Jacob 5:19-23

19 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: Come, let us go to the nethermost part of the vineyard, and behold if the natural branches of the tree have not brought forth much fruit also, that I may lay up of the fruit thereof against the season, unto mine own self.

20 And it came to pass that they went forth whither the master had hid the natural branches of the tree, and he said unto the servant: Behold these; and he beheld the first that it had brought forth much fruit; and he beheld also that it was good.  And he said unto the servant: Take of the fruit thereof, and lay it up against the season, that I may preserve it unto mine own self; for behold, said he, this long time have I nourished it, and it hath brought forth much fruit.

21 And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master: How comest thou hither to plant this tree, or this branch of the tree?  For behold, it was the poorest spot in all the land of thy vineyard.

22 And the Lord of the vineyard said unto him: Counsel me not; I knew that it was a poor spot of ground; wherefore, I said unto thee, I have nourished it this long time, and thou beholdest that it hath brought forth much fruit.

23 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto his servant: Look hither; behold I have planted another branch of the tree also; and thou knowest that this spot of ground was poorer than the first.  But, behold the tree.  I have nourished it this long time, and it hath brought forth much fruit; therefore, gather it, and lay it up against the season, that I may preserve it unto mine own self.

Jacob 5:19-23

The Lord of the vineyard went to his servant.  He wanted to go to the farthest part of the vineyard to see if the natural branches grafted on to the tree in that part of the vineyard was bearing fruit.  If it is, the Lord wanted to take the fruit and store it for himself.

The servant and the master went to the tree.  Looking at the tree the master saw that it had brought forth much good fruit.  The master ordered that it be preserved for himself.

Seeing the abundance of the fruit, the servant asked why there was so much fruit.  The tree was on the poorest spot of land in the vineyard.  Can olives actually grow well on poor ground?

Because of its underground root system, olives can obtain water and nutrients in poor soils that receive little rainfall, provided the physical properties of the soil meet certain minimum standards and that the volume of soil is sufficient for each tree.⁸⁸ The olive needs sufficient, but not too much, water and is otherwise not particularly affected by soil variations. It is a "rich plant for poor soils," provided adequate nutrients are supplied. Even exceptionally poor soils can be used for the olive, but the lower the nutrient supply in the soil, the greater the volume of soil necessary. On poor soil, wide spacing is essential. The poorness of the site must be compensated by intensive cultural technique, as is reflected in Jacob 5:22–23. Negligence of the least detail may jeopardize the trees. Olives need a light, well‑drained soil and will not grow well on heavy or poorly‑drained soils.⁸⁹ They prefer loose, calcareous, fertile land mingled with stones.[1]

The Lord of the vineyard told the servant, “Counsel me not.”  He knew it was poor ground.  Because of this, he spent much time nourishing and taking care of the tree. That is why it brought forth so much good fruit.

Noel Reynolds discusses Jacob’s words that we should not seek to counsel the Lord.

In chapter 4, Jacob teaches that people should "seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand" (Jacob 4:10). The doctrine appears to be the same as the Lord's injunction to his servant in the olive allegory when he says, "Counsel me not; I knew that it was a poor spot of ground; wherefore, I said unto thee, I have nourished it this long time, and thou beholdest that it hath brought forth much fruit" (Jacob 5:22). 

However, because the wording Jacob uses to develop the concept (Jacob 5:8–10) is so similar to Paul's treatment of the same subject (Romans 11:33–36) in conjunction with his own reflections on the olive allegory (Romans 11:14–25), one is led to wonder whether both might not be drawing on a more extended statement by Zenos not preserved in either the Bible or the Book of Mormon. Both passages refer to the creation, to the greatness of God's wisdom and the fact that his ways are not known to man, and that God's judgments or the depths of his mysteries are unsearchable. While there are some similarities between Romans 11 and some of Isaiah's references to the counsel of the Lord (see especially Isaiah 11:2 and 28:9), none of these reflect the broad similarities found in the comparison with Jacob, again, in double connection with the Zenos allegory.[2]

The Lord of the vineyard had planted another branch.  This branch was planted in even poorer soil than the first.  It grew because the Lord had “nourished it this long time.”  This is how it brought forth such good fruit.

One of the branches was planted in "a poor spot of ground . . . poorer than the first" (Jacob 5:22–23). Nevertheless, this plant thrived. Although olives sometimes do well in poor soils because of their long maturing period and ability to tolerate considerable salinity, boron, etc., it is only with much attention to cultural practices that productive trees will grow on poor soil. When all of the important cultural factors are carefully optimized, olive trees will grow and produce a crop on poor soil. Accordingly, the unusual poorness of the soil in this part of the allegory draws attention to the extraordinary care and power of the Lord of the vineyard. The production of good fruit by the plant under these circumstances is attributable exclusively to the fact that the Lord had "nourished it this long time" (Jacob 5:23).[3]

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[1] Botanical Aspects of Olive Culture Relevant to Jacob 5, Wilford M. Hess, Daniel Fairbanks, John W. Welch, and Jonathan K. Driggs, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 4, 2014.

[2] Nephite Uses and Interpretations of Zenos, Noel B. Reynolds, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 8, 2014.

[3] Botanical Aspects of Olive Culture Relevant to Jacob 5, Wilford M. Hess, Daniel Fairbanks, John W. Welch, and Jonathan K. Driggs, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 4, 2014.