The Decay of the Tame Tree & Dispersion of the Branches
This Olive Tree Allegory is about the “rescue” of the “fruit” (people) of the descendants of a chosen bloodline or family (Abraham) through various dispensations of the Gospel – it is about reclaiming the House or Family of God from their telestial probation; it is about preserving good fruit (i.e. “seed”) or making Sons and Daughters of God that are sealed up to eternal life.
READ Jacob 5:1-6
Why is the “tame olive tree” called out above the other trees in the Lord’s vineyard?
· The tame olive tree is the House of Israel
· The Allegory is the story of a specific family – the family of Abraham
· The other trees are not Israel – they are Gentiles, Heathens, etc.
· The other trees of the vineyard are incidental beneficiaries of God’s effort to preserve one family (because of the grafting process)
What does it mean that the tame olive tree “began to decay”?
· It lost its spiritual vitality – it tired of the Lord – it became indifferent to God
What is the Lord trying to do by pruning, digging and nourishing the tree?
· Produce tender, young branches again
· Because young, green, living (or “quick”) branches have the opportunity to bring forth good “living” fruit, if they will develop
Why does the Lord say that “perhaps” it may perish not?
· Because it is ultimately up to how the tree reacts to the care of the Lord of the vineyard; the Lord will coax but the tree must grow
· The House of Israel have their agency; compulsion to force compliance is not the Lord’s way
What is the nature of pruning and digging?
· Removing of dead wood – remove those who will not accept nourishment because they are no longer spiritually “living”; dead wood is not intended to be preserved as it bears nothing but bad fruit (or no fruit at all)
· Breaking up ground that has been set and is difficult to penetrate – remove any cultural barriers which will stand in the way of nourishing the people with light
· Both digging and pruning could be construed as “violent” activities which may be “destructive” to the tree – especially a wild tree; but in reality, they are extremely helpful to the tree – but they are beyond the tree’s ability to comprehend its need for them, as it seems counterintuitive for the tree to see they are for its good
Who did this work?
· The Lord of the vineyard himself
What is the “main top” of the tree and what was happening to it?
· The large branches – the part of the tree that most people would see if looking casually at the tree
· The religious infrastructure that ruled Israel culturally
· The priestly class including Pharisees, scholarly rabbis; the revenue generating Temple with its rites; the devotion to the Law of Moses & the Mishnah or Oral Tradition without regard for the Holy Spirit
· It was dead – it looked good but did not produce good fruit because it was dying from the inside
· It was so arrogant in its “chosenness” and ignorant of the light it had lost because it would not repent – these people would not awake to their true condition and arise to repent
· The family line was broken and needed to be reconnected to a living tree, as was the spiritual “line” to heaven broken
What is the ratio of “young branches” to the “main top” in terms of size?
· While the promise of life from the new shoots exits, the main top dwarfs the size of the young branches
· And there is a danger that the top may overpower the new branches and suck the life from them to feed itself
READ Jacob 5:7-9
What does the Lord decide to do to the “main top” of the tree?
· He cuts it down and burns it
· He destroyed the leading families of rank and distinction in Israel
· He allowed the Assyrians, Babylonians and Romans to destroy the people and scatter the remaining Israelites around the world
· The very thing which made these people secure as lofty “main branches” was what later made them a target of foreign powers to be “plucked” and burned so as to ensure the new rulers would have no rivals in Israel
· These people thought themselves so highly favored by God that they could not fall – they could not possibly be led astray by anyone; they presumed that their safety as the “main top” was assured forever and a sign of their favor in the sight of the Lord of the Vineyard
· The Lord’s removing of these main branches sends a message to the rest of the tree regarding what the Lord is really after – good fruit rather than an impressive, but dying, tree
What are the “wild branches” and why does the Lord graft them in to the tame tree?
· The wild branches are not decayed and dying but alive
· The hope is that if these living branches are grafted into the tree, that perhaps the tree might continue to live
· New foreign, non-Israelite blood is introduced through intermarriage
What does the Lord do with the young branches from the tame olive tree?
· They are to be removed from the tame tree and planted or grafted in areas far from that original tame olive tree
· This is done in the hopes that away from the draining power of the decaying tree, the vitality of the young branches will give them more of a chance to live and produce good fruit
· Individuals and groups with more spiritual promise are removed from Israel to other parts of the world, either by conquering nations or directly by the Lord Himself
· After a while, the bloodlines of ancient Israel become so completely mixed with their conquerors and the indigenous people they were living among that they became a hybrid people. The House of Israel was scattered and fragmented across the world.
