Jacob’s Sermon on the Allegory of the Olive Trees – Jacob 4-6

Setting

After sharing a sermon which he delivered to his people following the death of his brother, Jacob began to teach his future readers.

Purpose

Jacob’s goal was to teach his readers that the Atonement of Jesus Christ can redeem any of God’s children, even those who are currently far from Him.

Outline

1. Build your foundation on Christ (Jacob 4).
   1. We write on plates to create a durable record for our descendants (Jacob 4:1-3).
   2. We know of Christ, just as the holy prophets who came before us knew of Him (Jacob 4:4-5).
   3. Because of our faith in Jesus, we can perform mighty miracles. But God shows us our weakness so that we know that we do these things by His grace (Jacob 4:6-7).
   4. God’s works are amazing. Don’t try to counsel Him. Learn from Him, and be reconciled to Him through the Atonement of Christ (Jacob 4:8-11).
   5. We know these things by the Spirit, which teaches us of “things as they really are” (Jacob 4:12-13).
   6. [Referring to Psalm 118:22]: The Jews have rejected the prophets. They will reject the stone (the Savior). After they reject Him, how is it possible that He can ever become their foundation, “the head of their corner?” I will answer this question (Jacob 4:14-18).
2. Zenos’s Allegory of the Olive Tree (Jacob 5)
   1. Remember the words of the prophet Zenos (Jacob 5:1-2).
   2. A man was laboring to take care of a single, tame olive tree. He removed the branches of this tree and grafted many of them into trees in other parts of the vineyard, replacing them with the branches of a wild olive tree (Jacob 5:3-14).
   3. After a long time, he and his servant returned to the vineyard, they found that the tame tree was producing good fruit. The other trees were also producing good fruit, all except for part of one of the trees. He instructed his servant to burn the branches that were producing bad fruit, but his servant persuaded him to give those branches a little more time (Jacob 5:15-28).
   4. Some time later, the man and his servant returned to find that things were not going well. The tame tree was producing all kinds of fruit, none of it good. The other trees had also become corrupted, and the branches which had produced bad fruit the last time had taken over their tree, so that the good branches had died (Jacob 5:29-40).
   5. The man wept and asked his servant what more they could have done for the vineyard, and who is to blame for this tragedy (Jacob 5:41-47).
   6. The servant answered that the branches have overcome the roots, “taking strength unto themselves” because of their pride. The man commanded his servant to burn the vineyard, but the servant convinced him to “spare it a little longer (Jacob 5:48-51).
   7. The man outlined a new plan: they would gradually return the branches to their original trees, discarding the only worst branches and keeping the root and the branches equal in strength so that the good branches could grow and overcome the bad. This new plan would be labor-intensive, so many more servants were needed (Jacob 5:52-69).
   8. More servants were called, and they worked together to execute the plan. Eventually, all of the trees were producing good fruit. The man thanked his servants for their great work. He said that he would enjoy the good fruit for a long time. When the vineyard began producing bad fruit again, he would separate the good from the bad and burn the vineyard (Jacob 5:70-77).
3. Lessons from the allegory (Jacob 6)
   1. The tame olive tree represents the house of Israel. The scenes in this allegory will literally happen. In the last days, the servants of the Lord will work hard to gather Israel (Jacob 6:1-3).
   2. God remembers Israel and is patient with them in spite of their stubbornness (Jacob 6:4).
   3. God has patiently nourished you. Please bring forth good fruit, so that you won’t be burned. Be wise (Jacob 6:5-12).
   4. Farewell. I’ll meet you at “the pleasing bar of God” (Jacob 6:13).

My Takeaways

How can people who reject the Savior ever be saved? This is the question Jacob explores in this sermon. By sharing and discussing Zenos’s allegory of the olive trees, he tries to emphasize to us that our salvation is a process. We may bring forth evil fruit one day, but the Lord will patiently continue to nourish us in the hope that we will repent and learn to bring forth good fruit.

I will respond to Jacob’s words by believing in God’s ability to save His children. I will repent, believing that God can help me change and improve. I will also remember that other people can change. Even people who seem to have rejected God may one day be reconciled to Him, build their foundation on Him, and receive His redeeming power.

