Gospel Doctrine Book of Mormon Lesson 13

1. The Allegory of the Olive
Trees

2. • Purpose
• To help us better understand Zenos’s
allegory of the olive trees and how it
applies in our day.

3. • Jacob’s recital of the
allegory of the olive tree
is by far the longest, and
probably the most
complex chapter in the
Book of Mormon. But it is
a marvelous exposition
of a point Jacob wants
desperately to make.

4. • Jacob told us at the end of Jacob 4 that the:
• "Jews were a stiffnecked people; and they despised the
words of plainness, and killed the prophets, and sought for
things that they could not understand. Wherefore, because
of their blindness, which blindness came by looking beyond
the mark, they must needs fall; for God hath taken away his
plainness from them, and delivered unto them many things
which they cannot understand, because they desired it. And
because they desired it God hath done it, that they may
stumble" (Jacob 4:14)

5. • He also told us that they would reject the stone upon which they might
build and have safe foundation. (4:15)
• But even so, he assures us, that stone the Savior Jesus Christ would
become the great, and the last, and the only sure foundation, upon
which the Jews can build. (4:15)
• After having a careful look at this sequence of conclusions, one is
bound to ask, How can a people be stiffnecked, kill the prophets,
despise words of plainness, look beyond the mark, desire things
they cannot understand, reject the Savior, and yet still build upon
the foundation of Jesus Christ? Jacob asks the question for us:
• “And now, my beloved, how is it possible that these, after having
rejected the sure foundation, can ever build upon it, that it may
become the head of their corner?” (4:17)

6. • The allegory of the olive tree is Jacob’s attempt to
explain this paradox to us. In the final verse of
chapter 4 he tells us:
• "Behold, my beloved brethren, I will unfold this
mystery unto you; if I do not, by any means, get
shaken from my firmness in the Spirit, and stumble
because of my over anxiety for you." (4:18)

7. How many things do you know
about an olive tree?

8. • The more we know about olive trees, the better we can
understand why Zenos was inspired to use this particular
tree to symbolize Israel.
• a. The olive tree is a living thing that can produce much
fruit. It requires constant nourishment to survive.
• b. The olive branch is traditionally a symbol of peace.
• c. The tree must be carefully pruned to be fruitful and
productive.

9. • d. For a wild olive tree to become tame and productive,
its main stem must be cut back completely, and a branch
from a tame olive tree must be grafted into the stem of the
wild one.
• e. An olive tree may produce fruit for centuries. Some
trees now growing in Israel have been producing
abundantly for over 400 years.
• f. As a tree grows old and begins to die, its roots send
up new shoots, which, if grafted and pruned, will mature to
full-grown olive trees. Thus, the root of the tree may go on
producing new trees and fruit for thousands of years.

10. • Olive tree
• The well-known Olea europea. It is extensively cultivated in Palestine for the
sake of the oil. The olive requires being grafted; hence Paul’s allusion to the
Gentiles (Rom. 11:17–24); but what he describes is the reverse of the
ordinary gardening operation and is therefore spoken of as “contrary to
nature” (verse 24). Using the olive tree in an allegorical sense to illustrate
Israel and the Gentiles is also done by Zenos, as quoted by Jacob 5. Isaiah
uses the illustration of a grape vine for the same purpose (Isa. 5:1–7).

11. • This lesson discusses how the olive tree was used as a symbol to describe the
Lord’s dealings with the house of Israel.

12. • Jacob quotes an allegory from
Zenos.
• What is an allegory?
• An allegory is a literary device in
which one object or event is used
to describe or represent another.
• Zenos’s allegory uses olive trees
to summarize Israel’s history and
foretell its destiny.

13. • Who was Zenos?
• a Hebrew prophet mentioned several times in the
Book of Mormon.

14. • Elder Bruce R. McConkie
• It was Zenos who wrote of the visit of the Lord God
to Israel after his resurrection; of the joy and
salvation that would come to the righteous among
them; of the desolations and destructions that
awaited the wicked among them; of the fires, and
tempests, and earthquakes that would occur in the
Americas; of the scourging and crucifying of the God
of Israel by those in Jerusalem; of the scattering of
the Jews among all nations; and of their gathering
again in the last days "from the four quarters of the
earth" (1 Ne. 19:11-17). I do not think I overstate the
matter when I say that next to Isaiah himself-who is
the prototype, pattern, and model for all the
prophets-there was not a greater prophet in all Israel
than Zenos [p. 17].

15. • Jacob quotes an allegory from Zenos, a Hebrew
prophet mentioned several times in the Book of
Mormon. An allegory is a literary device in which one
object or event is used to describe or represent
another. Zenos’s allegory uses olive trees to
summarize Israel’s history and foretell its destiny.
• Jacob 5.
• The Longest chapter in the Book of Mormon
• • What symbols did Zenos use in this allegory?
What are the meanings of these symbols?Allowing
class members to contribute as much as possible,
identify the main symbols from the allegory and their
meanings. List these in a chart on the chalkboard.
The completed chart will look something like this:

16. • Zenos’s Allegory
• SYMBOL
• Vineyard
• Master of the vineyard
• Tame olive tree
• Wild olive tree
• Branches
• Servants
• Fruit
• MEANING
• The world
• Jesus Christ
• The house of Israel, the Lord’s covenant people
• Gentiles (people not born into the house of Israel)
• Groups of people
• Prophets and others called to serve
• Lives or works of people

17. • Zenos’s Allegory
• SYMBOL
• Root
• Decay
• Grafting
• Plucking
• Pruning
• Dunging
• MEANING
Covenant people or blood of Israel
(bad fruit, bitter fruit) “breaking covenants”
Gospel opportunities
(burning) “judgement (justice)”
(digging) “mercy, patience, long-suffering”
Nourishing

19. • The allegory begins with the master of the vineyard finding that
his tame olive tree is beginning to decay (Jacob 5:3–4).
• What does this decay represent?
• Apostasy
• What did the master of the vineyard do when he found his tame
olive tree decaying? (Jacob 5:4–14).

