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| | | == Chapters == |
| == Jacob 5 == | | * [[Scriptures/The Book of Mormon/Jacob/2]] |
| Contains the parable of the tame and the wild olive trees
| | * [[Scriptures/The Book of Mormon/Jacob/5]] |
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| * [https://www.lds.org/scriptures/bofm/jacob/5?lang=eng Jacob 5] | |
| :The text.
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| * [https://www.lds.org/manual/book-of-mormon-student-manual/chapter-16-jacob-5-7?lang=eng "Chater 16: Jacob 5-7"], Book of Mormon Student Manual, (2009), 122–29 | |
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| === Notes ===
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| The Student Manual I linked to above reflects something close to my usual understanding of the allegory. It identifies the branches as "groups of people." It identifies the roots as "the gospel covenants and promises the Lord makes with His children, a constant source of strength and life to the faithful." It identifies grafting as "the process of spiritual rebirth through which one is joined to the covenant."
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| I can't say I ever really understood the grafting in that way. The allegory is very clearly talking about peoples located in different regions which the Lord is physically moving around. Grafting only sometimes seems like it might involve a covenant. It always seemed like it had more to do with physically moving and then integrating people from one nation to another.
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| Jacob 5:48 has: "Is it not the loftiness of thy vineyard—have not the branches thereof overcome the roots which are good?"
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| Jacob 5:65 has: "And as they begin to grow ye shall clear away the branches which bring forth bitter fruit, according to the strength of the good and the size thereof; and ye shall not clear away the bad thereof all at once, lest the roots thereof should be too strong for the graft, and the graft thereof shall perish, and I lose the trees of my vineyard."
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| This latter reference is in the part of the allegory that is talking about the latter days. It struck me, probably, in part, due to the work of Geoffrey West, and in part, due to the current tumult over immigration, that the roots and the branches made excellent representation of the rural and urban populations. The urban populations being fundamentally sustained by the rural populations, but being political adversaries. Also, the history of the world is full of urban populations that became too powerful, persecuted rural populations, leading to the ruin of agriculture, and the subsequent destruction of the urban population. It has always seemed odd to me that the Republicans which seem to represent the rural populations best, have been so equally matched by Democrats, who very clearly represent urban interests best. The electoral college helps to equalize their power, and preserve the vitality of our agriculture. However, more than that, if this interpretation has any merit, it would seem that the primary reason why the Lord has maintained this impasse and not simply destroyed the decadent urban populations, is to prevent the unfortunately xenophobic tendencies of rural populations from getting in the way of the gathering that he has intended. The more liberal (and libertine) urban populations promote integration more effectively, and the Lord's plan is to effect a massive reintegration.
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