Why did the Lord of the Vineyard do this to the tame olive tree?
· To preserve enough of the tree to enable it to bring forth good fruit – to restore health and vigor to the dying tree
· He had the best interest of the tree in mind – to help it fulfill the “purpose of its creation”
· The covenant had been broken anyway with the “decay” and this dispersion and mixing would enable a renewal of the covenant and restoration of the House of Israel from scattered Jacob
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?
· Wild fruit
· In other words, the covenant was suspended by the Lord and would require a restoration and adoption for the good fruit to appear there again
So if the tame tree can only produce wild fruit now, why did the Lord do this?
· To keep the roots alive – they need branches of some kind, otherwise they will die
· So that eventually he could re-graft good branches into the root and produce good fruit again
What kind of effort did this require?
· The Lord still has to send his servant to dig, prune and nourish the root
· Even though the root will produce no fruit or just wild fruit, the Lord has continued to minister to it to keep it alive for His own purposes
· His care has been constant, even though it is hard to see from the output or “fruit” – his servants watch the tree “carefully” and provide nourishment as the Lord commands them – he is not absent but is watching the tree and caring for it – he wants what is best for it
Where are the young branches moved to and how many were moved?
· The “nethermost” parts of the vineyard
· All around the world
· At least three branches or people because 3 spots (poor, poorest, best) are mentioned but there could be many more
Who places the young branches in the nethermost part of the vineyard and what does this imply?
· The Lord Himself, not the servant
· Christ ministered to His people all across the world – wherever He placed them – He is the God of Israel AND the God of the whole earth (see 3 Nephi 11:14); He owns the whole vineyard, not just the spot where the tame tree is planted (Jerusalem)
How does the Lord view the various parts of the tame olive tree that is now scattered across his whole vineyard?
· He views it as one tree
· He is still focused on it, rather than on the other trees of the vineyard – he interacts with them in the context of saving the fruit of the one tame olive tree
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?
· They were concealed
· Their true origin and blood relation to Jacob/Israel is concealed – from those in Jerusalem and perhaps even from themselves if they did not bring with them records that would last
· But the Lord has a plan for the preservation of good fruit and he is executing against it
What does the fact that the Lord and his servant left the vineyard for a “long time” imply?
· God’s ways are not our ways (see Isaiah 55:8-9)
· God is patient – there is no “haste” involved
· God allows natural processes to work (the “law of the farm”) in line with our agency
· We are the impatient ones who like to hasten things…
What had happened to the root of the tame olive tree?
· He found fruit from the wild branches that had been grafted in that were “like unto” the natural fruit – they were not the natural fruit but “like” it
· The gentiles and mixed people (Samaritans, etc.) that embraced the gospel at the time of Christ’s ministry were adopted in to the Family of God as sons and daughters (see also Romans 8:16-17; Ephesians 1:5; 2:9; 1 John 3:2)
READ Jacob 5:19-28
What does the fact that the Lord planted branches in “poor” spots of ground imply?
· He will minister to people anywhere in the world – including the poor, seemingly abandoned, benighted people of some far flung colony
· That the type of ground (wealth, beauty, resources) of a land does not matter in the preparation of “good fruit” – even though it may be a surprise for even the Lord’s servant to learn that
· Or perhaps there is an adverse relationship – the poorer the spot, the better the chances of good fruit? Difficulties are a blessing to His vine because there is no delusion to the plant regarding who is caring for it and what would happen if that care was not given
Where is the “best spot of ground” and what does the Lord find when He visits it?
· It is North America
· At this time in history, it is the descendants of Lehi in America that He visits
· He finds that despite the great natural “growing” conditions, that only part of the people who should be “good fruit” were righteous
· He has to destroy many wicked people in America through natural disasters leaving only the “more righteous” (see 3 Nephi 8:17-19)
How surgical is the Lord’s pruning?
· Very surgical – if two are in the field and only one is His, He can take the one (see Matthew 24:40)
· He only removes branches that are worthy of burning because they will not produce good fruit – they are decayed or wild without hope of reversal
· The righteous need not fear; only those who reject God’s word should fear (see 3 Nephi 10:12-14 and 2 Nephi 6:18)
What does it imply that the Lord and the servant visited and nourished all the fruit of the vineyard?
· That He had “other sheep” not of the “Nephite fold” and visited them in His resurrected state, too (see 3 Nephi 16:1-3; 2 Nephi 29:12-13)
· That there should be additional records of His visit to these other people (as poor and benighted as they were)
· Why are we not praying to receive the record of their dealings with Christ as He surely visited them as He did the Nephites? We are like the Jews and the Nephites – when the Lord tells us that He has still other sheep, we say “oh” instead of saying “wow, can you tell me about them and your ministry to them? What can I learn from them?”
