This post is from LDS Institute Sunday School teacher Dee Ann Ludwig, a woman of great energy and understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am reprinting most of it here for my readers to learn and understand this most amazing, prophetic part of the Book of Mormon:
Marlena Baker
1. Zenos’ allegory is profound for us because it reinforces in our minds the importance of our mission as members of the house of Israel among the political Gentiles. The olive tree, a very important Old World plant that to many provides life itself, was used in the allegory probably because olive horticulture so closely fit the message to be conveyed. Ephraim is the birthright tribe (Jer 31:9) and is responsible for redeeming the three branches which were planted in the nethermost part of the vineyard—the Nephites and Lamanites, the Jews, and the lost tribes (D&C 133:26–34), as well as all others who qualify themselves for adoption into the house of Israel (Gal 3:26–29; 2 Nephi 26:33; 3 Nephi 30:2). . .and extending the blessings of temple work. Wilford M. Hess, Botanical Comparisons in the Allegory of the Olive tree, BYU Religious Education
2. “The scattering of Israel throughout the world sprinkled the blood that believes, so that many nations may now partake of the gospel plan” (James E. Faust, Ensign, November, 1982, 87)
3. “As Lehi himself taught, no symbol could serve more powerfully and profoundly of God’s expansive, constant, redeeming love—including especially the love represented in the gift of his Only Begotten Son—than does the olive tree” (Jeffrey R. Holland, Christ and the New Covenant, 163–64).
4. “[Zenos’s] remarkable parable portrays how, as branches of the olive tree (Israelites) were carried to all parts of the earth (the Lord’s vineyard) and grafted into the wild olive trees (the Gentile nations). Thus they are fulfilling the promise that the Lord had made. Today Latter-day Saints are going to all parts of the world as servants in the vineyard to gather this fruit and lay it in store for the time of the coming of the Master. This parable is one of the most enlightening and interesting in the Book of Mormon. How can any person read it without feeling the inspiration of this ancient prophet?” (Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., 5 vols. [1957–66], 4:141–42
5. The Master’s Response to his vineyard tells us of his love for us. Look carefully at the following scriptures and see how it applies to his children.
A. He wept—What could I have done more for my vineyard? Jacob 5:41
B. But what could I have done more? Jacob 5:47
C. I will prune it, and dig about it, and nourish it, that…it perish not… Jacob 5:4
D. It grieveth me that I should lose this tree 5:7
E. What shall we do unto the tree, that I may preserve again good fruit thereof unto mine own self? Jacob 5:33
F. I may have joy again in the fruit of my vineyard and rejoice exceedingly. Jacob 5:60
6. From the allegory discover how pruning, digging, nourishing and grafting olive trees applies to Israel and also applies to us as individuals. Read Moses 1:39 and think about what God’s work is and how He performs it. In Jacob 5 it may be helpful to mark the visits and analyze the time period:
– First Visit 3-14 (Before Christ)
• Part 1:3-6, Part 2:7-14
– Second Visit 15-28 (Time of Christ)
– Third Visit 29-60 (Great Apostasy)
– Fourth Visit 61-77 (Latter-days)
• Part 1:61-74
• Part 2:75-76 (Millennium)
• Part 3:77 (end of Millennium)
TERMS OR PEOPLE
APPLICATION OF THE PARABLE–Elder Hugh B. Brown in his allegory of “The Gardner and the Currant Bush” wrote: “Do not cry…What I have done to you was necessary….You were not intended for what you sought to be…. If I had allowed you to continue…you would have failed in the purpose for which I planted you and my plans for you would have been defeated. You must not weep, some day when you are richly laden with experience you will say, ‘He was a wise gardener. He knew the purpose of my earth life….I thank him now for what I thought was cruel.’ …Help me, dear God, to endure the pruning, and to grow as you would have me grow; to take my allotted place in life and ever more to say, ‘Thy will not mine be done.’” (“The Gardener and the Currant Bush,” Eternal Quest, 243)
CUMBER (v. 9 and 30) Burden
DUNGED, dung (vv. 47, 64) Fertilized or nourished
GRAFTING “Jacob 5:8-10—To graft branches, healthy, living branches are cut from a tree or plant and inserted into another place. The branches in this allegory represent groups of people that the Lord takes from one place and plants them in another. In the scriptural sense, grafting means to come to the knowledge of the true Messiah.”
