Personalizing The Allegory of the Olive Tree
For many of us, the Prophecy of Zenos in Jacob 5 has been one of the most fascinating chapters in the Book of Mormon. To others, it is one to endure because it is so long and repetitive. The symbolic language is straightforward, and its interpretive language is clearly stated as an allegory representing the olive tree as the House of Israel. Because the tree represents the entire history of God’s covenant people, it is easy to see it as something we should know if we consider ourselves part of that group, either by lineage or adoption. However, our place in the story is so minuscule that it can be hard to see where we fit in. Certainly, we have a place and an important part to play, but it still seems quite abstract.
As I consider what to write each week, I always attempt to put myself, and hopefully the readers, into the scriptures in a personal way. That is what Nephi meant when he said to liken the scriptures unto us. As I thought about Zenos’ allegory and how I could personalize it, the thought came into my mind that each of us is like a tree.
In scripture, trees often represent life, among other things that are obvious if we consider the story of Adam and Eve. But for now, let’s say that the olive in the story is us. We have roots, a trunk, and branches. When I say roots, the first thing that comes to mind is our ancestors and the branches, our offspring, but that is not how I want us to think about them for the purposes of this discussion.
If we think of the olive tree as our individual life and begin to apply the symbolism in the allegory, the story becomes much less abstract and more accessible. Think of the tree as a whole as the time of our mortal probation. From the time of our birth to our death, we grow and develop physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. In this context, I will talk about the constituent parts of the tree and how we can conceptualize them in a way that gives us increased meaning and purpose in our lives.
So, the trunk of the tree is time, the root is faith, knowledge, and testimony, and the branches are our actions and accomplishments.
Time is reality. It comes one day at a time, and along with it, triumphs and tragedies. Time does things to us as we age. Physically, we start off growing and improving but have very little experience and wisdom. Then the tables turn, and we begin to wear out and deteriorate while simultaneously getting wiser because of knowledge and experience. In the allegory of the olive tree, time is a crucial component, as it is with each of us. We only have so much time. As youths, we think time is irrelevant, but when our aches and pains rise with us each day, we know that if we don’t get with the program, it will be too late.
Trees survive because they get their strength from their roots. So, what would we consider the source of our survival and strength? The short answer is our beliefs and our testimonies. Later in the Book of Mormon, we will see how to grow a testimony. Testimonies are rooted in authenticity and integrity. They make us resilient so that we can persevere in trials. They give us purpose and meaning, connection and belonging. In short, they empower us and transform us. If our testimonies are based on the Doctrine of Christ, all of the things I mentioned are magnified, and our transformation is into the image of Christ.
The branches of the tree are our actions and works. The scripture refers to our collective accomplishments as fruits. This analogy is a direct equivalent to the allegory of the olive tree. The fruits matter to the Lord of the vineyard. Indeed, all of his efforts are to ensure that the trees continue to produce good fruit. All the digging, dunging, pruning, and grafting are efforts to ensure that the tree does not die and continues producing good fruit.
We need to consider the repercussions of whether our works are good or evil. In the prophecy, the fate of the branches that produce the bad fruits is that they are cut off and burned. That is an excellent way to think about how we need to deal with our evil tendencies. When we evaluate ourselves each week as we take the sacrament, we should determine which actions need to be cut off and burned and which are acceptable to the Lord.
The actions of the Lord of the vineyard are repeated repeatedly. Digging and dunging are used to keep the soil around the roots productive. We should consider keeping the soil around the roots of testimony full of nutrients so that they grow more robust and more profound. I would equate these things with the challenges and trials we face and our efforts to reach good goals. When I discussed this idea with some of my temple coworkers, they were not keen on the idea of digging and dunging. I told them that sometimes life stinks, but if we approach it with a positive attitude, we will benefit from those experiences.
Sometimes, we need to allow the Lord of the vineyard to prune us back. This pruning comes in the form of humility, and if we learn anything from the scripture, the Lord will have us humble so that he can instruct us. We can choose to humble ourselves or be humbled in ways that may be painful or embarrassing.
We should make each of the Lord’s efforts to maintain the vineyard part of our daily routine. It starts with providing everything needed to protect, nourish, and strengthen our testimonies. Prayer, meditation, and study are how we nourish our strength of character. Practicing gratitude makes us more optimistic, and our attitude and actions will reflect well on those we associate with. The way we think and what we think is what we become. Keeping Christ at the center of our lives makes us like him, and I think the world needs more people like Jesus.
As you read the allegory of the olive tree again, I hope you will gain a little more from it and personalize it.
I can’t end without sharing a thought that came to mind as I watched the last General Conference. For a long time, I have been trying to find a way to express how serving in the temple has changed the way I think about the different experiences of attending church versus the temple. I have always loved attending church and having gospel discussions with people in the ward. It filled a need I had to be with my brothers and sisters in the gospel. However, being in the temple each week seems to have subordinated my church experience. Church has become more about the ordinance of the sacramental renewal of my covenants and less about fellowshipping. So, the phrase that came into my mind on this matter was, “We go to church to fellowship with the Saints, but we go to the temple to fellowship with God.” I love the saints, but I love the Lord more because of the weekly time spent in His house.
As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I testify that the temple is where we get to know our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. When we bring the spirit found in His holy house home with us, our homes can become sacred spaces where the Lord can reveal Himself to us. I add my witness to that of the prophets of our day that this is true, In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.