· The literal nature of what is found in the “best” spot of ground (the Nephites and Lamanites) leads one to wonder if the poorest and poorer spots are not also literal places with specific people. But we don’t really seem to care or even notice.
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?
· He finds “all sorts of fruit”
· But it all tastes bad
· He finds Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, etc. They are all different and look good enough from the outside – He has to “taste” them to see if they are really good, but finds that they are not – they “draw near unto Him with their lips but their hearts are far from Him” and they deny His power (see JS History 1:19)
What does the Lord’s question about what to do next teach us about Him? (v33)
· He is a pragmatic laborer – He is interested in the next step
· He does not look to blame people
· He is neither an optimist or pessimist
· He is inclusive of the ideas of others – while He may be “more intelligent than (us) all”, He is also the most meek and humble man in the universe
READ Jacob 5:34-37
What does it mean that the “root” has not yet perished?
· The bloodline of Jacob/Israel remains
· While it will require work, the covenant can be renewed with them – reviving the failed family is still possible
Why is the Lord not pleased that at least the root is still alive?
· Because He is after good fruit!
· Real people must be saved as a result of the bloodline and covenant
· Having the covenant and bloodline is fine but without an ACTUAL return of covenant Israel, it does not really matter to the Lord
· And they aren’t being saved because of the wild branches that have overcome the root – the various Christian churches influenced by the Hellenistic philosophies of the Gentiles, have taken over
· There is so much evil fruit that it is starting to overtake the root and kill the tree
· No one was being saved by Historic Christianity – it had failed in its original purpose. Without some kind of intervention, it would have led to the universal destruction of all people at His Second Coming. They were “all wrong” and an “abomination in His sight” (see JS History 1:19).
· We should differentiate ourselves from them, not associate ourselves as part of their “movement” – not because they are all evil people but because they are unconnected from the true vine and cannot save you.
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?
· It is an apostasy not an utter destruction
· The fruit these wild trees produce is in mimicry of the good fruit – it is produced to deceive the unwary or ignorant harvester
· Apostasy requires changing the ordinances and breaking the covenant so that it seems that all is in order but the result is that the connection to God is lost and no “good fruit” or saved souls will be produced
· Apostates can read the same scriptures, use the same vocabulary, and assume they are in Zion and “all is well” while they are actually bound in chains and heading for hell (see 2 Nephi 28:23-25), because they are not actually connected to God (the true vine) as His family – adopted as Sons and Daughters of God and sealed up to eternal life by His own testimony to them (see D&C 88:75; Mosiah 27:25; D&C 84:35-40; John 14:23; D&C 130:3)
What happened to the Nephite “branch”?
· It had died altogether – it wasn’t producing any good fruit at all as the Lamanites destroyed the Nephites
Who does the Lord fault for the failure of his entire vineyard?
· Himself
· What more could I have done, He asks
· He inventories His own actions, not ours – even though it is us who rebel against Him
· He wonders how He might have been a better Lord
· He weeps at the loss of His vineyard but it should really be we who weep as we realize who He really is, how long He’s labored and at what cost to attempt to save us (see Moses 7:28-29, 44-47)
READ Jacob 5:42-47
Is there any good fruit being produced anywhere in the vineyard at this time?
· No – the whole vineyard has been corrupted
· It is a universal apostasy from the truth – after Christ’s coming in mortality came the Dark Ages when Satan ruled from the rivers to the ends of the earth
· The whole earth was worthy of destruction because there were none whose hearts were sealed to the fathers in heaven – none were members of the family of God, who could endure His presence at His return in glory because they were like Him
· Despite this, all the fruit pretended to be good – the Lord had to “taste” it all to tell for sure – they shouted “lo here” and “lo there” but denied the power of God because since they could not bring anyone into direct contact with God through the veil, they denied the need to do so
Is there an advantage to being a “highly favored” people?
· No – even in the “choice” spot of ground, all the fruit became corrupted
What does the Lord do when a branch or entire tree is not producing good fruit?
· He plucks if off and burns it so that it doesn’t “cumber” the ground that could be used for another tree or branch
· If we refuse to repent and come unto Him, in time we will “ripen” in iniquity or reach a fullness of it and then we will be destroyed so that another people can have a chance unencumbered from the influence of our evil ways
READ Jacob 5:48-51
Who has corrupted the vineyard?
