Jacob 5:44-45

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.61 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.

12 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?

13 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—

14 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.

15 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?

16 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.

17 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. 

24 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.

25 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.

26 Now behold, this was the language of Jacob.

Alma 46:24-26

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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]Nephi's Neighbors: Book of Mormon Peoples and Pre-Columbian Populations, Matthew Roper, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 16, 2014.

[3] Ibid.

Jacob 5:38-43

38 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto his servant: Let us go down into the nethermost parts of the vineyard, and behold if the natural branches have also brought forth evil fruit.

39 And it came to pass that they went down into the nethermost parts of the vineyard.  And it came to pass that they beheld that the fruit of the natural branches had become corrupt also; yea, the first and the second and also the last; and they had all become corrupt.

40 And the wild fruit of the last had overcome that part of the tree which brought forth good fruit, even that the branch had withered away and died.

41 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard wept, and said unto the servant: What could I have done more for my vineyard?

42 Behold, I knew that all the fruit of the vineyard, save it were these, had become corrupted.  And now these which have once brought forth good fruit have also become corrupted; and now all the trees of my vineyard are good for nothing save it be to be hewn down and cast into the fire.

43 And behold this last, whose branch hath withered away, I did plant in a good spot of ground; yea, even that which was choice unto me above all other parts of the land of my vineyard.

Jacob 5:38-43

The Lord of the vineyard wants to check the farthest part of the vineyard where he had grafted natural branches.  He wanted to check to see if they also have wild fruit growing on the natural branches.

When the Lord and his servant arrived, he found the natural branches had all become corrupt.  Wild fruit was now growing on parts of the tree, which had brought forth good fruit.  One of the branches had died.

Seeing the corruption of the fruit, the Lord of the vineyard wept.  He turned to his servant and asked, “What could I have done more for my vineyard?” 

It takes time and effort to care for an olive tree.

The Lord of the vineyard often remarks: "It grieveth me that I should lose this tree" (Jacob 5:7, 11, 13, 32, 46, 47, 51, 66), and he weeps at the thought of losing his tree (Jacob 5:41). Zenos represents the tree as a precious commodity and a substantial asset. It takes about two years to grow and graft scions to rootstocks, and the plants remain in the nursery for another three to four years. After the trees are planted it will take at least six years to start production and about forty years for it to come into full production.¹⁰¹ White states that "a tree of such slow growth represents a heavy investment of time and labor."¹⁰² [1]

Remembering the Lord of the vineyard represents Christ, we know that He works for the good of all of us.  Lehi said, “Wherefore, men are free according to the flesh; and ^call things are given them which are expedient unto man.  And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself” (2 Nephi 2:27). Nephi wrote, “He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; for he loveth the world, even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw ^call men unto him.  Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation” (2 Nephi 26:24).  Ammon taught, “Now my brethren, we see that God is mindful of every people, whatsoever land they may be in; yea, he numbereth his people, and his bowels of mercy are over all the earth.  Now this is my joy, and my great thanksgiving; yea, and I will give thanks unto my God forever” (Alma 26:37).

John Tanner emphasizes Christ’s love for us all.

A key phrase in the allegory is "it grieveth me that I should lose this tree," repeated eight times. By means of such repetition, the allegory celebrates the Lord's long-suffering love. The frequent repetition of the line describes the quality of that divine love—it is unfailing, persistent, tenacious. This message of the Lord's love matters as much as, if not more than, the historical details of his plan to redeem Israel. Yes, the allegory tells how the Lord of the vineyard will work out his grand design in history. But more than this, it shows that he weeps over the loss of his trees: "It came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard wept, and said unto the servant: What could I have done more for my vineyard" (Jacob 5:41; see also Moses 7:28-41). The Lord of the universe grieves that he should lose any tree of the vineyard. What a remarkable witness! I find this allegory one of the most eloquent scriptural testimonies of God's love anywhere. Surely Jacob did too.[2]

The fruit had become corrupted.  What is meant by “corrupted?”