20. • Grafting is a process in which part of a second plant is
joined to a first plant in such a way that it becomes a
permanent part of the first plant.

21. • Why did the master ask the servant to graft in
some wild branches? (See Jacob 5:11, 18.)
• What does grafting represent in this
allegory?
• Bringing Gentiles into the house of Israel
through baptism.
• When was the gospel first taken to the
Gentiles? (See Acts 10.)

22. • What is represented by transplanting the tame branches
into distant parts of the vineyard? (See 1 Nephi 10:12–
13.)
• What specific groups might these tame branches
represent? (See 1 Nephi 2:19–20; 22:3–4.)
• Why was Israel scattered? (See Amos 9:8–9.)
• The master of the vineyard repeatedly worked with his
servant to prune, dig about, and nourish his tree. What
does this suggest about Jesus Christ’s involvement in the
lives of His people?

23. • When the master visited the vineyard for the second time, what did he
discover about the wild branches that were grafted into the tame tree?
(See Jacob 5:15–18.)
• What does the bearing of good fruit symbolize?
• How can new converts add life and strength to the Church?
• What did the master find when he visited the natural (tame) branches
he had planted in various places around the vineyard? Jacob 5:19–25.
• The branches planted in poor ground brought forth good fruit, while
the branches planted in good ground yielded both good and wild fruit.
• What application might these situations have for us today?

24. • When the master visited the vineyard the third time, what
had happened to all the fruit? (See Jacob 5:29–32, 37–
42.)
• What do the many kinds of corrupt fruit symbolize?
• (Universal apostasy.)
• What caused the apostasy? (See Jacob 5:37, 40, 48.)
• What might the “loftiness” of the vineyard symbolize?
• How can our own loftiness, or pride, prevent us from
bearing good fruit?

25. • What does the master’s response to his corrupted vineyard tell us
about the Lord’s feelings for His people? (See Jacob 5:41, 47.)
• How does knowing that the Lord loves you make a difference in
your life?
• “I will prune it, and dig about it, and nourish it, that … it perish
not” (Jacob 5:4).
• “It grieveth me that I should lose this tree” (Jacob 5:7).
• “What shall we do unto the tree, that I may preserve again good
fruit thereof unto mine own self?” (Jacob 5:33).
• “I may have joy again in the fruit of my vineyard” (Jacob 5:60).

26. • What did the master decide to do to save his corrupted vineyard?
Jacob 5:49–54, 58, 62–64.
• He decided to nourish and prune the vineyard once more and graft
some of the transplanted branches back into the original tree.
• What does this final nourishing, pruning, and grafting represent?
1 Nephi 10:14; 2 Nephi 29:14; D&C 33:3–6.
• The Restoration of the gospel and the gathering of scattered Israel.
• Who are the “other servants” mentioned in Jacob 5:61, 70?
• Although these servants are few, what are the results of their efforts?
See Jacob 5:71–75.
• How can we help in this final nourishing, pruning, and grafting in the
Lord’s vineyard?

27. • What did Jacob prophesy after relating Zenos’s
allegory? (See Jacob 6:1.)
• What time period did Jacob refer to in Jacob
6:2?
• The latter days. What does this tell us about
the relevance of Zenos’s allegory to us?

28. • Jacob 6:4-5
• 4 And how merciful is our God unto us, for he remembereth
the house of Israel, both roots and branches; and he stretches
forth his hands unto them all the day long; and they are a
stiffnecked and a gainsaying people; but as many as will not
harden their hearts shall be saved in the kingdom of God.
• 5 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I beseech of you in words
of soberness that ye would repent, and come with full purpose
of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you. And
while his arm of mercy is extended towards you in the light of
the day, harden not your hearts.

29. • What do these verses teach about how the Savior will recover Israel in
the last days?
• What gospel principles did Jacob emphasize after testifying that the
events in Zenos’s allegory would all come to pass? (See Jacob 6:3–13.)
• What are the responsibilities of those who “have been nourished by the
good word of God”? (See Jacob 6:11–12; Moroni 6:3–4.)
• What are some specific ways we can fulfill these responsibilities?
• Invite our nonmember friends to talk with the missionaries,
• We can serve diligently as home teachers and visiting teachers,
• Couples can serve full-time missions together.

31. • Conclusion
• President Joseph Fielding Smith said, “Today Latter-day
Saints are going to all parts of the world as servants in the
vineyard to gather this fruit and lay it in store for the time of
the coming of the Master” (Answers to Gospel Questions,
comp. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., 5 vols. [1957–66], 4:142).
• Because we have been nourished by the Lord, we are
obligated to help others receive this nourishment.

32. • Additional Teaching Ideas
• The following material supplements the suggested lesson outline. You may want to use one
or more of these ideas as part of the lesson.
• 1. Sherem’s false teachings
• Discuss the account of Sherem, found in Jacob 7:1–23.
• • How did Sherem lead many people away from the truth? (See Jacob 7:1–7.) What
evidence do you see that some people today use similar methods to lead others away from
Christ?
• • How was Jacob able to confound Sherem? (See Jacob 7:8–22.) How can we protect
ourselves from the deceptions of anti-Christs? (See Jacob 7:23; Romans 16:17–18;
Ephesians 4:11–15.)President Joseph Fielding Smith said: “There is not anything in this
world of as great importance to us as obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us
search these scriptures. Let us know what the Lord has revealed. Let us put our lives in
harmony with his truth. Then we will not be deceived” (Doctrines of Salvation, comp.
Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [1954–56], 1:301).