· It did not require a devil to corrupt the vineyard
· The “loftiness” of the trees of the vineyard is what corrupted it – the branches overcoming the roots
· It was the pride and arrogance of the House of Israel that caused the failure
· They grow faster than they have the strength to sustain – they seek for the wrong things or they seek for the right things but before they have built the adequate foundation – and in their pride and vanity they claim to have what they do not have: a direct connection with God and an assurance of being saved with no ability to fail or be led astray…
Did the Lord consider “smiting the whole earth with a curse” as a result of the universal apostasy?
· Yes – the Allegory is clear in this – He almost destroyed the people of the earth with the intention of starting over again – shades of Noah
· But He relented with the hope that perhaps some fruit may be harvested if they try one more time to reclaim the trees of the vineyard
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?
· To graft the branches from the “nethermost parts of the vineyard” back into the root of the tame olive tree
· He will connect “children” who are disassociated with the House of Israel, and have lost their status in that family, back through adoption into His family or House to make them Sons and Daughters of God
· He will turn the hearts of the children on earth to the fathers in heaven who had the promises (of eternal life) made unto them, that those children might also receive the same promises (of eternal life) and be sealed to those in heaven to create the “family of God” (see D&C 2:3 and JS History 1:39) through a “law of adoption”
· It is to connect the Church of the Firstborn with those living on the Earth or more accurately, to extend membership in the Church of the Firstborn (the Church of the Lamb of God – see 1 Nephi 14) to those on the Earth (see D&C 76:67)
· The branches are the remnant of the House of Israel living today in the “nethermost parts of the vineyard” meaning that they are lost and do not know who they are or what opportunities have been extended to them
· The root that they must be grafted back into is the living covenant of the “fathers” who are now in heaven – that they become the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the children must be “adopted” by these fathers through sealing to them – restoring them to the living vine (see John 15:4-5). Joseph Smith knew this and taught it as the Law of Adoption.
READ Jacob 5:53-56
How hopeful is the Lord that the vineyard will again produce good fruit in the last days?
· Cautiously optimistic but still realistic
· “Perhaps, I may preserve unto myself…”
· He honors our agency – it is up to us whether or not we will respond positively to the pruning, digging and nourishing (see Moroni 7:13; D&C 101:78)
· This final dispensation is not a guaranteed success
So is it enough to connect the branches with the root?
· No
· It is possible that they reconnect but fail in what really matters, which is to produce good fruit
· Bragging about being a “restored branch” distracts you from doing what is needed to produce good fruit. Wild fruit from that restoration of branch to root is not pleasing to the Lord
How long will it take for the reconnected branches and root to bear good fruit?
· It does not happen immediately upon regrafting; the graft has to “take”, then the husbandmen have to nourish the tree and remove bad branches and give it time to produce fruit (see v 58)
· The “restoration” of the branches to the covenant root was the first step and no fruit was ever expected at first – it needs to gain strength first (v54) – it may take generations…as it seems like Joseph and Hyrum were the only “good fruit” from the immediate regrafting and who is to say that they were “servants” of the Lord of the Vineyard rather than fruit from the tree?
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?
· Too much change, too quickly, could kill the tree – even though it was “good” change
· Many “wild” doctrines were left intact at the beginning of the Restoration – not because Joseph Smith “restored” them that way but because the Saints and their leaders (Sidney Rigdon, Brigham Young, etc.) could not accept that level of change – they wanted a restoration of the New Testament church while the Lord, through Joseph, was attempting to restore the “Ancient Order of Things” which was Adam and Enoch’s gospel – but like the children of Israel, the early Saints would not have it, so the Lord honored their agency and gave them what they wanted. (see TPJS 265:1)
· Much “bitter fruit” was also left on the tree at first – “loftiness” or pride, control/compulsion, (see D&C 121:34-38); this is speaking to the Saints themselves – leaders and rank & file – they participated in the restoration and even led it, but they were unredeemed or bitter “fruit” because they never connected to the root or true vine by rending the veil and being redeemed themselves (see Ether 3:13)
· Some of the “bitter fruit” even caused Joseph’s death – when he and Hyrum left for the Rocky Mountains, it was not the mob who caused him to return to Nauvoo but “friends” to whom his life was “of no value” – those who accused him of being a “false shepherd who was fleeing when the flock was in danger” were not the mob but his inner circle of Saints – his trusted friends; at best it was faithless fear on their parts to sacrifice Joseph to placate the mob (in the name of believing the Lord would save his life yet again – but this is now after the failure to build the Nauvoo temple and the associated curse that was about to be put in affect – see D&C 124) and at worst it was treachery to be rid of him so that they could run the Church as they saw fit, as they had to know what would happen to Joseph if we was sent to Carthage – between the “wolf hunters” from Carthage, the Missouri mob joining with the Illinois mob, the government aligning with the popular sentiment of the people against Joseph – they had to know that they were sending him to his death; such things provoke a reaction from heaven which requires 3 or 4 generations to pass away before the Lord begins to cultivate again.