The word "corrupted" is not a botanical term. One can interpret the term to mean generally unsound. If this is correct it likely means that the branches were literally of no more use. In verse 40, "the branch hath withered away and died" and verse 43 refers to a tree "whose branch had withered away." This suggests that the branches were no longer functional. The life had gone out of them or perhaps they were decayed. If the wood is dead the best option may be for them to be "hewn down and cast into the fire" (Jacob 5:42). Dead wood is also likely to have parasites and pathogens, and one of the best ways to reduce the inoculum potential is to burn the infested plant materials. Olive wood contains resin and oil, so it burns quite readily.[3]

The Lord was concerned that all the trees in the vineyard had become corrupt.  The only thing they are good for is being cast into a fire.  “And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire” (Matthew 3:10).

The Lord lamented he had planted the branch in good, choice ground in his vineyard.

Accordingly, the main factor mentioned in the allegory as the cause of fruit loss was cultural rather than genetic, leading to the withering of good branches. Good branches were grafted onto trees in the nethermost part of the vineyard (Jacob 5:8), but the wild parts of those trees eventually overran them, "even that the [grafted natural] branch had withered away and died" (Jacob 5:40; see also Jacob 5:43), "because I plucked not the [wild] branches thereof and cast them into the fire" (Jacob 5:45).[4]

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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] Jacob and His Descendants as Authors, John S. Tanner, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 14, 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.

[4] Ibid.  

Jacob 5:29-37

29 And it came to pass that a long time had passed away, and the Lord of the vineyard said unto his servant: Come, let us go down into the vineyard, that we may labor again in the vineyard.  For behold, the time draweth near, and the end soon cometh; wherefore, I must lay up fruit against the season, unto mine own self.

30 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard and the servant went down into the vineyard; and they came to the tree whose natural branches had been broken off, and the wild branches had been grafted in; and behold all sorts of fruit did cumber the tree.

31 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard did taste of the fruit, every sort according to its number.  And the Lord of the vineyard said: Behold, this long time have we nourished this tree, and I have laid up unto myself against the season much fruit.

32 But behold, this time it hath brought forth much fruit, and there is none of it which is good.  And behold, there are all kinds of bad fruit; and it profiteth me nothing, notwithstanding all our labor; and now it grieveth me that I should lose this tree.

33 And the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: What shall we do unto the tree, that I may preserve again good fruit thereof unto mine own self?

34 And the servant said unto his master: Behold, because thou didst graft in the branches of the wild olive-tree they have nourished the roots, that they are alive and they have not perished; wherefore thou beholdest that they are yet good.

35 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto his servant: The tree profiteth me nothing, and the roots thereof profit me nothing so long as it shall bring forth evil fruit.

36 Nevertheless, I know that the roots are good, and for mine own purpose I have preserved them; and because of their much strength they have hitherto brought forth, from the wild branches, good fruit.

37 But behold, the wild branches have grown and have overrun the roots thereof; and because that the wild branches have overcome the roots thereof it hath brought forth much evil fruit; and because that it hath brought forth so much evil fruit thou beholdest that it beginneth to perish; and it will soon become ripened, that it may be cast into the fire, except we should do something for it to preserve it.

Jacob 5:33-37

The Lord of the vineyard finished his work caring for his trees and went home.  After “a long time had passed away,” the Lord and his servant returned to work in his vineyard.  The time was coming, he told the servant, and that he must harvest his fruit.

Nephi wrote about this time.  “For the time speedily cometh that the Lord God shall cause a great division among the people, and the wicked will he destroy; and he will spare his people, yea, even if it so be that he must destroy the wicked by fire” (2 Nephi 30:10).  Commenting on this passage, Jacob would say, “And the day that he shall set his hand again the second time to recover his people, is the day, yea, even the last time, that the servants of the Lord shall go forth in his power, to nourish and prune his vineyard; and after that the end soon cometh” (Jacob 6:2).

Paul Hoskisson writes:

When the Lord arrived again after "a long time" (Jacob 5:29) to inspect his vineyard, he found that the mother tree had "brought forth much fruit, and there is none of it which is good. And behold there are all kinds of bad fruit" (Jacob 5:32). This is *precisely the situation of the (Christian) world as described by the Lord to the Prophet Joseph in the Sacred Grove (Joseph Smith–History 1:19). The mother tree in Israel that had borne much good fruit in the early Christian era had become entirely corrupt. As for the first transplanted branches, they also carried nothing but bad fruit. The good section of the last tree, the righteous Lehites, had been entirely destroyed by the evil branch, the apostate Lehites, so that nothing but wild fruit remained on it also. The apostasy had been complete and universal in all the trees representing Israel. Yet the roots remained good (Jacob 5:34).[1]

The Lord and the servant went to the vineyard.  They came to the tree with the grafts and found it full of fruit.  The Lord tasted of the fruits.  Even though he had spent much time nourishing and caring for it, it brought forth bad fruit.

