August 1988 Ensign - The Tame and Wild Olive Tree
Before we start the analysis, let us repeat this statement in all interpretations:
It should be worth noting that the Book of Mormon prophet Nephi taught the vineyard represented the house of Israel and not the world - "For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant; and he looked for judgment, and behold, oppression; for righteousness, but behold, a cry" (2 Nephi 15:7). See also Isaiah 5:7 and Matthew 21:33-46.
Most of Christianity has yet to learn of Zenos’s allegory of the olive trees.
Indeed, if it hadn’t been for the combined efforts of four prophets, separated by
thousands of years, the allegory might have been lost entirely. The prophet Zenos wrote it
in
Most of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has yet to learn Zenos' allegory too.
The story as we have it was originally contained on the plates of brass, which are not available to us today. Jacob, however, engraved the story on the small plates of Nephi. Even then, the allegory might not have reached us. Most of the Book of Mormon is an abridgment by Mormon of the large plates of Nephi. Martin Harris lost the translation of the first part of the abridgment. To replace the lost history, the Lord directed Joseph Smith to translate the small plates, which Mormon had included with his abridgment.
The lost translation is said to be found. Click here.
I first gained a great appreciation for the allegory of the olive trees while attending an in-service class as a young seminary teacher. I discovered that the allegory was not so much a story about trees, branches, grafting, and fruit as a wonderful witness of the messiahship of Christ and his love for mankind.
Do not overlook the need to study the meaning of the allegory to determine if it is accurate.
Reviewing the record that precedes Jacob 5 can give us some insights
into Zenos’s purpose in writing and Jacob’s purpose in retelling the allegory. Nephi
first tells of his family’s flight from
There is still no archaeological evidence showing the Nephites and Lamanites ever existed or even came to the American continent.
Nephi sought to instill a testimony of Christ in his people, and so he not only reached back to the great writings of Isaiah on the Savior (see 1 Ne. 19:23), but also centered his own teachings on Jesus Christ. He wrote, “We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.” (2 Ne. 25:26.)
Before Nephi died, he committed the small plates to Jacob, instructing him to record only what was precious—sacred preaching, great revelation, or prophecy for Christ’s sake. (See Jacob 1:2–4.) In keeping with this charge, Jacob taught his people to have faith in the Savior:
“For this intent have we written these things, that they may know that we knew of Christ, and we had a hope of his glory many hundreds of years before his coming. …
“Wherefore, we search the prophets, and we have many revelations and the spirit of prophecy.” (Jacob 4:4, 6. Hereafter, scriptural references will be from Jacob unless otherwise indicated.)
In focusing on Christ, Jacob included in his writings the allegory of
the tame and wild olive trees. The use of the story may have been prompted by Jacob’s
discussion of the Jew’s rejection of Jesus Christ. Jacob spoke of the Jews as
“stiffnecked,” as “despising words of plainness,” as “seeking for
things they could not understand.” (Jacob 4:14.) He told of a time when they would reject the sure
foundation of Christ. The allegory was probably an answer to the question, How can the
house of
It is unclear why Jacob did not consider that all the Israelites had rejected Jesus Christ, not just the Jews.
As Zenos begins the story, he defines the primary figure: the tame olive tree, which he
said represents the house of
Wrong. It is the Master of the vineyard and his servant at this point. Latter-day Saints cannot with certainty identify who the chief servant is. Some have even speculated that the Master if God the Father while the chief servant is Jesus Christ. If you believe this, then carefully study the words and actions of the chief servant to discover the folly in this.
It is possible to recognize the good fruit of the tree as those people
bringing forth good works, and the bad fruit as those bringing forth evil works. (See Jacob 6:7.) We can
also imagine that the wild olive tree represents the Gentiles, just as the tame olive tree
represents the house of
From the beginning of the story, a time line begins to unfold, and we
naturally wonder which events in history might correspond with events in the allegory.
Herein we need to be cautious. Matching events in
Notice the subtle attempt by Mr. Swiss to remove the historicity of the events and spiritualize them away.
The allegory seems to divide into seven scenes, each scene covering a period of time. Zenos also identifies five locations in the vineyard, which represents the world. (See Jacob 6:3.) Examining each scene in order can prove quite helpful in following the unfolding events.
The vineyard does not represent the world as another Book of Mormon prophet taught.
Scene 1 (Jacob 5:4–6): The story opens at a time of growing decay, perhaps such a time as the period following the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon when the glory of Israel was greatly lessened by growing wickedness and evil. In hopes of saving the tree, the master of the vineyard prunes the decayed limbs, digs about the trunk, and nourishes the soil to stimulate new growth. After caring for the tree, he waits many days to see the results of his labor.
The tree begins to put forth some new and tender branches. These
branches seem to represent the righteous of the day. Even in the midst of
Scene 2 (Jacob 5:7–14): The master grieves for the tree and directs his servants to pluck off the decayed branches and cast them into the fire. Twice more, in verses 11 and 13 (Jacob 5:11, 13), the master expresses his grief at losing the tree and its fruit. Christ’s great love for his people is clear as he sorrows at their loss.
Wrong. It is the Master of the vineyard and his servant at this point.