Does the Lord intend to pluck all of the wild branches from the tree in time?
· Yes – only good branches can produce good fruit so the rest must be removed eventually
· But even then, there is no guarantee of good fruit – all the Lord is doing is enabling the conditions for good fruit to grow – it is up to us to “rise up” and become “good fruit” – that “perhaps” the good may overcome the evil and bear good fruit – we need to respond individually to the Lord’s invitation
· The Lord will continue to remove false doctrines, uninspired cultural mores or practices, and prideful people that will not be redeemed, while He adds the “natural branches” of the pure “fullness of the gospel” back into the tree – there is still much to be restored
READ Jacob 5:60-63
What is the fruit and why does it give the Lord exceeding joy to have preserved some of it?
· The fruit are Sons and Daughters of God or His posterity in whom He dwells (see 1 John 4:4)
· Not only is redeeming and saving souls His work and glory (see Moses 1:39) but it is what pleases Him most. The purpose of having children is to have joy with them – He rejoices “exceedingly” in our success
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?
· Some descend into this Telestial condition without disclosing their true identities to labor among us in the vineyard
· They must “labor with their might” – it is not inconsequential from their perspective – it is not “fairy dust” but actual work
· They minister to men concerning the coming of Christ and His gospel that they (the people) might exercise faith in Him and repent and enter into covenant with Christ (see Moroni 7:22, 25-26, 29-31; Alma 12:28-30; Moses 5:58; ) as they (the servants) have already done
What does it mean to “begin at the last that they may be first”?
· The “last” are those still living in the vineyard
· They are the “children” who must be sealed to the “fathers in heaven” – they must be “grafted” back to the fathers who are or were given the “root” covenant (see D&C 132:29, 37) – again, this is what Joseph Smith was referring to when he taught the “Law of Adoption” in the Kingdom (House or Family) of God on Earth
What does it mean that “the first may be last”?
· The “first” are those that are already dead but are unredeemed and are caught in the Spirit world – they are not redeemed and on thrones as are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob but in need of redemption in the form of a sealing bond or welding link with those who are redeemed – so as to be part of the family of God
· The living must be redeemed in mortality for the dead to be saved; after the living are redeemed by coming unto Christ and being sealed to those who now sit upon thrones in heaven, the dead may be sealed to the living so that the whole earth is not smitten by a curse at the return of the Lord
· Sealing an unredeemed living person to the dead does nothing for the dead – they are all spiritually dead together
· But the fact that someone is still alive in mortality means that there remains a chance that they could rise up and connect with heaven and be redeemed – thereby giving a lifeline to all those dead ancestors who have been sealed to them; but if they die unredeemed, it is all for nothing as they then join their ancestors in the Spirit world and are themselves now in need of assistance from a living member of the family of God
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?
· To bring forth the natural fruit
· To bring the tree back to its original condition – how it was in the beginning; so it can be whole again or “one”
· To restore the original covenant and gospel that existed in the beginning from the time of Adam through Melchizedek and then again from Abraham through Ephraim, which produced “good fruit” or Sons and Daughters of God sealed up to exaltation
· The reconnection of the natural branches with the “root” gospel or “Ancient Order of Things” – not the New Testament Church but the gospel as originally given to and practiced by Adam which has the power to create sons and daughters of God – that is what Joseph Smith was trying to do, as directed by the Lord, but the Church fought him on it and he didn’t get as far as he wanted to go, but this is where his interest in the Books of Moses and Abraham and the restoration of the Temple ceremony came from (see TPJS 265:1)
· It is bringing the natural branches or remnant of the House of Israel who have been transplanted to the nethermost parts of the vineyard back into the covenant as those of blood Israel have a better probability of rending the veil and being redeemed than the Gentiles seem to have
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?
· They are angels and true messengers (some mortal?) who know Christ such that they “labor with Him” – He takes up His abode with them and comforts them in their work (see John 14:23)
· They work relentlessly to reclaim souls – which is to labor with all their might; they have no time, energy or desire to set themselves up as a light or acquire wealth
· They are not “fruit” but work on the tree to enable the fruit – they are already part of the Lord’s family or House and are working with Him under His instruction to do His will by enabling the tree to grow good fruit and then “proving” that fruit to see whether or not it will come good
What does the fact that there “began to be fruit again” imply?