Grafting can be used to change the variety of fruit a plant produces. As an example, several kinds of apple stocks can be grafted onto the same rootstock so the same tree bears several kinds of apples. An important point is that grafting cannot be used to create new kinds of fruit or flowers, even when the scion and stock belong to different species. If a Bartlett pear scion is grafted onto a quince stock the tree will produce Bartlett pears. Bringing forth good, bad, and all sorts of fruit on one tree would require grafting; it would not happen naturally. Thus, it is not surprising that the tame tree with its wild grafts would produce all kinds of fruits (Jacob 5:30), but the branch planted in the nethermost part of the vineyard would not naturally bring forth good fruit on some branches and bad fruit on others, unless someone had come in and grafted wild material onto that scion. Perhaps this is why the Lord of the vineyard asks, "Who is it that has corrupted my vineyard?" (Jacob 5:47).[2]

Describing this situation, Paul Hoskisson writes:

When the Lord of the vineyard came to look at the earth near the end of the Apostasy, he found that none of the various trees of the house of Israel, with or without Gentiles grafted in, were bearing good fruit. Jacob 5:31–32 describes this condition of apostasy, "The Lord of the vineyard did taste of the fruit, every sort according to its number. And the Lord of the vineyard said: Behold, this long time have we nourished this tree, and I have laid up unto myself against the season much fruit. But behold, this time it hath brought forth much fruit, and there is none of it which is good. And behold, there are all kinds of bad fruit; and it profiteth me nothing." (What an apt description of the Apostasy.) This was the condition of the world in 1820.[3]

Seeing the tree brought forth bad fruit, the Lord asked the servant, “What shall we do unto the tree, that I may preserve again good fruit thereof?”

The servant replied the branches grafted onto the tree nourished the roots.  Not only have they not perished, they are alive and good.

The Lord told the servant the tree was worthless.  The roots “profit me nothing so long as it shall bring forth evil fruit.”  Still, the roots are good, and he preserved them for his own purposes.

At first, the Lord of the vineyard appears unsure of the cause of decay in his beloved olive tree. He grafts wild branches into the tame rootstock hoping to revitalize it, and he grafts tame shoots onto other trees in case the tame root dies (Jacob 5:7–8). After seeing how the wild grafts flourish, he knows that the roots of his beloved tree are good (Jacob 5:36) and thus resolves to keep trying, eventually deciding to clear out the wild branches that had been grafted in and to graft back in the original stock from the trees in the nethermost parts of the vineyard (Jacob 5:52).[4]

The wild branches on the tree had overrun the roots.  This is why it was producing bad fruit.  It produces so much bad fruit, “it beginneth to perish.”  Unless a way is found to preserve it, it must be burned.

As trees age it becomes more difficult for the roots to continue to grow and obtain nourishment for the tree, while the foliage is still very active. The equilibrium is broken when mineral substances from the roots become less available. When this happens rejuvenation pruning is necessary to reduce the aerial portions of the tree.¹¹⁹ Accordingly, when the older rootstock of the main tree in Jacob 5 is rejuvenated by extensive grafting, it cannot keep up with the vigorous new growth of the wild stock (Jacob 5:37), and pruning and grafting are necessary as a corrective measure.[5]

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[1] The Allegory of the Olive Tree in Jacob, Paul Y. Hoskisson, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 12, 2014.

[2] 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.

[3] The Allegory of the Olive Tree in Jacob, Paul Y. Hoskisson, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 12, 2014.

[4] 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.

[5] ibid.

Jacob 5:24-28

24 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said again unto his servant: Look hither, and behold another branch also, which I have planted; behold that I have nourished it also, and it hath brought forth fruit.

25 And he said unto the servant: Look hither and behold the last.  Behold, this have I planted in a good spot of ground; and I have nourished it this long time, and only a part of the tree hath brought forth tame fruit, and the other part of the tree hath brought forth wild fruit; behold, I have nourished this tree like unto the others.

26 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: Pluck off the branches that have not brought forth good fruit, and cast them into the fire.