Blog Posts About Jacob’s Sermon on the Allegory of the Olive Trees

• “The Workings of the Spirit of the Lord” (4/21/2024)
• The Plan of Salvation (4/18/2024)
• Being Wise (4/14/2024)
• Becoming Unshakeable (4/13/2024)
• “Taking Strength Unto Themselves” (4/12/2024)
• “The Roots are Good” (4/11/2024)
• Olive Trees and Forward-Looking, Blame-Resistant Leadership (4/10/2024)
• Relentless (4/9/2024)
• Obtaining Hope (4/7/2024)
• Trusting the Answers We Receive from God (4/6/2024)
• Beyond the Mark (4/5/2024)
• Mercy (3/26/2024)
• “Wise in Their Own Eyes” (2/29/2024)
• Testimony of Jesus = Spirit of Prophecy (12/30/2023)
• Unshaken (11/12/2023)
• Good Things to Come (11/10/2023)
• A New Covenant (11/9/2023)
• To Day (11/2/2023)
• Beseeching (10/29/2023)
• Vain Jangling – Part 1 (10/27/2023)
• Apostasy and Restoration (10/22/2023)
• Think Celestial! (10/12/2023)
• Firstfruits (9/8/2023)
• Insiders Beware! (8/17/2023)
• Atonement and Reconciliation (8/13/2023)
• Truth and Soberness (8/4/2023)
• “Search the Prophets” (7/8/2023)
• What Is Truth? What Is True? (6/16/2023)
• The Cornerstone (5/19/2023)
• Of Gnats and Camels (5/17/2023)
• Blind (4/30/2023)
• “Worthy of His [or Her] Hire” (3/12/2023)
• The New Testament and the Book of Mormon (12/22/2022)
• God Gave Them Knowledge (11/1/2022)
• “I Am for You” (10/29/2022)
• Why Will Ye Die? (10/27/2022)
• “The Grass Withereth, the Flower Fadeth” (9/21/2022)
• Tzedakah/Tze’akah (9/8/2022)
• Seasons (8/30/2022)
• “I Uttered That I Understood Not” (8/2/2022)
• Take Root and Bear Fruit (7/17/2022)
• Joshua and the Book of Mormon (5/26/2022)
• Moses Besought the Lord (5/1/2022)
• Hardened Hearts (3/30/2022)
• Cleave (1/8/2022)
• Sequential Creation (1/4/2022)
• Glory (12/28/2021)
• The Living Christ and the Book of Mormon (12/26/2021)
• Receive Counsel (10/27/2021)
• What Is Truth? (8/27/2021)
• Times and Seasons (8/12/2021)
• Brimstone (6/10/2021)
• Promises to Covenant Israel (3/18/2021)
• Record-keeping (3/7/2021)
• Truth (1/8/2021)
• “Go Ye Forth of Babylon” – 1 Nephi 20:20 (12/31/2020)
• Book of Mormon References in Moroni 6 (12/5/2020)
• Justice and Mercy (7/31/2020)
• Who Were Zenos and Zenock? (7/17/2020)
• The Arms of Mercy (4/5/2020)
• Justice and Mercy (4/4/2020)
• “Ye Shall Have Joy” – Jacob 5:71, 75 (3/20/2020)
• “Cleave unto God as He Cleaveth unto You” – Jacob 6:5 (3/19/2020)
• Innovation Lessons from the Allegory of the Olive Tree – Jacob 5 (3/18/2020)
• “It Grieveth Me That I Should Lose This Tree” – Jacob 5:7 (3/17/2020)
• “The Only Sure Foundation” – Jacob 4:15-18 (3/15/2020)
• “A Hundredth Part” – Jacob 3:13 (3/13/2020)
• “We Also Had Many Revelations” – Jacob 1:6 (3/11/2020)
• What Are the Mysteries of God? (1/19/2020)
• What Does the Book of Mormon Reveal? (1/1/2020)
• What Is Wisdom? (12/13/2019)
• What Is Truth? (12/11/2019)
• What Should I Be Thankful For? (11/28/2019)
• How Can I Follow the Savior with “Full Purpose of Heart?” (9/29/2019)
• What Does the Book of Mormon Teach About Diligence? (9/22/2019)
• How Can I Be a Better Employee? (8/31/2019)
• How Can I Be More Hopeful? (8/25/2019)
• Why Did the Nephites Keep the Law of Moses? (8/11/2019)
• What Does It Mean to Minister? (8/3/2019)
• What Does the Book of Mormon Teach About Abraham? (7/20/2019)
• Why Is Family History Important? (7/17/2019)
• How Should I Deal with Anxiety? (7/10/2019)
• What Does the Book of Mormon Teach About Obedience? (6/30/2019)
• What Should I Do When I Feel Guilty? (6/24/2019)
• What Is the Plan of Redemption? (6/16/2019)
• What Does the Book of Mormon Teach About Fear? (5/8/2019)
• What Does the Book of Mormon Teach About the Resurrection? (4/21/2019)
• What Does It Mean to Be Sober? (4/20/2019)
• What Does the Book of Mormon Teach About Grace? (1/28/2019)
• What Does It Mean to Search the Scriptures? (1/5/2019)
• Counsel Me Not – Jacob 5:21-22 (10/12/2017)
• O Be Wise, What Can I Say More? – Jacob 6:12 (9/2/2017)
• Looking Beyond the Mark – Jacob 4:14-16 (9/1/2017)
• Seek Not to Counsel the Lord – Jacob 4:10 (8/31/2017)
• That We May Labor – Jacob 5:15 (7/30/2016)
• With Thankful Hearts – Jacob 4:3 (5/2/2016)
• Our Faith Becometh Unshaken – Jacob 4:6 (3/2/2016)
• O Be Wise – Jacob 6:12 (4/7/2015)
• Leadership Principles from Jacob 5 (4/6/2015)
• The Allegory of the Olive Tree – Jacob 5 (4/6/2015)
• He Pruned It, and Digged About It, and Nourished It – Jacob 5:4-5 (4/2/2015)
• Because of My Over Anxiety for You – Jacob 4:18 (4/1/2015)