· At first there are just a few “good fruits” – the world and Church may not even realize it or recognize them at first
· It also signals the beginning of the end for the wild branches – they will ALL begin to be plucked off after the good fruit first starts to appear
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?
· The original spot of ground – Jerusalem in the Middle East – inhabited by the redeemed Jews (see Isaiah 11:12; Revelation 11:3; D&C 77:15; Isaiah 51:19-20; Zechariah 4:11-14)
· The choicest spot in the vineyard – Zion in North America – inhabited by the redeemed Remnant of Lehi (see 3 Nephi 22:3; D&C 133:32)
· And perhaps others inhabited by the Lost Tribes – the poor and poorest spots of ground?
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”)?
· The servants are those who, with the “one” that was “like unto God”, went down to help create the earth whereon “these” (others) may dwell so that this first group could “prove them (the others or second group) herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them” (see Abraham 3:22-25)
· So they were not sent to be proven, like the other “non-noble and great” ones – implied that they had already been proven and had passed the test and thus were called “noble and great”
· They are those who had been called and ordained from the foundation of the world because they had previously (“in the first place”) exercised exceeding faith and good works when “left” (on their own – away from God - in a mortal world) to choose between good and evil (see Alma 13:2-5); that mortal world existed previously or before the foundation of this world – it was a “first place” before being sent here to this earth
· And because of this prior proving and the light they had attained thereby, they were called to minister with the High Priesthood to the children of men on this earth so that they (the children of men) could ALSO enter into the Savior’s rest as they (the servants) had previously done (see Alma 13:6-12)
Why and how does the Lord work alongside His servants in the last days?
· He is not an absentee Lord but appears to His servants if they are mortal and to the fruit to enable their growth; He also works with the “fruit” whether they perceive/see Him or not
· Christ appears to men and women on earth as part of His on-going ministry to enable “good fruit” or the eternal life of mankind (see JS History 1:17-19; D&C 84:35; D&C 93:1; John 14:23; Jeremiah 31:34; D&C 84:98; Ether 3:13; D&C 76:51)
What do the servants gain by laboring with their Lord in His redemptive work?
· They learn again in a mortal experience – in a deeper way - what it means to be like Him as they attempt to follow His example and do His works as a “savior on Mount Zion”, leveraging the light they have acquired in the past, as per eternal law (see D&C 130:18-21)
· They receive more light and grace – moving from a small degree to a greater one, from exaltation to exaltation, as Christ did by following His example of ministering and bringing to pass the eternal life of others - until they (the servants, and ultimately the “fruit”) attain to the resurrection of the dead themselves (see D&C 93:11-14; TPJS 390-393)
· So that one day they can become “precisely” as Christ is and thereby be saved, as they cannot be saved if they differ from Him in any way or to any degree (see LoF 7:9, 15-16)
· They will have joy in their labor because they are filled with the love of the Lord and His Spirit and share His desires (see 1 Nephi 8: 11-12; Alma 36:24)
The Millennium and End of the Earth
READ Jacob 5:76-77
What is the “long time” during which the vineyard produces good fruit?
· The thousand years of the Millennium
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?
· They don’t – at least not on this earth…
· Either they merited an easier mortality based on past righteousness (although they are still “fruit” and not “servants” so how will they continue to learn to be like Christ without the opposition of a Telestial mortal experience?)
· Or they have not yet been prepared for a Telestial mortal experience and will face them eventually (but they are still “good fruit” or Sons of God and Heirs of Exaltation in the House of Israel or Family of God – so if they are so inexperienced as to not warrant a Telestial experience yet, what does that say for all of the Gentiles, Heathens and even Israel who will not rise up but remain “wild fruit” – unredeemed, plucked off and burned? Are they/we spiraling down in their eternal progression but are still being offered chances to awake and arise? While those born in a time of paradisiacal glory have not yet progressed to the point where they need to face those tests? Or have they successfully faced them and being born into a time of peace and an open veil with the heavens is a reward for past valiance?
What is implied by the fact that after a long time evil fruit begins to come back into the vineyard?
· That those who are born into a Terrestrial world still have agency and opposition – they could choose to sin against the greater light they are living in and introduce darkness back into the world
· What will end the Millennium will be those born into a Terrestrial world choosing to embrace the dark rather than the light (see Revelation 20:7-8)
· And if it follows any of the patterns we can see elsewhere, it will begin with pride, the withdrawal of angels and the Lord back to heaven, differentiation between people, the end of having all things in common, dividing into groups, persecuting the poor or disadvantaged, and eventually the withdrawal of the Spirit as they descend into evil (see 4 Nephi).
