Book of Mormon 13 – “The Allegory of the Olive Trees”

Welsh and Ricks (1992) in their introduction, stated, “the allegory of the olive tree, written by Zenos and quoted by Jacob to his people in Jacob 5 in the Book of Mormon, strikes us anew as one of the most magnificent allegories in all the sacred literature of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Besides its exceptional length and exquisite detail, Zenos’s extended allegory communicates important meaning, deep emotion, rich wisdom, and divine feeling. No other allegorical text encompasses greater historical scope and typological vitality. It deserves an honoured place alongside the best biblical parables or symbolic literature” (p.1).

At first, I found the allegory confusing. I decided to do my own research in order to understand Jacob 5 more fully. I completed an outline of the scriptures and their contents to summarise my understanding (ideas from Bill Beardall and John Bytheway). The following is a summary table.

Bill Beardall gave the following explanation of the symbolism in the allegory. I found this very helpful.

·        Vineyard = the world

·        Tame olive tree = the house of Israel (v3)

·        Wild olive tree = the Gentiles (those who are not of the house of Israel by birth)

·        Master of the vineyard = the Lord

·        The servant = a prophet or prophets

·        Grafting natural branches into the wild trees = branches of Israel dispersed among the Gentiles

·        Grafting wild branches into the natural tree = adoption of Gentiles into Israel

·        Nephi defined grafting as coming "to the knowledge of the true Messiah" (1 Nephi 10:14)

·        Pruning, nourishing, and cultivating = the work of the Lord and his servants to save their people

·        Natural fruit = faithful Saints and their righteous works, worthy of eternal life (v61)

·        Wild fruit = unfaithful individuals and their unrighteous works

I found an old video on YouTube, a CES Book of Mormon film on Jacob 5, that shows Seminary youth caring for trees and teaches the chapter's symbolism. This also clarified a lot of the horticultural imagery that I did not fully understand. The video is linked below. 

‘The Allegory of the Olive Tree’ by Welsh and Ricks (1992), mentioned the detailed horticultural practices and procedures in Jacob 5 would have not have been known by an untrained person, such as the Prophet Joseph Smith, and that even specialists, when the Book of Mormon was translated, would not have fully appreciated the unique aspects of olive culture (p. 522). This is yet another aspect of the Book of Mormon that testifies of its authenticity.

In the Book of Mormon: Gospel Study Companion (2 CD-set) by Michael Wilcox, he talks about the allegory as an allegory and as a parable. The allegory increases our understanding of the history of the House of Israel. Reading Jacob 5 as a parable shows us more about the nature of the Saviour. He suggests that three words, repeated frequently in Jacob 5, increase our knowledge and understanding of the Saviour, the Master of the vineyard. These three words are: nourish – the Master provides constant nourishment for the trees in his vineyard; grieve – He grieves when they begin to die; and, labour – He labours to save them. I love this way of looking at Jacob 5. I love my Saviour. This understanding adds to the love I have for my Saviour and my desire to follow His direction. In v.41 the Master weeps and asks “what could I have done more?” This is such a sweet and touching scripture, and reveals the Lord’s love for me and for you.

Jacob 7 tells us about the first anti-Christ in the Book of Mormon, Sherem. Jacob is able to resist the influence of Sherem because of his unshaken faith. Jacob has already told us about the key to bringing forth good fruit, in Jacob 6:7, “after ye have been nourished by the good word of God all the day long”. In Jacob 4:6, Jacob gave us the process for developing the same unshaken faith that he had: we need to search the prophets to be nourished by the good word of God, and study is the catalyst to revelation, and personal revelation creates unshakeable faith. I find it so comforting to have this recipe for developing unshakeable faith.