62 Wherefore, let us
go to and labor with our might this last time, for behold the end draweth nigh,
and this is for the last time that I shall prune my vineyard.
63 Graft in the
branches; begin at the last that they may be first, and that the first may be
last, and dig about the trees, both old and young, the first and the last; and
the last and the first, that all may be nourished once again for the last time.
64 Wherefore, dig
about them, and prune them, and dung them once more, for the last time, for the
end draweth nigh. And if it be so that
these last grafts shall grow, and bring forth the natural fruit, then shall ye
prepare the way for them, that they may grow.
65 And as they begin
to grow ye shall clear away the branches which bring forth bitter fruit,
according to the strength of the good and the size thereof; and ye shall not
clear away the bad thereof all at once, lest the roots thereof should be too
strong for the graft, and the graft thereof shall perish, and I lose the trees
of my vineyard.
66 For it grieveth me
that I should lose the trees of my vineyard; wherefore ye shall clear away the
bad according as the good shall grow, that the root and the top may be equal in
strength, until the good shall overcome the bad, and the bad be hewn down and
cast into the fire, that they cumber not the ground of my vineyard; and thus
will I sweep away the bad out of my vineyard.
Jacob 5:62-66
The Lord of the vineyard continues to explain to his servant
what he will do.
This will be the last time he will do anything in the
vineyard. “This is, however, the last
time the Lord of the vineyard will, through grafting and pruning, clean and
purify the vineyard (Jacob 5:62–63; see also D&C 24:19; 39:17; 43:28; and
95:4). He will continue this process until there is no more degeneracy or
corruption anywhere in the vineyard and the whole earth is full of his glory.”[1]
The Lord had been talking about burning the vineyard. This appears to be a drastic measure. The truth is, it isn’t.
“[B]urning an olive grove is a symbol of rebirth. The Lord’s
efforts throughout the allegory represent the last effort, leading to the ‘last
time’ that he will graft and plant as he does to rejuvenate the old tree in his
vineyard (Jacob 5:62–64, 71, 75–77), but the image of burning in the end is not
one of destruction. It conveys botanically the idea of starting over. It
reminds us that the Lord had preserved the roots of the young shoots planted in
the nethermost parts for an unstated future purpose (Jacob 5:54). After the
vineyard is burned, the old stump will be removed and the young roots will
shoot forth new growth carrying forth the favorable genetic [material].”[2]
The Lord decided to graft branches beginning with the last
tree and continuing until he finishes with the first. The process will work the same as they
nourish the tree. They will begin with
the last tree and continue until they finish with the first tree. This is the last time he will nourish them.
The angel speaking to Nephi during his great vision told
him, “And the time cometh that he shall manifest himself unto all nations, both
unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles; and after he has manifested himself
unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles, then he shall manifest himself unto
the Gentiles and also unto the Jews, and the last shall be first, and the first
shall be last” (1 Nephi 13:42).
Referring to the words of Ether, Moroni2 wrote:
“And then cometh the New Jerusalem; and blessed are they who
dwell therein, for it is they whose garments are white through the blood of the
Lamb; and they are they who are numbered among the remnant of the seed of
Joseph, who were of the house of Israel.
“And then also cometh the Jerusalem of old; and the
inhabitants thereof, blessed are they, for they have been washed in the blood
of the Lamb; and they are they who were scattered and gathered in from the four
quarters of the earth, and from the north countries, and are partakers of the
fulfilling of the covenant which God made with their father, Abraham.
“And when these things come, bringeth to pass the scripture
which saith, there are they who were first, who shall be last; and there are
they who were last, who shall be first” (Ether 13:10-12).
The Lord told Joseph Smith, “But remember that all my
judgments are not given unto men; and as the words have gone forth out of my
mouth even so shall they be fulfilled, that the first shall be last, and that
the last shall be first in all things whatsoever I have created by the word of
my power, which is the power of my Spirit” (D&C 29:30).