· Satan will try to drive a wedge of enmity between Zion and the Lord by subtly finding fault in the Lord and with God’s plan: Why so little “good fruit”? What right is there to discard bitter fruit – they are all people doing their best. Why was the bitter fruit burned – where is the mercy and grace? Is not the worth of each soul great enough that the Lord of the Vineyard should have done more? How can the Lord have the best interests of the vineyard in mind or really love the vineyard when so many have been discarded – they were “good” fruit in their way or perhaps could have become good fruit under other circumstances – the test was too hard and cruel and the threshold to qualify as “good fruit” too high and difficult. What of the fruit that came into the world through wild branches – what chance did they have? How will people react to the fact that while they assumed they would be saved, they have not done what was required? (see D&C 45:2) Will they admit that the Lord’s judgement was correct or will they join Satan in accusing the Lord that the whole probation was unfair?
· Perhaps these souls have “passed the test” of being proven in the telestial world but have not yet progressed to the point of being “servants” – they are still being proved and the level of obedience and light they must demonstrate to live in a Terrestrial world is so much greater than what we must display (who are in a Telestial probation) that it is not as easy as we think!
Why would a vineyard owner burn his whole vineyard down?
· To prepare the ground for a new planting – burning is the natural “reboot” function for biological life
· A new heaven and earth will be created from these materials, as was the case with this world on which we now live – either to be celestialized or to be used again in another mortal creation and probation
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?
· Remove the bitter fruit by cutting away wild branches and burning them
· Encouraging good fruit by pruning, grafting, nourishing and laboring to create an effective growing situation
· He cannot compel them to be “good fruit”
· And he cannot just rip out all wild branches because that could kill the trees
What is the natural disposition of the trees of the vineyard – both wild and tame – with regards to the kind of fruit produced?
· Bitter fruit
· Unless great care is taken, the trees grow lofty and the fruit becomes bad
With this in mind, what strikes you most about the Lord of the Vineyard?
· He is patient, despite all of the frustration and setbacks
· He blames Himself – “what more could I have done for my vineyard” – but He honors the agency of the trees and fruit – they must react favorably to His “husbandry”
· He labors Himself with great effort in the vineyard and continually directs the work of His servants, too
While we hope and assume that we are in verse 73 of the story, we are really only in verse 55 or thereabouts – it is still “all to play for” for us personally.
READ Jacob 6:1
What is Jacob’s prophesy?
· That Zenos’ words are true – that the Olive Tree Allegory is a vision of the history of the House of Israel and will come to pass
· Jacob knows this – it is his prophesy – because he has also seen the same vision!
READ Jacob 6:2-8, 11
Who is Jacob really speaking to?
· The Remnant of Lehi and the Gentiles of the last days
· He directs his comments clearly to those living in the “day that He should set His hand the second time to recover His people”
What is his message to us?
· Pay attention to the allegory
· The conditions will be created by the Lord and His servants one last time for good fruit to be produced again in the vineyard – and we know it will be produced because he (Jacob) has seen it in vision
· But it is all dependent upon us individually if WE will not be that good fruit
· We must awake to our awful state and repent and soften our hearts
· We must come unto Christ with full purpose of heart and cleave unto Him – embrace Him
· With the graft in place, we must listen to Christ’s own voice and drink deeply of the nourishment of the root of the gospel – the Ancient Order of Things – and enter into the strait gate and walk the narrow path back to Christ’s presence to be sealed up to eternal life during mortality, to be filled with light and ripen to be good fruit!
Sherem the Anti-Christ
READ Jacob 7:1-5
What flattering things could be preached by Sherem to “overthrow the doctrine of Christ”?
· You are good people who keep the commandments and you have no need to really repent and change, no need to humble yourself to the dust – that is excessive
· You are too smart and sophisticated to fall for this fable – there is no proof other than your own feelings and thoughts regarding whether you have received this “spiritual rebirth” the priests teach you about and since no “Christ” will really appear to you to “seal you up”, you have no way of knowing the truth of this doctrine; but priests like Jacob will tell you that Christ exists to bind you down to their (the priest’s) authority and control – but you will not fall for it
Why does Sherem want to debate Jacob and try to shake him from the faith?
· If he can discredit the priest, he can steal the congregation
· If he can recruit the priest, he can co-opt the congregation
· He really doesn’t believe that Jacob has seen Christ
READ Jacob 7:6-7
What is Sherem’s accusation against Jacob?