27 But behold, the servant said unto him: Let us prune it, and dig about it, and nourish it a little longer, that perhaps it may bring forth good fruit unto thee, that thou canst lay it up against the season.

28 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard and the servant of the Lord of the vineyard did nourish all the fruit of the vineyard.

Jacob 5:24-28

The Lord and the servant went to another branch of the tame tree that had been planted in another part of the vineyard.  It had been nourished and well taken care of by the Lord of the vineyard.  It now brought forth good fruit.  An example of a “branch” developing “good fruit” was the work of Alma₂ and Amulek.  “That they might not be hardened against the word, that they might not be unbelieving, and go on to destruction, but that they might receive the word with joy, and as a branch be grafted into the true vine, that they might enter into the rest of the Lord their God” (Alma 16:17).

This branch had been planted in good ground.  It had been nourished for a long time but only a part of the tree had tame fruit.  The rest had wild fruit.

John L. Sorenson and Matthew Robert explain:

Branches broken off the tame tree, which represented historical Israel (see Jacob 5:3), were to be grafted onto the roots of "wild" olive trees, meaning non-Israelite groups. That is, there was to be a demographic union between two groups, "young and tender branches" from the original tree, Israel, represented as being grafted onto wild rootstock in various parts of the vineyard or earth (see Jacob 5:8–9). Jacob 5:25 and 43 clearly speak of Lehi's people being represented by such a broken-off branch.[1]

Seeing the branches that brought forth wild fruit, the Lord told the servant to cut off them off and burn them. 

The Savior used the image of burning trees that bring forth bad fruit.

Ye shall know [GR recognize, detect] them by their fruits.  Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Even so every good tree bringeth forth good [The Greek wording carries the meaning of beautiful, precious fruit without blemish] fruit; but a corrupt [GR decayed, rotten, stale] tree bringeth forth evil [GR bad, spoiled, degenerate] fruit.

A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

Matthew 7:16-20

Alma₂ used the image of fruit that is not good when preaching to the people of Zarahemla.  “For behold, the time is at hand that whosoever bringeth forth not good fruit, or whosoever doeth not the works of righteousness, the same have cause to wail and mourn” (Alma 5:36).

The Lord told Joseph Smith, “The ax is laid at the root of the trees; and every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the fire.  I, the Lord, have spoken it” (D&C 97:7).

The servant made a suggestion to the Lord.  Prune the tree and dig around it.  Nourish it a little long and it might bring froth good fruit.

The Lord took the servant’s advice and nourished the tree along with all the fruit in his vineyard

Paul Hoskisson writes:

God is not a partial God (Moroni 8:18); he cares for all parts of his vineyard equally (Jacob 5:28). We may not be able to understand from our finite perspective in what way the seeming inequities of this world can be reconciled with God's statement that he "maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:45). But our omniscient God has assured us that "all are alike unto God" (2 Nephi 26:33). This impartiality of God is illustrated in the allegory when the Lord of the vineyard declares that he has not slackened his hand, but has "nourished" the world, "digged about it, and pruned it . . . almost all the day long" (Jacob 5:47). There is no part of the vineyard that his hand has not touched.³⁰ Indeed, no part of the earth and no inhabitants of the earth can ever justifiably make the claim that God has treated them unjustly. If they have not produced good fruit they cannot blame it on the lack of care God gave to their part of the vineyard.[2]

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[1] Before DNA, John L. Sorenson and Matthew Roper, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 10, 2014.

[2] The Allegory of the Olive Tree in Jacob, Paul Y. Hoskisson, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 10, 2014.

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.

Jacob 5:15-18

15 And it came to pass that a long time passed away, and the Lord of the vineyard said unto his servant: Come, let us go down into the vineyard, that we may labor in the vineyard.

16 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard, and also the servant, went down into the vineyard to labor.  And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master: Behold, look here; behold the tree.

17 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard looked and beheld the tree in the which the wild olive branches had been grafted; and it had sprung forth and begun to bear fruit.  And he beheld that it was good; and the fruit thereof was like unto the natural fruit.

18 And he said unto the servant: Behold, the branches of the wild tree have taken hold of the moisture of the root thereof, that the root thereof hath brought forth much strength; and because of the much strength of the root thereof the wild branches have brought forth tame fruit.  Now, if we had not grafted in these branches, the tree thereof would have perished.  And now, behold, I shall lay up much fruit, which the tree thereof hath brought forth; and the fruit thereof I shall lay up against the season, unto mine own self.

