I know, I know..... I've had a lot to say about these books for as short as they are. One more entry on the little books, their authors (and their frame of minds) and about time frames, and some other comments too, then I'll move on.
I've always marveled that so much time passed with so few entries in the small plates of Nephi, particularly in Enos, Jarom and Omni. Consider this:
Book Time Frame Chapters Verses Author
1st Nephi: 600 B.C. to ~570 B.C. 22 629 Nephi
2nd Nephi: ~570 B.C. to ~545 B.C. 33 779 Nephi (Isaiah, Jacob)
Jacob: ~544 B.C. to ~500 B.C??? 7 203 Jacob
Enos: ~500 B.C. to 420 B.C. 1 27 Enos
Jarom: 420 B.C. to 361 B.C. 1 15 Jarom
Omni: 361 B.C. to 317 B.C. 1 3 Omni
317 B.C. to 279 B.C. 5 Amaron
279 B.C. 1 Chemish
279 B.C. to ~200 B.C. 2 Abinadom
~200 B.C. to ~160 B.C. 18 Amaleki
(Note that after Chemish and Abinadom mention the date they wrote in the plates, the next date that is mentioned is 130 B.C. where King Benjamin announces that his son Mosiah will be king. The dates I provide above for Abinadom and Amaleki are my guestimates... see my previous posting).
As time passes, each author writes less and less in the plates. Between 1st and 2nd Nephi, author Nephi wrote a total of 55 chapters of religious content; a whopping 1,408 verses, including several chapters quoting from the Brass Plates of Laban. Mind you, it wasn't just writing, it was actually etching characters onto gold while translating his words from Hebrew to Egyptian
As a contrast, Jacob wrote 7 chapters - 203 verses - of religious history, revelation and spiritual events, or 12-14% of what Nephi inscribed. The rest of the authors combined wrote less that half of what Jacob wrote.
Not only does the volume decline as the plates are passed on, but the number of spiritual insights decline as well. Jacob caught the spirit of the purpose of the plates from Nephi and recorded admonitions, experiences and a thought-provoking allegory from the Brass Plates. Enos provides a very spiritual recounting of his conversion but doesn't provide any other happenings from his life. Jarom indicates that the Nephites keep the law of Moses and there are many prophets but doesn't provide any accounts. Then Omni takes the plates and writes briefly that he has been a wicked man and that he has passed the plates on as he was directed. Amaron, his son, tells us of the passage of time and the destruction that went on around him and speaks of the great judgements of the Lord. (on a side-note, his words lead me to believe that he was more righteous than his father. I believe that Amaron was more righteous because of the influence of a good mother). Abinadom writes briefly and leaves us to wonder about his life; he writes "...I know of no revelation save that which has been written, neither prophecy; wherefore, that which is sufficient is written..." (Omni 11). Amaleki, Abinadom's son, then writes more extensively and tells us about the merging of Nephites and Mulekites and about the goodness of King Mosiah andn King Benjamin. I believe Amaleki had spiritual guidance which drove him to be more vociferous with the story of his time on earth.
What do I make of this? My first thought was that, as time went by, the trustees of the small plates of Nephi were getting more and more lax with the commitment made to their fathers. Perhaps this may be so. Given the difficulty in writing upon the gold plates, I can't say that I would have been any different. But then I had my point of view turned around. Maybe it wasn't that they were more and more slothful; maybe it was that Nephi was extremely driven to record the things that he did. He certainly had the same difficulty writing upon the plates that everyone else did, but he wrote what he did anyway... He was moved greatly by the spirit to make the tremendous effort he did, and his nature was to give everything to the Lord, including the difficult task of recording all that he did. To tell the truth, I think that perhaps both of these possible explanations may have been true.
What can we learn from these things? We need to be earnest in keeping our commitments to the Lord and to our families; we have been trusted with keeping the Gospel upon the earth. Time passing does not give us any excuse for not being committed and for not being enthusiastic promoters and defenders of God's Kingdom on earth. No matter how tempting it is to be lax at times, it is upon us to receive revelation, build and bear testimonies, provide spiritual opportunities for ourselves, our families, and others and to lift others who need our help. It is also our responsibility to record -write about - all of these things for our benefit and for the benefit of our posterity.
We are the Nephis, Jacobs, Enos's, and the rest of these writers, of our day. We must keep the Lord in our hearts and lives and make Him available to the world. We must leave a legacy and a record for those after us.
