as they passed through, their enemies were drowned, and Israel stood on dry ground, singing the Song of Moses (Exodus 14–15).
The message is clear: red is never neutral. It is always the place of decision. At the threshold of blood and sea, Israel either trusted God or returned to bondage. In both cases, red was the bridge to something new.
Isaiah: Red as the Contact Point of Grace
Isaiah captures the paradox of red in one of the most powerful covenant promises. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (Isaiah 1:18).
Scarlet here is not simply a metaphor for guilt. In the Ancient Near East, scarlet was the most durable dye, almost impossible to wash out. It signaled permanence. Isaiah’s point is that even the most indelible stain can be transformed. Red becomes the point of contact where human failure meets divine grace.
Later, in Isaiah’s throne vision, a seraphim touches his lips with a burning coal (Isaiah 6:6–7). That coal glows red with fire. It marks a painful threshold. But through it, Isaiah is cleansed and commissioned. Again, red is the transition point. It is the bridge to a new role, a new mission, a new life.
The Cross: The Red Tree of Christ
All of these patterns culminate in Jesus. He is the red tree. At the cross, His blood was poured out. Soldiers draped Him in a scarlet robe to mock Him (Matthew 27:28). His body was pierced, His side opened, and out flowed blood and water (John 19:34). The cross is the deepest red in all history.
But that red was not the end. Three days later, the tomb was empty. Angels appeared in dazzling white garments (Matthew 28:3; John 20:12). Jesus Himself was transfigured in light. The red of the cross became the bridge into the white of resurrection.
In Christ, the whole meaning of red is redefined. It is not the color of death alone, but the threshold into life. It is the transition that makes all other transitions possible.
Part II: False Reds, Counterfeit Transitions
Because red is such a powerful marker of change, it is easily abused. Throughout scripture, false claimants try to mark themselves or others with red to claim transitions they cannot deliver. These are counterfeit reds, transitions that look transformative but actually bind us deeper in pride and rivalry.
The Amlicites in the Book of Mormon (Alma 3:4) painted themselves with red marks to claim royal legitimacy. They mimicked the covenant sign of election, but their red was rebellion, not redemption. Their transition led only to destruction.
Babylon in Revelation clothed herself in scarlet and purple (Revelation 17:4). She projected majesty and allure, but her scarlet masked corruption. Her fall was swift and final.
Esau sold his birthright for red stew (Genesis 25:30). His transition was immediate gratification. He exchanged eternal covenant blessing for a temporary appetite.
Even in our own day, false reds appear. Leaders brand themselves as unifiers but deepen division. Nations cloak themselves in flags dyed red and call it legitimacy. Individuals cling to red identities of power, anger, or desire and call it transformation. But without Christ, these reds are illusions. They look like bridges, but they collapse into rivalry and darkness.
Part III: Red as Invitation Upward
In contrast, true red moments always demand a response that opens into light.
Israel stood at the Red Sea. Would they go forward or return?
Isaiah’s lips burned with the coal. Would he accept the call?
Paul was struck blind by the vision of Christ. Would he continue as Saul, or be reborn as an apostle?
In each case, red was the threshold. It was not neutral. It required a decision. True transition comes only when we let Christ’s red carry us upward.
And so it is in discipleship. Trials, wounds, sacrifices: these are our red thresholds. They are painful, frightening, uncertain. But in Christ, they are holy. They are invitations to become new.
Paul says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The old has passed away. The red has given way to white.
Part IV: Red and White Across Scripture
The pattern is everywhere once you see it.
- Passover (Exodus 12): red blood on the doorposts, white redemption.
- Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16): red blood sprinkled on the mercy seat, white purity of the people.
- Rahab’s Scarlet Cord (Joshua 2): red thread in the window, white salvation of her family.
- David’s Ruddy Beauty (1 Samuel 16): red ruddy youth, white anointed king.
- Leprosy Cleansed (Leviticus 14): red scarlet wool dipped in blood, white restored flesh.
- Martyrs in Revelation (7:14): red blood shed, white robes washed in the Lamb’s blood.
- Transfiguration (Mark 9:2–3): red foreshadow of suffering, white dazzling garments.
In every case, red marks transition. It is the threshold. And in Christ, it always leads upward to white.
Part V: Red in Restoration Scripture
The Book of Mormon deepens this covenant color pattern. Nephi’s very name comes from the Egyptian nfr, meaning beautiful, good, complete. His people are often described as fair, delightsome, and white. But again and again, that beauty only holds when grounded in Christ’s red.
The People of Ammon buried their swords, stained with red blood, and were made white in covenant purity (Alma 24). Christ descended at Bountiful, showing His red wounds, and then transfiguring His disciples until their garments were white as His (3 Nephi 11; 19). Mormon himself identified as a descendant of Nephi and bearer of the name of the land of Mormon, where Alma’s people were baptized in the waters of covenant cleansing, red to white (3 Nephi 5:12; Mormon 1:5).
The Doctrine and Covenants echoes the same rhythm. The Lord promises that though the earth will reel in blood and fire, His saints will be gathered in white robes of glory (D&C 29; 133). Temples are commanded to be built as houses of holiness and beauty, where ordinances of red sacrifice lead to white purity (D&C 124).
The Pearl of Great Price too shows this pattern: Enoch beholds the crucifixion, the red of the slain Lamb, followed by the glory of Zion in white radiance (Moses 7).
Across all scripture, the covenant pattern is consistent. Red precedes white. Transition through Christ leads into light.
Part VI: Discipleship in the Red Zone
So how do we live this?
First, we must recognize that red is unavoidable. Every disciple will face red thresholds — trials, wounds, sacrifices, calls to repentance. These are not punishments but invitations.
Second, we must discern true red from false. Counterfeit scarlets promise freedom but trap us in rivalry. True red always points to Christ’s cross.
Third, we must move through red into light. Do not camp in pain. Do not settle in rivalry. Let red do its work as a bridge. Let Christ carry you into forgiveness, joy, and love.
Finally, we must bear witness. Like Mormon, whose very name tied him to the covenant waters of red and white, we too are called to testify. The world is full of false reds. Our witness must be clear: only in Jesus is red the bridge to light.
Conclusion: Red Then Light
The world is full of reds. Some are deceptive, scarlet illusions that promise transformation but deliver bondage. Others are painful thresholds that frighten us. But the true red, the blood of Jesus, is the tree bridge.
Red is the color of transition. It is the threshold. It is never the end.
With Christ, red leads to white: forgiveness, joy, radiant love. Without Christ, red collapses back into black: rivalry, pride, destruction.
The invitation is clear. Do not stop at red. Do not trust counterfeit scarlet. Walk through Christ’s red. He is the red tree that bears the white fruit of light. In Him, every transition becomes a passage upward. In Him, every scarlet stain becomes snow-white purity.
Black and white. Red then light. This is the covenant pattern, the story of scripture, the journey of discipleship. Red is the bridge. Jesus is the bridge. Jesus is the tree. And the destination is the white fruit of God’s love, where we finally rest in His light.