Jacob 5:15-18

Completing the work, the Lord left the vineyard and did not visit it for a long period of time.  This is not unusual when caring for an olive vineyard.

Zenos depicts the Lord of the vineyard typically going away for a season and returning after a relatively long time (Jacob 5:15, 29). While it is important to give olive trees consistent care, they do not require constant attention … The olive requires only a little seasonal attention, and it can be cultivated in areas where cereals and pulses will not grow.⁹⁹ If properly managed, olive groves only need to be worked twice or three times in the winter and usually "one (occasionally two)" cultivations in the summer, in addition to the usual pruning and fertilizing.¹⁰⁰ However, seasonal pruning is time consuming and is a very important component in maintaining a productive olive grove.[1]

The Lord and his servant went to the vineyard to work.  When they arrived, the servant told the master to look at the tame olive tree. 

They noticed that not only had fruit began growing on the wild branches, the fruit was as good as the natural fruit.  Remember, a wild branch grated on a tame tree would produce wild fruit.  “The unexpected change of wild olive branches to tame ones (Jacob 5:17–18) would have seemed a divine portent to our ancient authorities.”[2]

The Savior used the fruit of a tree as an example during His ministry.  “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit” (Matthew 12:33).  He told His apostles, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you” (John 15:16).

Orson Pratt looked at this scripture.  “This latter idea that the Gentiles had failed to bring forth ‘fruit’ points to the Saints' understanding of what resulted from the ingrafting of the ‘wild branches.’ Zenos mentioned that initially they had begun ‘to bear fruit’ (Jacob 5:17), which [Orson] Pratt explained as ‘the Gentiles in the Apostles' day.’"[3]

Why did the wild branches bring forth good fruit?  The Lord attributes this to the root being strong and giving moisture. 

On one occasion Zenos states that the wild branches began to produce good fruit. But the Lord of the vineyard attributes this solely to the strength of the roots, not to any constitutional change: "Behold, the branches of the wild tree have taken hold of the moisture of the root thereof, that the root thereof hath brought forth much strength; and because of the much strength of the root thereof, the wild branches have brought forth tame fruit" (Jacob 5:18).[4]

M. Catherine Thomas writes:

Perhaps the ultimate definition of oil in scripture, that which draws together all those mentioned above, appears in the Savior's parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1–13), which he explicates in D&C 45, identifying the oil as the Holy Ghost (D&C 45:56–57). The Lord Jesus is the agent of the Atonement, but the medium of the at-one-ment is the Holy Ghost—that sap or moisture that flows from the trunk through the branches. Perhaps something of this idea suggests itself in Jacob 5:18: "The branches of the wild tree have taken hold of the moisture of the root thereof, that the root thereof hath brought forth much . . . tame fruit." Jacob makes a similar metaphorical connection when he exhorts Israel not to "quench the Holy Spirit" (Jacob 6:8).[5]

The Lord tells the servant that, had they not grafted in the branches, the tree would have died.  Now, the tree will produce fruit, “and the fruit thereof, I shall lay up against the seasons unto mine own self.”

John Tvedtnes writes:

In a passage reminiscent of the parable of Zenos, Christ identified himself as the plant of which his disciples are branches (see John 15:1-2, 4-6, 8) … As in the parable of Zenos, the branches take strength from the main plant (in this case a vine) and bear good fruit (cf. Jacob 5:18), while the unfruitful branches are removed and burned in the fire (Jacob 5:7, 26, 37, 42, 45–47, 49). Another feature shared by the two passages is that God is the husbandman (cf. Jacob 6:2, 4).[6]

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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] Graft and Corruption: On Olives and Olive Culture in the Pre-Modern Mediterranean,  John Gee and Daniel C. Peterson, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 6, 2014.

[3] Jacob 5 in the Nineteenth Century. Grant Underwood, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 6, 2014.

[4] 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.

[5] Jacob's Allegory: The Mystery of Christ, M. Catherine Thomas, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 6, 2014.

[6] Borrowings from the Parable of Zenos, John Tvedtnes, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 6, 2014.

Jacob 5:11-14

11 And the Lord of the vineyard caused that it should be digged about, and pruned, and nourished, saying unto his servant: It grieveth me that I should lose this tree; wherefore, that perhaps I might preserve the roots thereof that they perish not, that I might preserve them unto myself, I have done this thing.