One era in
Yet the master of the vineyard prepared for the future. In the
allegory, he carries some of the young and tender branches to the nethermost parts of
the vineyard and grafts them onto other trees. This could represent the Lord’s
effort to preserve the blood of
The Lehites descended from Manasseh and the Mulek was of the tribe of Judah.
The master also commands his servants to graft the branches
from a wild olive tree onto the old tree, then dig about and nourish the tree. Since limbs
gather sunlight and air for the tree, strong branches can strengthen a dying tree.
Similarly, for example, Assyria brought non-Israelites into the Northern Kingdom, who
adopted the religion of
The 4th branch (speculated to be the Nephites/Lamanites) was not grafted into another tree. Actually, the Nephites and Lamanites encountered no other groups of people in their intial visit to 'America.' And wrong again. It is the Master of the vineyard and his servant at this point.
Strong branches can strengthen a dying tree? Is Mr. Swiss alternating between physical growth and spiritual growth?
Scene 3 (Jacob 5:15–28): After a long time has passed, the
master returns to examine the fruit of the vineyard. This time, he finds that the tame
olive tree has borne tame fruit despite the wild branches that grew from its trunk. The
great strength of the roots has overpowered the wildness of the branches. Perhaps this
corresponds to the tremendous growth of the Church during and after the Savior’s
mortal ministry. A great many among the Gentiles, including numerous Samaritans, were
converted and lived the gospel as though they had been born of
Study the identity of the roots as you perform your own analysis.
At this time, the allegory reveals where in the vineyard the tender branches from scene 2 had been grafted. The first bundle of branches had been moved to an area that the servants called the poorest spot in all the vineyard, yet the branches had brought forth good fruit. The master identifies the second spot, saying that it was even poorer than the first, yet those branches had also borne good fruit. It seems that the Lord was able to bring forth righteous people in wicked lands, to the surprise of his servants.
Wrong. It is the Master of the vineyard and his servant at this point.
There is little in the allegory to identify these poor spots of
ground, but the scriptures do supply some possible candidates. Jonah, for example, was
astonished at the repentance of the people of
Also notice that the third branch disappears from this point onwards.
Scene 4 (Jacob 5:29–49): When the master returns again, he
finds the entire vineyard in decay. The trees have produced much fruit, but none of it is
good. The tame olive tree has all sorts of fruit, and the bad branches of the fourth tree
have overpowered the good branches until the good has withered away. This scene is much
like the condition of the earth during the great apostasy. In many lands, including
ancient
Mormonism has also fragmented into different sects and doctrines.
Throughout the verses of this scene, we can sense the master’s anguish over the loss of his trees. After he views all the trees, he weeps, then repeatedly asks his servants, “What could I have done more for my vineyard?” (Jacob 5:41. See also Jacob 5:47, 49.) At one point, he says:
“Have I slackened mine hand, that I have not nourished it? Nay, I have nourished it, and I have digged about it, and I have pruned it, and I have dunged it; and I have stretched forth mine hand almost all the day long, and the end draweth nigh.” (5:47.)
Wrong. It is the Master of the vineyard and his servant at this point
Scene 5 (Jacob 5:50–74): The master’s decision to spare the vineyard a little longer shows even more clearly his desire for the salvation of the trees and their fruits. He knows the roots of the tame olive tree are still alive. So, to preserve the roots and again bring forth good fruit, he and his servant begin to restore the natural branches to their parent trees, destroying the worst of the branches to make room.
Another part of the vineyard has the Master not caring about the roots.
Like the gathering of
Scene 6 (Jacob 5:75–76): When the master finally reviews the vineyard, he finds “that his fruit was good, and that his vineyard was no more corrupt.” (Jacob 5:75.) He blesses his servants, and they look forward to laying up the fruit of the vineyard for a long time. Such a period of peace and bounteous harvest could correspond to the Millennium. Even so, the master warns his servants that this is the last time they will work in the vineyard, speaking of the season to come.
Scene 7 (Jacob 5:77): The master refers to the time when evil fruit will again come into the vineyard. He says that at that time, he will separate the good from the evil, like the final cleansing of the earth:
“The good will I preserve unto myself, and the bad will I cast away into its own place. And then cometh the season and the end; and my vineyard will I cause to be burned with fire.”
As Jacob concludes the recital of Zenos’s allegory, he stresses that the Lord will set his hand to recover his people, that the servants of the Lord will go forth with power to nourish and prune the vineyard until the end comes. Then how blessed will be those who have labored diligently in the vineyard, and how cursed will be those who are cast out! (See Jacob 6:2–3.)
Recalling the mercy of God, who “stretches forth his hands unto them all the day long” (Jacob 6:4), Jacob again exhorts his people not to reject the words of the prophets concerning Christ. In both Jacob and Zenos’s words is another testament that Jesus is the Christ, that he has great love for all of God’s children, and that he works tirelessly to preserve the righteous and to accomplish his purposes on the earth, which are to bring to pass our immortality and eternal life.
Ralph E. Swiss is director of physical facilities and real estate in the Church Educational System. He serves as bishop of the Sandy Fifty-third Ward, Sandy Utah Alta View Stake.
For more information, read the analysis of Grant Gardner's interpretation.