Don
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
More on Enos, Jarom and Omni
Let me first say this about the Book of Mormon: I know that the Book of Mormon was inspired of God and that He guided the hands of the prophets that recorded it. I know of a certainty that the Book of Mormon provides us with a witness of Christ's divine mission. I have learned from the Book of Mormon about how others lives were affected by their devotion to Jesus Christ and how I should live my life. There is no physical evidence, historical evidence, geographical evidence, logical evidence, or any other non-spiritual evidence that would convince me that the Book of Mormon is true more that the spiritual witness I have received through the power of the Holy Ghost (see Moroni 10:4-5).
That being said, I want to comment about the time line represented in the books of Enos, Jarom and Omni along with the books of 1st and 2nd Nephi and of the book of Jacob. As I read it, this is the time line presented in Jacob and the three short books:
~600 B.C. - Lehi and his family after the Jews persecute them.
~592 B.C. - Lehi, and family reach the land Bountiful. My guess is that Nephi is about 25 at this point. Nephi is commanded to build a ship.
~590 B.C. - Ship building is finished, they get on board and sail for the promised land. Births of Jacob and Joseph are mentioned. I think that Jacob is the older of the two and is probably 4 or 5 at this point.
~589 B.C. - The family reaches the promised land and begin building a new life. Nephi makes small plates and records in them.
569 B.C. - Lehi's death is recorded.
559 B.C. - Nephites and Lamanites have split apart, Nephites prosper.
544 B.C. - Jacob now has and writes in the small plates of Nephi. Nephi's death is recorded. If my guess is correct, this would make Nephi about 75 when he dies.
544 - 420 B.C. - Jacob lives his life and then passes the records to Enos. Neither Jacob nor Enos mentions the year this took place, so we can't be sure how old Jacob was when he died. Enos lives a life of teaching, preaching and service and hands the plates over to Jarom in 420 B.C.
361 B.C. - Jarom, after having the plates of Nephi for 61 years, passes them to Omni.
317 B.C. - Omni has possession of the plates of Nephi for about 44 years, and writes a few things on them according to his father's directive then passes them on to Amaron.
279 B.C. - Amaron writes on the plates of Nephi, passes them to his brother Chemish, who also writes in them.
279 - 130 B.C. - During this time, the plates are passed to Abinadom, Chemish's son. Abinadom gives the plates of Nephi to Amaleki. Amaleki lives his life; he talks somewhat about King Mosiah and his son Benjamin. Amaleki doesn't have any heir to bestow the plates to, so he gives them to King Benjamin.
130 B.C. - King Benjamin bestows the kingdom upon his son Mosiah.
Notice the gap in time between when Jacob takes the plates of Nephi and when Enos gives the plates to Jarom (from 544 B.C. to 420 B.C, or 124 years). Notice also the gap from 279 B.C. when Abinadom receives the plates to 130 B.C. which is when Benjamin makes his son Mosiah the king.
I'll discuss the second gap first. With some thought I have been able to understand how the seemed gap in time could be accounted for.... Mind you, this is pure speculation on my part. Amaron and Chemish write in the plates in the year 279 B.C. I am guessing that Chemish is probably Amaron's younger brother; more importantly, Chemish has heirs to pass the plates along to. At some point in time, Chemish gets old and charges his son, Abinadom, with the small plates of Nephi. Abinadom writes a small amount in them and in due time passes them to his son Amaleki. Eventually Amaleki hands them over to King Benjamin because Amaleki has no children of his own.
I believe that it is not 130 B.C. when Amaleki gives the plates to the King. Since Amaleki lived in the days of Mosiah, King Benjamin's father, the plates probably got passed to Benjamin while the king was young. This being true, then there would be no time gap to explain. My guess is that Amaleki may have given Benjamin the plates as early as 160 B.C. If this is a good guess, then the time may have looked like this: 279 B.C. Amaron and Chemish write on the plates. ~255 B.C. Chemish gives the plates to Abinadom, his son. ~200 B.C. Abinadom writes in the plates and passes them on to Amaleki. Around 160 B.C. Amaleki, who has no heirs, gives the plates to King Benjamin. 30 years later, King Benjamin, now an old man, bestows the kingdom on his son Mosiah.
Again, this is all guessing, but it feels plausible to me.
