Both verses show events in Christ’s life with which we are familiar; but for Nephi, they were future events, not part of a tradition of almost two thousand years. In Nephi’s cultural understanding, the view of angels descending would be associated with the tree of life as a conduit between heaven and earth, while the healings that occurred would be associated with the traditional function of the fruit (or its liquid). When we remember that these are the elements that were conceptually controlled by the king in the garden (see commentary accompanying 1 Nephi 8:2–3), we can appreciate that the scene which is simply descriptive for a modern reader establishes the divine kingship of this Atoning Messiah for Nephi.