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But if your wife or your father or that minister gave me the same answer, all I'm left with is that yes, in fact, a person's individual belief about any particular verse or meaning is the final authority. You keep telling me you study/pray/interpret to decide what things mean w/o addressing what happens when others do the same thing and come to a different conclusion. Believe me, I'm not being sarcastic, I really just don't understand why you don't see the circle of your argument.

Per the bible's instructions, I go to learned elders

Hmm.... You mean, like Catholics go to the Church? That's about as elder as you can get! ;-)

Must go -- kids' bath time. God bless.

Well let's say we can value their opnion but it is still our responsibility to ascertain the Truth. Perhaps the catholic church says that the "tree of life" is Mary. My pastor says that it is Jesus. The wife says it's Wisdom, and a little kid says it's a peach tree.

What does the bible say?

Proverbs 13:12 says, in the Hebrew, that the Torah is a tree of life. The same text in the bible says that Wisdom is the tree of life. Hmmm, perhaps the Word and Wisdom are related?.

Sure enough, I look up Wisdom and I see that Wisdom, like the Word and like Jesus, was with the Lord before creation, and were His delight.(Proverbs 8:27-30)

So maybe "wisdom" means the Word as well as, Jesus? Certainly we know that Jesus is the Word.

Is Jesus a "tree of life?" Certainly, for all who believe on Him have everlasting life. (1 Titus 1:16)

Then I remember that in the book of Revelation, there was not one, but two trees of life, one on each side of the river!

I have to contemplate this, but I am fairly confident now that neither Mary or a peach tree are the tree of life.