Water the Roots

THE BEAUTY OF A TREE is often described by the magnificence of its leaves. Their brilliant colors, unique shapes, and defining features each contribute to a tree’s splendor.

But while the beauty of a tree can be found in its leaves, its true strength and power lie in its roots.

The roots of a tree are unseen yet essential. They anchor the tree against the storm while drawing and storing vital nutrients and water for the season ahead. Healthy roots then feed the leaves, allowing them to fully flourish.

People, in a way, are like trees—each with leaves and roots. And like a tree, the leaves of our lives are seen and often talked about, but the roots are not. Because of this, it can be easy to overly focus on increasing the beauty of our leaves while neglecting the crucial strength of our roots.

Simply put, if you want a tree—or a soul—to flourish, water the roots, not the leaves.1 Healthy roots lead to beautiful leaves.

Watering the roots of our souls means taking time to be holy each day. As we unplug and become still—even if for only a few minutes—our roots receive spiritual nourishment. Talking with God in prayer, searching His scriptures for direction, and quietly contemplating what He would have us do enable the roots of our souls to soak up heavenly feelings. Those heavenly feelings yield a new confidence that travels all the way to the leaves of our lives.

Perhaps the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah said it best as he spoke on behalf of the Lord, promising: “Blessed is the [one] that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not [fear] when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.”2

Taking time today to nourish our spiritual roots ensures that we can stand strong tomorrow, even amid the heat of the day and the storms of life. As the book of Proverbs reminds us, “The root of the righteous shall not be moved.”3

1 See Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Nourish the Roots, and the Branches Will Grow,” Liahona, Nov. 2024, 1022 Jeremiah 17:7–8.3 Proverbs 12:3.