12 Wherefore, go thy way; watch the tree, and nourish it, according to my words.

13 And these will I place in the nethermost part of my vineyard, whithersoever I will, it mattereth not unto thee; and I do it that I may preserve unto myself the natural branches of the tree; and also, that I may lay up fruit thereof against the season, unto myself; for it grieveth me that I should lose this tree and the fruit thereof.

14 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard went his way, and hid the natural branches of the tame olive-tree in the nethermost parts of the vineyard, some in one and some in another, according to his will and pleasure.

Jacob 5:11-14

The Lord of the vineyard had the tree pruned and nourished.  If he couldn’t save the tree, he wanted to attempt to save the roots of the tree.  The roots are important.

Good root structure is vital to the productivity of the olive and a valuable resource to be preserved and cared for (Jacob 5:11, 59). Up to the third or fourth year, olive roots grow vertically downward after which these original roots are replaced by another underground root system developed from nodules, which form on the base of the trunk just below the soil surface. The nature of the roots can be judged in part by the soil which helps to determine the manner of root growth. Heavy, poorly aerated soil causes a network of fine roots to form near the surface. Sandy soils are easy for roots to penetrate, so the root system becomes much more extensive.⁹⁵ One can also know whether the roots are good by the age of the tree and by examining the other vital signs such as leaf size, fruit set, and fruit size.[1]

The Lord told the servant he would place the branches in a faraway part of the vineyard to preserve the branches.  He wanted to preserve them because he did not want to lose the tame tree and the olives it produced.

Lehi spoke of Israel using the olive tree analogy.  “Yea, even my father spake much concerning the Gentiles, and also concerning the house of Israel, that they should be compared like unto an  olive-tree, whose branches should be broken off and should be scattered upon all the face of the earth” (1 Nephi 10:12).

Zenos's allegory also emphasizes that this branch of Israel was hidden in the last of "the nethermost parts of the vineyard" (Jacob 5:13, 14). Lehi explains this sense of isolation further by announcing that "there shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord" (2 Nephi 1:6) and that in the Lord's wisdom "this land should be kept as yet from the knowledge of other nations" (2 Nephi 1:8). Zenos emphasized the Lord's role in taking the broken branches of his olive to these nethermost parts of the vineyard, and Lehi adds the idea that Nephi in particular had "been an instrument in the hands of God, in bringing us forth into the land of promise" (2 Nephi 1:24).[2]

It appears that the tame tree was in a prominent part of the vineyard.  Explaining the Lord’s language, David Seely and John Welch explain, “Zenos begins his allegory with the mental image of the large and central olive tree standing at the top of a high point in the vineyard, for when the Lord hides the natural branches in order to preserve them he takes them down into the ‘nethermost parts of the vineyard’ (Jacob 5:14).”[3]

The Lord went to the far parts of the vineyard and hid the natural branches, some here and some there.  “The olive is one of the few fruit trees that can be propagated by taking a branch of a tree and burying it in the ground. This is apparently what Zenos had in mind when he indicates that the Lord of the vineyard took branches and ‘planted’ them, saying that the natural branches were ‘hid’ in the ground (Jacob 5:14).”[4]

The work he did in the vineyard was done “according to his will and pleasure.”  Noel Reynolds writes, “The allegory of the olive tree uses the distinctive phrase ‘according to his own will and pleasure’ (Jacob 5:14). Zenos uses the phrase to signal the Lord's independence of action relative to his servant and all others.”[5]

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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 4, 2014.

[3] Zenos and the Texts of the Old Testament,  David Rolph Seely and John W. Welch, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 4, 2014.

[4] 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.

[5] Nephite Uses and Interpretations of Zenos, Noel B. Reynolds, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 4, 2014.

Jacob 5:5-10

5 And it came to pass that he pruned it, and digged about it, and nourished it according to his word.

6 And it came to pass that after many days it began to put forth somewhat a little, young and tender branches; but behold, the main ^atop thereof began to perish.

7 And it came to pass that the master of the vineyard saw it, and he said unto his servant: It grieveth me that I should lose this tree; wherefore, go and pluck the branches from a wild olive-tree, and bring them hither unto me; and we will pluck off those main branches which are beginning to wither away, and we will cast them into the fire that they may be burned.