· That he has gone beyond the Law of Moses, the current practice of the Church
· He is accusing Jacob of receiving “revelation” but not from God, because God would not change His current practices as laid out in the scriptures (as he understands them as a scholar) and in generations of priestly traditions
· He is accusing Jacob of leading the Saints astray
· He is insinuating that Jacob is preaching that the current practice of the Church (the Law of Moses) is insufficient to save and that he (Jacob) is preaching “deeper mysteries” of a Christ that one must come unto rather than trusting in one’s works of righteousness to be saved, as per the Law of Moses
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”?
· He is claiming that he (Sherem) speaks for God and can declare with surety what is true and what is false but being taught as true (“blasphemy”)
· He justifies his own understanding and preaching in the name of God (using that name in vain if he does not have that direct connection with, and message from God)
· If he is wrong in that he does not speak for God, his judgement is incorrect, but he is proceeds with his accusation anyway from a position of scholarship or priestly authority; he will be damned for perverting the right way of God himself
READ Jacob 7:8-15
How did Jacob confound Sherem, despite his (Sherem’s) learning, clever arguments and sophisticated language?
· Because the Lord “poured” His Spirit into Jacob’s soul
· Jacob was “animated” by God Himself through the Spirit
· And God is more learned and clever than Sherem
How does Sherem “know” that there is no Christ?
· Knowing is experiential – it is having ones’ belief or faith confirmed through actual empirical evidence, albeit in the body or out of the body, it is sometimes hard to tell (see Alma 32:33-35; 3 Nephi 11:15; 2 Corinthians 12:2-3)
· He does not know – and he is lying when he says he “knows” – he may “believe” or “understand through his learning” but he does not know
· Unlike Korihor, who was visited by Satan as an angel of light, it seems that Sherem had never seen or known God; his denial of the reality of a Christ was from his scholarly (mis)understanding of the scriptures
How does Jacob “know” there is a Christ?
· He has met Him in the flesh and been ministered to by Him (see v12; 2 Nephi 11:3; 2 Nephi 2:3-4; Jacob 1:17)
· Those visits in the flesh were accompanied by the power of the Holy Ghost as a second witness that He who was appearing to Jacob was in fact Jesus Christ (v12)
Did Sherem read the scriptures and if so, how could he misunderstand them so deeply?
· He did read the scriptures
· And he knew or believed that they testified of a Christ but he denied it (v19)
· He allowed his scholarship regarding the Law of Moses and pride in his learning and priestcraft (v3) to blind him to the truth – he looked beyond the mark of Christ to salvation through the works of the Law of Moses or current practice of the Church
What curse did Sherem bring upon himself?
· Nephi’s three-fold “wo” curse that if you pervert the right way of the Lord through your teaching of false doctrines, you will be thrust down to hell – not just for now but through the eternities (see 2 Nephi 28:15)
READ Jacob 7:16-20
How did Sherem know he would die the next day?
· God had told him, probably through the ministry of angels (v17)
· He was finally beginning to receive revelation from a true source – he spoke to them true doctrine regarding Christ, the Holy Ghost, the ministry of angels, hell, eternity and punishment
· It was given to him such that he “knew” it was true – that his death was imminent
Had Sherem committed the unpardonable sin?
· It is hard to know for sure, but it doesn’t appear from the text that he had been visited by angelic messengers prior to his cursing
· If this is true, then he was not visited by the Lord Himself and sealed up to Eternal Life by the Father – so he did not qualify for perdition
· Although he is in big trouble with God, as he knew or believed some true doctrine but lied about it and twisted it to fit his own philosophies of men about the Law of Moses and has received a three-fold wo for teaching doctrine he knew was false as an authoritative source, such that others believed him and were damned as a result
READ Jacob 7:21-23
How was peace and the love of God restored among the people?
· The power of God came down upon them – instead of relying on a man to save them, they connected personally with God through His Spirit in a powerful way
· They turned back to the scriptures to search the word of God themselves and be taught by the Spirit – again, instead of relying on the words of a man’s interpretation to teach and save them
· Notice Jacob didn’t say “they turned back to MY words and hearkened no more to the words of this WICKED man”, as I have authority from Nephi
Why, when the people searched the scriptures, did they hearken no more to Sherem’s words?
· By searching the scriptures, the people were able to understand correct doctrine and were no longer deceived by the lies of Sherem
· This is part of the reason why Jacob was able to confound Sherem – he knew the doctrine, lived it and was changed by it so the lies of a man like Sherem had no effect on him – he knew better from his own experience