Writing about Zenos’s allegory, Hugh Nibley explained:
“To restore the tree the Lord of the garden must work with a
will: ‘When I apply my hand to dig the furrows thereof,’ says the Thanksgiving
Hymns, ‘its roots strike even on granite, its stocks are firm-grounded in the
earth.’ Through Zenos the Lord commands: ‘Dig about the trees, both old
and young, the first and the last. . . . Prepare the way for them,
that they may grow’ (Jacob 5:63—64). And when this is done, ‘the natural
branches began to grow and thrive exceedingly . . . and they did keep
the root . . . thereof equal, according to the strength thereof’
(Jacob 5:73).”[3]
Dig around the trees, the Lord says. Prune and fertilize the trees. Again, he emphasizes, “for the last tie, for
the end draweth nigh.” If the grafts
grow and bring forth natural fruit, “then shall ye prepare the way for them,
that they may grow.”
“Rather than raze the unprofitable, apostate earth, God
decided to try one more time to establish the gospel on the earth to see if the
trees of the vineyard would produce good fruit. He began by having the branches
from the mother tree ‘grafted into the natural trees” and branches from the
natural trees ‘grafted into their mother tree’ (Jacob 5:55 and 56). He
instructed the servant to ‘dig about them, and prune them, and dung them once
more, for the last time’ (Jacob 5:64).”[4]
As they grow, the servant is told to clear away the branches
that have bitter fruit, according to the strength and size of the roots.
“In Jacob 5:65 it is stated, ‘And ye shall not
clear away the bad thereof all at once, lest the roots thereof should be too
strong for the graft, and the graft thereof shall perish, and I lose the trees
of my vineyard.’ If all of the branches were replaced at the same time, the
tree and roots could be overstressed. Perhaps the ‘roots being too strong for
the graft’ refers to excess water and minerals being made available at the
deficit of photosynthetic products, because the newly grafted branches would
not have enough foliage to photosynthesize and translocate carbon compounds to
the roots.”[5]
Don’t clear all the bad branches at once, “lest the roots
thereof should be too strong for the graft, and the graft thereof shall perish,
and I lose the trees of my vineyard.” Paul
Hoskisson writes:
“The gathering described in the allegory is also
deliberately slow … From the transplanted tame trees that had become wild,
natural branches would be cut and grafted back into the mother tree, and from
the mother tree which had also become wild, branches would be grafted into the
transplanted tame trees. As these branches gain strength and as the roots can
bear it, the branches that continue to produce wild fruit will eventually be
pruned out and destroyed.”[6]
The Lord does not want to lose the trees in his
vineyard. The servant is told to clear
away the bad so the good grows. The root
and top of the tree should be the same in strength. The good should overcome the bad, “and the
bad be hewn down and cast into the fire.”
The Lord will “sweep away the bad out of my vineyard.”
“It is necessary to achieve and maintain a proper balance
between the roots and branches of the olive tree. Due to various climate and
soil conditions, the one may grow more vigorously than the other. Pruning does
not necessarily stop excessive growth when trees are young and may even
aggravate the imbalance between the above-and below-ground portions of the
tree. When trees are young with inadequate foliage, pruning should be
minimized. As trees get older more severe pruning becomes necessary because of
the now diminished root activity.”[7]
[1]
The Allegory of the Olive Tree in Jacob, Paul Y. Hoskisson, Maxwell Institute.
[2]
Botanical Aspects of Olive Culture Relevant to Jacob 5, Wilford M. Hess, Daniel
Fairbanks, John W. Welch, and Jonathan K. Driggs, Maxwell Institute.
[3]
Prophets in the Wilderness, Hugh Nibley, Maxwell Institute.
[4]
The Allegory of the Olive Tree in Jacob, Paul Y. Hoskisson, Maxwell Institute.
[5]
Botanical Aspects of Olive Culture Relevant to Jacob 5, Wilford M. Hess, Daniel
Fairbanks, John W. Welch, and Jonathan K. Driggs, Maxwell Institute.
[6]
The Allegory of the Olive Tree in Jacob, Paul Y. Hoskisson, Maxwell Institute.
[7]
Botanical Aspects of Olive Culture Relevant to Jacob 5, Wilford M. Hess, Daniel
Fairbanks, John W. Welch, and Jonathan K. Driggs, Maxwell Institute.
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