8 And behold, saith the Lord of the vineyard, I take away many of these young and tender branches, and I will graft them whithersoever I will; and it mattereth not that if it so be that the root of this tree will perish, I may preserve the fruit thereof unto myself; wherefore, I will take these young and tender branches, and I will graft them whithersoever I will.

9 Take thou the branches of the wild olive-tree, and graft them in, in the stead thereof; and these which I have plucked off I will cast into the fire and burn them, that they may not cumber the ground of my vineyard.

10 And it came to pass that the servant of the Lord of the vineyard did according to the word of the Lord of the vineyard, and grafted in the branches of the wild olive-tree.

Jacob 5:5-10

The master of the vineyard (Christ), seeing his tame olive tree decaying (Israel), works to save the tree.  He prunes the tree, digs around it and nourishes it. 

After a time, the lower part of the tree began to develop “young and tender branches.”  The top of the tree, however, began to die.  “And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire” (Luke 3:9).

Seeing this, the master said to his servant, “It grieveth me that I should lose this tree.”  He told the servant to get branches from a wild olive-tree (gentiles).  He will remove the branches that are dying and cast them into a fire to be burned.  Paul used this same reference in his epistle to the Romans.

17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

18 Boast not against the branches…

20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith.  Be not highminded, but fear:

21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.

23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.

24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?

Romans 11:17–18, 20–21, 23–24

The Lord took away the young and tender branches (“Regarding the young and tender branches, they appear to be new growth that resulted  from the heavy pruning mentioned in Jacob 5:4, 7”[1]) to be grafted where ever he felt they should be grated.  Then it will not matter if the root of the original tree perishes.  The fruit of that tree will be preserved wherever they are grafted.

The master told the servant to take the branches of the wild tree and graft them into the tame tree.  The branches which have been cut off will be burned.  John Gee and Daniel Peterson discuss the burning of the branches.

During the trimming of the tree, what is not used for shoots is stacked outside on flooring, as what Cato terms "firewood for the master" (cf. Jacob 5:9, 42, 49); the wood, being medium-grained, hard, crooked, brittle, and knotty, is good only for burning.[2]

Paul and Barnabas travelled to the church at Antioch.  “And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles” (Acts 14:27).  Paul would write the Galatians, “That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:14).

Here we see the teachings of Paul discussing the adoption of the gentiles into the house of Israel.

John Sorenson and Matthew Roper write:

Branches broken off the tame tree, which represented historical Israel (see Jacob 5:3), were to be grafted onto the roots of "wild" olive trees, meaning non-Israelite groups. That is, there was to be a demographic union between two groups, "young and tender branches" from the original tree, Israel, represented as being grafted onto wild rootstock in various parts of the vineyard or earth (see Jacob 5:8–9).[3]

The servant did what the Lord of the vineyard asked.  He grafted the branches of the wild olive tree to the tame olive tree.

"Wild" branches do not naturally yield "tame" fruit—in other words a grafted olive branch keeps its genetic constitution regardless of what type of olive tree it is grafted onto. When branches of a wild olive tree are grafted onto a tame olive tree (Jacob 5:10) … we would not expect to obtain the desirable large-fruited tame olives from the small‑fruited wild olive branches … [T]he grafted wild olive branch has an inferior genetic constitution for fruit size, and other characteristics, causing all of the fruit on the wild branch to be small and undesirable … The manner in which the servant and Lord of the vineyard speak of the olive tree in verses 16–18 implies that they were pleasantly surprised that the wild branches bore fruit "like unto the natural fruit": "Behold, look here; behold the tree." This result would not normally have been expected without divine assistance or extraordinary conditions.[4]

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[1] Botanical Aspects of Olive Culture Relevant to Jacob 5, Wilford M. Hess, Daniel Fairbanks, John W. Welch, Jonathan K. Driggs, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 2, 2014.

[2] Graft and Corruption: On Olives and Olive Culture in the Pre-Modern Mediterranean, John Gee and Daniel C. Peterson, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 2, 2014.

[3] Before DNA, John L. Sorenson and Matthew Roper, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 2, 2014.

[4] Graft and Corruption: On Olives and Olive Culture in the Pre-Modern Mediterranean, John Gee and Daniel C. Peterson, Maxwell Institute, accessed April 2, 2014