The other gap - the one between 544 and 420 B.C. is a little harder to explain. In 544 B.C. Jacob writes in the plates and tells us about Nephi's death. If my guesses are correct, Jacob would be around 45 years old at this time. The next time check we have is when Enos, Jacob's son, passes the plates on to his son Jarom. Here's the way it appears: in the 124 years of this time period, Jacob has his ministry, Enos gets his testimony, has his ministry, gets old and passes the plates along. Lets say that Jacob's and Enos's ministry last about the same length of time. That means they each served for 62 years before their lives ended. If Jacob was indeed 45 when he got the plates, that would make him about 107 years old when Enos received the plates. Enos would have to be old enough to see Jacob's ministry in action and hear his words, and it appears to me that he was a young man when he hunted in the jungle, and had his conversion experience... If he was 20 years old then, and if he served for 64 years, that would mean he was born in the year 504 B.C. Jacob would have been 93 at the time..... This doesn't logically work for me, the time lines don't seem to jive.
There may be a couple of explanations to this mystery. Detractors of the Book of Mormon might say that this is another example of implausibility and that the Book of Mormon is a fraud. I testify that this book is the word of God and is true. This is not an acceptable explanation.
Another possibility may be that yes, indeed, Jacob was that old when Enos was born. Jacob would have to have continued actively in his ministerial work for several years after that, since Enos heard Jacobs words when he (Enos) was old enough for them to sink in... They would have to have been long-livers in those days for this to be the explanation (and they may have been).
Another possible explanation, one that I think is more plausible, is perhaps there is a generation between Jacob and Enos. In the Bible we have heard people refer to their ancestors as their fathers and to their descendants their sons. I think that Enos's biological father may have been Jacob's son. I think that something may have happened to Enos's father, and so the plates were passed from Jacob to Enos instead of to Jacob's son and then to Enos. Enos heard his father teach and preach, but it was Jacob's son who he heard, not Jacob himself. This seems like a good possibility, although we don't have any record if this is the case. The time line may look more like this: 544 B.C - Jacob writes of Nephi's death. Jacob's son has already been born at this point and is maybe 5 years old by now... 504 B.C. - Enos is born. In 484 B.C. Enos hunts and has his conversion. Sometime during this time frame, but before Jacob dies, something happens to Jacob's son and Jacob passes the plates to Enos.
Pure speculation, I know. My testimony doesn't hinge on whether I'm right. It really doesn't matter and it is only something I have thought about, so I ask you to humor me in my curiosity.
As I said, I know the Book of Mormon is a true, factual, document, written by God's holy prophets. I know that it testifies of Jesus Christ and it has helped me to know Jesus better. I know this because I have felt the Holy Ghost's confirming spirit. I testify of this to you in the name of Jesus Christ.
Don
That being said, I want to comment about the time line represented in the books of Enos, Jarom and Omni along with the books of 1st and 2nd Nephi and of the book of Jacob. As I read it, this is the time line presented in Jacob and the three short books:
~600 B.C. - Lehi and his family after the Jews persecute them.
~592 B.C. - Lehi, and family reach the land Bountiful. My guess is that Nephi is about 25 at this point. Nephi is commanded to build a ship.
~590 B.C. - Ship building is finished, they get on board and sail for the promised land. Births of Jacob and Joseph are mentioned. I think that Jacob is the older of the two and is probably 4 or 5 at this point.
~589 B.C. - The family reaches the promised land and begin building a new life. Nephi makes small plates and records in them.
569 B.C. - Lehi's death is recorded.
559 B.C. - Nephites and Lamanites have split apart, Nephites prosper.
544 B.C. - Jacob now has and writes in the small plates of Nephi. Nephi's death is recorded. If my guess is correct, this would make Nephi about 75 when he dies.
544 - 420 B.C. - Jacob lives his life and then passes the records to Enos. Neither Jacob nor Enos mentions the year this took place, so we can't be sure how old Jacob was when he died. Enos lives a life of teaching, preaching and service and hands the plates over to Jarom in 420 B.C.
361 B.C. - Jarom, after having the plates of Nephi for 61 years, passes them to Omni.
317 B.C. - Omni has possession of the plates of Nephi for about 44 years, and writes a few things on them according to his father's directive then passes them on to Amaron.
279 B.C. - Amaron writes on the plates of Nephi, passes them to his brother Chemish, who also writes in them.
279 - 130 B.C. - During this time, the plates are passed to Abinadom, Chemish's son. Abinadom gives the plates of Nephi to Amaleki. Amaleki lives his life; he talks somewhat about King Mosiah and his son Benjamin. Amaleki doesn't have any heir to bestow the plates to, so he gives them to King Benjamin.