(l Nephi 10:14) Book of Mormon Student Study Guide—2000, 63-65
HEWN, hew, (vv. 46-47, 49)—Cut
HITHER (vv. 21, 23-25)–Here
YOUNG and TENDER BRANCHES “seem to be those people who responded to the pruning and fertilizing by God and His prophets. They were more teachable than the old established branches, or the groups of Israelites who had to be removed and destroyed.” Book of Mormon Student Study Guide, 2000, 64
ZENOS was a Hebrew prophet whose writings appeared on the brass plates but who is not mentioned in the Old Testament. He lived after the prophet Abraham and before the prophet Isaiah. He prophesied and testified of Jesus Christ. Zenos is best known for his allegory of the olive trees. More of Zenos’ prophecies are listed in the Index in the Book of Mormon. (Book of Mormon Student Manual: Religion 121-122, p. 122)
APOSTASY– “Apostasy is an act of choosing self over direction and nourishment from the appropriate and righteous channels God has instituted. And because it is an act of agency, God does not prevent it.” (Paul Hoskisson, “The Allegory of the Olive Tree in Jacob”, http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=124
The Allegory of the Olive Tree–Excellent Explanatory Articles:
1. “The Grandeur of God,” by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland ,October 2003 Link: http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2003/10/the-grandeur-of-god?lang=eng
Looking out on the events of almost any day, God replies: “Behold these thy brethren; they are the workmanship of mine own hands. … I gave unto them … [a] commandment, that they should love one another, and that they should choose me, their Father; but behold, they are without affection, and they hate their own blood. … Wherefore should not the heavens weep, seeing these shall suffer?” 10
That single, riveting scene does more to teach the true nature of God than any theological treatise could ever convey. It also helps us understand much more emphatically that vivid moment in the Book of Mormon allegory of the olive tree, when after digging and dunging, watering and weeding, trimming, pruning, transplanting, and grafting, the great Lord of the vineyard throws down his spade and his pruning shears and weeps, crying out to any who would listen, “What could I have done more for my vineyard?” 11
2. The Tame and Wild Olive Trees—An Allegory of Our Savior’s Love by Ralph E. Swiss, August, 1988 Ensign Link: https://www.lds.org/ensign/1988/08/the-tame-and-wild-olive-trees-an-allegory-of-our-saviors-love?lang=eng
As Zenos begins the story, he defines the primary figure: the tame olive tree, which he said represents the house of Israel. He then speaks of the tree growing old and beginning to decay. From the opening verses, the love and concern of the master of the garden are evident as he seeks ways to help the tree survive and bear good fruit. (Jacob 5:4.) The lord of the vineyard and his servants may refer to the Lord Jesus Christ and his disciples, the prophets; at least Jacob seems to refer to them as such when he explains the implications of the allegory. (See Jacob 6:2–4, 8.) Others, noting that the lord of the vineyard has a chief servant working in the vineyard, assign the role of lord of the vineyard to God the Father.
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 Israel.
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 Israel’s history is not as important as witnessing, by means of the story, the great love of the Lord for his vineyard and his carefully laid plan to gather in the good fruit. However, it is interesting to consider possible historical parallels. (Then he gives an excellent analysis of possible historical parallels and times which you will find very interesting. Just click on the link above.)
3. The Olive, July 2013 Ensign Link: http://www.lds.org/ensign/2013/07/the-olive?lang=eng&query=olive+trees
Facts About Olive Trees
1. Olive trees can live a very long time. Some olive trees in the Near East are thought to be more than 2,000 years old.
2. If an olive tree is chopped down, it does not die, but new shoots come up from the roots.
3. Olive trees keep their leaves all year round.
4. Olive oil was used anciently for lamp oil, cooking oil, food, soap, religious ceremonies, and ointment for treating wounds.
