44 And thou beheldest
that I also cut down that which cumbered this spot of ground, that I might
plant this tree in the stead thereof.
45 And thou beheldest
that a part thereof brought forth good fruit, and a part thereof brought forth
wild fruit; and because I plucked not the branches thereof and cast them into
the fire, behold, they have overcome the good branch that it hath withered
away.
Jacob 5:44-45
The Lord is lamenting the fact the branch he planted is not
bringing forth good fruit. “One of the
key elements of the allegory of Zenos is the image of taking cuttings from the
tame tree and not just grafting them into other trees (Jacob 5:8–9) but
clearing the ground (Jacob 5:44) and ‘planting’ them elsewhere (Jacob 5:23, 24,
25, 54). These branches will take root (Jacob 5:54).”[1]
Matthew Roper addresses how the Nephites fit into the
allegory.
“The allegory of the olive tree, as recounted by Jacob,
spells their fate out even more plainly. Branches broken off the tame tree,
which represents historical Israel (Jacob 5:3), are to be grafted onto the
roots of wild trees, meaning non-Israelite groups. In other words, there is to
be a demographic union between two groups, with ‘young and tender branches’
from the original tree, Israel, being grafted onto wild rootstock in various
parts of the vineyard or the earth (Jacob 5:8; see also 14). Jacob 5:25 and 43
clearly identify Lehi’s people as such a broken-off branch. That branch is to
be planted in the choicest spot of the vineyard. In that prime location, the
Lord has already cut down ‘that which cumbered this spot of ground’ (Jacob
5:44)—clearly a reference to the destruction of the Jaredites. In
addition, the statement that one part of the new hybrid tree ‘brought forth
good fruit,’ while the other portion ‘brought forth wild fruit,’ is an obvious
reference to the Nephites and Lamanites respectively (Jacob 5:45).”[2]
Mormon used the example of the Jaredites when writing Moroni2
about the future of the Nephites. “And
if they perish it will be like unto the Jaredites, because of the wilfulness of
their hearts, seeking for blood and revenge” (Moroni 9:23).
“A part of the tree had brought forth good fruit and part
had brought forth wild fruit. [T]he
statement that one part of the new hybrid tree ‘brought forth good fruit,’
while the other portion ‘brought forth wild fruit,’ is an obvious reference to
the Nephites and Lamanites respectively (Jacob 5:45).”[3]
Nephi had referred to this when teaching his brethren.
“Behold, I say unto you, that the house of Israel was
compared unto an olive-tree, by the Spirit of the Lord which was in our father;
and behold are we not broken off from the house of Israel, and are we not a
branch of the house of Israel?
“And now, the thing which our father meaneth concerning the
grafting in of the natural branches through the fulness of the Gentiles, is,
that in the latter days, when our seed shall have dwindled in unbelief, yea,
for the space of many years, and many generations after the Messiah shall be
manifested in body unto the children of men, then shall the fulness of the
gospel of the Messiah come unto the Gentiles, and from the Gentiles unto the
remnant of our seed—
“And at that day shall the remnant of our seed know that
they are of the house of Israel, and that they are the covenant people of the
Lord; and then shall they know and come to the knowledge of their forefathers,
and also to the knowledge of the gospel of their Redeemer, which was ministered
unto their fathers by him; wherefore, they shall come to the knowledge of their
Redeemer and the very points of his doctrine, that they may know how to come
unto him and be saved.
“And then at that day will they not rejoice and give praise
unto their everlasting God, their rock and their salvation? Yea, at that day, will they not receive the
strength and nourishment from the true vine?
Yea, will they not come unto the true fold of God?
“Behold, I say unto you, Yea; they shall be remembered again
among the house of Israel; they shall be grafted in, being a natural branch of
the olive-tree, into the true olive-tree.
“And this is what our father meaneth; and he meaneth that it
will not come to pass until after they are scattered by the Gentiles; and he
meaneth that it shall come by way of the Gentiles, that the Lord may show his
power unto the Gentiles, for the very cause that he shall be rejected of the
Jews, or of the house of Israel” (1 Nephi 15:12-17).
Blessing his posterity, Lehi would tell them, “Wherefore,
Joseph truly saw our day. And he
obtained a promise of the Lord, that out of the fruit of his loins the Lord God
would raise up a righteous branch unto the house of Israel; not the Messiah,
but a branch which was to be broken off, nevertheless, to be remembered in the
covenants of the Lord that the Messiah should be made manifest unto them in the
latter days, in the spirit of power, unto the bringing of them out of darkness
unto light—yea, out of hidden darkness and out of captivity unto freedom” (2
Nephi 3:5).
Moroni1 would refer to the Nephites as a remnant
of Jacob when rallying the Nephites.
“Yea, let us preserve our liberty as a remnant of Joseph;
yea, let us remember the words of Jacob, before his death, for behold, he saw
that a part of the remnant of the coat of Joseph was preserved and had not
decayed. And he said—Even as this
remnant of garment of my son hath been preserved, so shall a remnant of the
seed of my son be preserved by the hand of God, and be taken unto himself,
while the remainder of the seed of Joseph shall perish, even as the remnant of
his garment.
“Now behold, this giveth my soul sorrow; nevertheless, my
soul hath joy in my son, because of that part of his seed which shall be taken
unto God.
“Now behold, this was the language of Jacob” (Alma 46:24-26).
[1]
Botanical Aspects of Olive Culture Relevant to Jacob 5, Wilford M. Hess, Daniel
Fairbanks, John W. Welch, and Jonathan K. Driggs, Maxwell Institute.
[2]Nephi's
Neighbors: Book of Mormon Peoples and Pre-Columbian Populations, Matthew Roper,
Maxwell Institute.
[3]
Ibid.
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