The Decay of the Tame Tree & Dispersion of the Branches
READ Jacob 5:1-6
Why is the “tame olive tree” called out above the other trees in the Lord’s vineyard?
What does it mean that the tame olive tree “began to decay”?
What is the Lord trying to do by pruning, digging and nourishing the tree?
Why does the Lord say that “perhaps” it may perish not?
What is the nature of pruning and digging?
Who did this work?
What is the “main top” of the tree and what was happening to it?
What is the ratio of “young branches” to the “main top” in terms of size?
READ Jacob 5:7-9
What does the Lord decide to do to the “main top” of the tree?
What are the “wild branches” and why does the Lord graft them in to the tame tree?
What does the Lord do with the young branches from the tame olive tree?
Why did the Lord of the Vineyard do this to the tame olive tree?
READ Jacob 5:10-13
What kind of fruit would be produced by the “wild branches” grafted in to the roots of the tame olive tree?
So if the tame tree can only produce wild fruit now, why did the Lord do this?
What kind of effort did this require?
Where are the young branches moved to and how many were moved?
Who places the young branches in the nethermost part of the vineyard and what does this imply?
How does the Lord view the various parts of the tame olive tree that is now scattered across his whole vineyard?
Christ’s Mortal Ministry & the Meridian of Time
READ Jacob 5:14-18
What does it mean that the Lord “hid” the branches according to his will and pleasure?
What does the fact that the Lord and his servant left the vineyard for a “long time” imply?
What had happened to the root of the tame olive tree?
READ Jacob 5:19-28
What does the fact that the Lord planted branches in “poor” spots of ground imply?
Where is the “best spot of ground” and what does the Lord find when He visits it?
How surgical is the Lord’s pruning?
What does it imply that the Lord and the servant visited and nourished all the fruit of the vineyard?
The Universal Apostasy
READ Jacob 5:29-33
When the Lord visits the root of the tame olive tree what does he find and what does it mean?
What does the Lord’s question about what to do next teach us about Him? (v33)
READ Jacob 5:34-37
What does it mean that the “root” has not yet perished?
Why is the Lord not pleased that at least the root is still alive?
READ Jacob 5:38-41
What does it imply that the trees continued to bear fruit but that it was evil, as opposed to just dying and producing no fruit?
What happened to the Nephite “branch”?
Who does the Lord fault for the failure of his entire vineyard?
READ Jacob 5:42-47
Is there any good fruit being produced anywhere in the vineyard at this time?
Is there an advantage to being a “highly favored” people?
What does the Lord do when a branch or entire tree is not producing good fruit?
READ Jacob 5:48-51
Who has corrupted the vineyard?
Did the Lord consider “smiting the whole earth with a curse” as a result of the universal apostasy?
The Restoration of the Gospel
READ Jacob 5:52
What is the Lord’s specific plan to save the vineyard from being utterly wasted by producing “good” fruit in our day?
READ Jacob 5:53-56
How hopeful is the Lord that the vineyard will again produce good fruit in the last days?
So is it enough to connect the branches with the root?
How long will it take for the reconnected branches and root to bear good fruit?
READ Jacob 5:57-59, 64-66
Why did the Lord command the servants to leave many of the wild branches and only pluck the “most bitter” ones?
Does the Lord intend to pluck all of the wild branches from the tree in time?
READ Jacob 5:60-63
What is the fruit and why does it give the Lord exceeding joy to have preserved some of it?
Who are the servants that work to prepare the way for the vineyard to bring about the potential for good fruit and how do they do it?
What does it mean to “begin at the last that they may be first”?
What does it mean that “the first may be last”?
READ Jacob 5:67-69
What is the purpose of grafting the natural branches of the tree back into the natural root of the tree?
READ Jacob 5:70-73
If Christ is the Lord of the Vineyard and He comes Himself to the vineyard to labor “the last time” with His servants, what does that imply about His servants?
What does the fact that there “began to be fruit again” imply?
READ Jacob 5:74-75
The Lord has now switched from a single natural tree in His vineyard to trees, plural – where are the trees located?
What is implied by the fact that there are both “servants” and “fruit” in the Allegory (knowing that the servants, in either angelic or mortal form, all had mortal lives on this earth – see D&C 130:5 - so could also be defined as “fruit”)?
Why and how does the Lord work alongside His servants in the last days?
What do the servants gain by laboring with their Lord in His redemptive work?
The Millennium and End of the Earth
READ Jacob 5:76-77
What is the “long time” during which the vineyard produces good fruit?
How do children who grow up to be “good fruit” in the Millennium while Satan is bound have the same mortal test as those of us who have to abide this Telestial World?
What is implied by the fact that after a long time evil fruit begins to come back into the vineyard?
Why would a vineyard owner burn his whole vineyard down?
Although the Lord controls the overall history of his vineyard through his and his servants’ personal involvement, what are the only actions He can take to influence events?
What is the natural disposition of the trees of the vineyard – both wild and tame – with regards to the kind of fruit produced?
With this in mind, what strikes you most about the Lord of the Vineyard?
READ Jacob 6:1
What is Jacob’s prophesy?
READ Jacob 6:2-8, 11
Who is Jacob really speaking to?
What is his message to us?
Sherem the Anti-Christ
READ Jacob 7:1-5
What flattering things could be preached by Sherem to “overthrow the doctrine of Christ”?
Why does Sherem want to debate Jacob and try to shake him from the faith?
READ Jacob 7:6-7
What is Sherem’s accusation against Jacob?
What is Sherem doing when he says that Jacob has “perverted the right way of God” and that he “declares” unto Jacob that his (Jacob’s) words are “blasphemy”?
READ Jacob 7:8-15
How did Jacob confound Sherem, despite his (Sherem’s) learning, clever arguments and sophisticated language?
How does Sherem “know” that there is no Christ?
How does Jacob “know” there is a Christ?
Did Sherem read the scriptures and if so, how could he misunderstand them so deeply?
What curse did Sherem bring upon himself?
READ Jacob 7:16-20
How did Sherem know he would die the next day?
Had Sherem committed the unpardonable sin?
READ Jacob 7:21-23
How was peace and the love of God restored among the people?
Why, when the people searched the scriptures, did they hearken no more to Sherem’s words?