. . . . Symbols of the Atonement — Olive trees are special in the Holy Land. The olive branch is universally regarded as a symbol of peace. This tree provides food, light, heat, lumber, ointments, and medicine. It is now, as it was then, crucial to life in Israel. It is not a deciduous tree, but everbearing—always green. Even if the tree is chopped down, life will spring from its roots, suggesting everlasting life. Jewish tradition often refers to the olive tree as the tree of life. To me it seems to prefigure the Resurrection.
“Jesus came to the base of the Mount of Olives to effect the first component of the Atonement. This He did at the Garden of Gethsemane. The word Gethsemane comes from two Hebrew roots: gath, meaning ‘press,’ and shemen, meaning ‘oil,’ especially that of the olive.
“There olives had been pressed under the weight of great stone wheels to squeeze precious oil from the olives. So the Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane was literally pressed under the weight of the sins of the world. He sweated great drops of blood—His life’s ‘oil’—which issued from every pore. (See Luke 22:44; D&C 19:18.)
“… Remember, just as the body of the olive, which was pressed for the oil that gave light, so the Savior was pressed. From every pore oozed the lifeblood of our Redeemer. Throughout the joyous days of your mission, when your cup of gladness runs over, remember His cup of bitterness which made it possible. And when sore trials come upon you, remember Gethsemane.” Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “Why This Holy Land?” Ensign, Dec. 1989, 17–18.
4. The Allegory of the Olive Tree — The Olive, the Bible, and Jacob 5
http://publications.maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/book/the-allegory-of-the-olive-tree/
In The Allegory of the Olive Tree, 20 scholars shed light on the meaning, themes, and rhetorical aspects of the allegory, as well as on its historical, cultural, and religious backgrounds. In so doing, they offer answers to questions about the significance of olive tree symbolism in the ancient Near East, who Zenos was, the meaning of the allegory, what it teaches about the relationship between God and his people, how it might relate to other ancient texts, the accuracy of the horticultural and botanical details in the text, and much more. (For an in depth study, click on the above link.)
Four Visits of the Master
Discussion from Book of Mormon Video Guide, (2001), 8–10 adapted
“[T]he children of Israel have been scattered throughout the world and every nation is blessed as the Lord gathers His children for the last time. Questions to enhance your understanding:
Why did the Lord scatter Israel?
How are the nations of the earth blessed as the Lord gathers Israel?
Why do you suppose only a few servants are willing to work in the vineyard? (see Jacob 5:70).
How does the master’s tone in Jacob 5:47 compare with that in verse 75?
….The allegory of the olive tree is a way to show the Lord’s concern for Israel. With all the allegory’s detail, students need to clearly see that the Lord will not let Israel go—that His hand is stretched out still, pleading for Israel to repent. The Lord will work and toil and exercise infinite patience in its behalf. As the Lord gathers His children the last time, in His great wisdom, all the nations of the earth are blessed (see Jacob 6:4–8).”
Scriptures regarding the scattering and gathering
1 Nephi 10:14—And after the house of Israel should be scattered they should be gathered together again, or, in fine, after the Gentiles had received the fulness of the Gospel, the natural branches of the olive-tree, or the remnants of the house of Israel should be grafted in, or come to the knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer.
Doctrine and Covneants 101:22 Behold, it is my will, that all they who call on my name, and worship me according to mine everlasting gospel, should gather together, and stand in holy placaes. . . .
Doctrine and Covenants 101:64 That the work of the gatheirng together of my saints may continue, that I may build them up unto my name upon holy places; for the time of harvest is come, and my word must needs be fulled.
Doctrine and Covenants 110:11 After this vsion closed, the heavens were again opened unto us; and Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes form the land of the north.
Doctrine and Covenants 29:7 And ye are called to bring to pass the gathering of mine elect; for mine elect hear my voice and harden not their hearts.