130 B.C. - King Benjamin bestows the kingdom upon his son Mosiah.
Notice the gap in time between when Jacob takes the plates of Nephi and when Enos gives the plates to Jarom (from 544 B.C. to 420 B.C, or 124 years). Notice also the gap from 279 B.C. when Abinadom receives the plates to 130 B.C. which is when Benjamin makes his son Mosiah the king.
I'll discuss the second gap first. With some thought I have been able to understand how the seemed gap in time could be accounted for.... Mind you, this is pure speculation on my part. Amaron and Chemish write in the plates in the year 279 B.C. I am guessing that Chemish is probably Amaron's younger brother; more importantly, Chemish has heirs to pass the plates along to. At some point in time, Chemish gets old and charges his son, Abinadom, with the small plates of Nephi. Abinadom writes a small amount in them and in due time passes them to his son Amaleki. Eventually Amaleki hands them over to King Benjamin because Amaleki has no children of his own.
I believe that it is not 130 B.C. when Amaleki gives the plates to the King. Since Amaleki lived in the days of Mosiah, King Benjamin's father, the plates probably got passed to Benjamin while the king was young. This being true, then there would be no time gap to explain. My guess is that Amaleki may have given Benjamin the plates as early as 160 B.C. If this is a good guess, then the time may have looked like this: 279 B.C. Amaron and Chemish write on the plates. ~255 B.C. Chemish gives the plates to Abinadom, his son. ~200 B.C. Abinadom writes in the plates and passes them on to Amaleki. Around 160 B.C. Amaleki, who has no heirs, gives the plates to King Benjamin. 30 years later, King Benjamin, now an old man, bestows the kingdom on his son Mosiah.
Again, this is all guessing, but it feels plausible to me.
The other gap - the one between 544 and 420 B.C. is a little harder to explain. In 544 B.C. Jacob writes in the plates and tells us about Nephi's death. If my guesses are correct, Jacob would be around 45 years old at this time. The next time check we have is when Enos, Jacob's son, passes the plates on to his son Jarom. Here's the way it appears: in the 124 years of this time period, Jacob has his ministry, Enos gets his testimony, has his ministry, gets old and passes the plates along. Lets say that Jacob's and Enos's ministry last about the same length of time. That means they each served for 62 years before their lives ended. If Jacob was indeed 45 when he got the plates, that would make him about 107 years old when Enos received the plates. Enos would have to be old enough to see Jacob's ministry in action and hear his words, and it appears to me that he was a young man when he hunted in the jungle, and had his conversion experience... If he was 20 years old then, and if he served for 64 years, that would mean he was born in the year 504 B.C. Jacob would have been 93 at the time..... This doesn't logically work for me, the time lines don't seem to jive.
There may be a couple of explanations to this mystery. Detractors of the Book of Mormon might say that this is another example of implausibility and that the Book of Mormon is a fraud. I testify that this book is the word of God and is true. This is not an acceptable explanation.
Another possibility may be that yes, indeed, Jacob was that old when Enos was born. Jacob would have to have continued actively in his ministerial work for several years after that, since Enos heard Jacobs words when he (Enos) was old enough for them to sink in... They would have to have been long-livers in those days for this to be the explanation (and they may have been).
Another possible explanation, one that I think is more plausible, is perhaps there is a generation between Jacob and Enos. In the Bible we have heard people refer to their ancestors as their fathers and to their descendants their sons. I think that Enos's biological father may have been Jacob's son. I think that something may have happened to Enos's father, and so the plates were passed from Jacob to Enos instead of to Jacob's son and then to Enos. Enos heard his father teach and preach, but it was Jacob's son who he heard, not Jacob himself. This seems like a good possibility, although we don't have any record if this is the case. The time line may look more like this: 544 B.C - Jacob writes of Nephi's death. Jacob's son has already been born at this point and is maybe 5 years old by now... 504 B.C. - Enos is born. In 484 B.C. Enos hunts and has his conversion. Sometime during this time frame, but before Jacob dies, something happens to Jacob's son and Jacob passes the plates to Enos.
Pure speculation, I know. My testimony doesn't hinge on whether I'm right. It really doesn't matter and it is only something I have thought about, so I ask you to humor me in my curiosity.
As I said, I know the Book of Mormon is a true, factual, document, written by God's holy prophets. I know that it testifies of Jesus Christ and it has helped me to know Jesus better. I know this because I have felt the Holy Ghost's confirming spirit. I testify of this to you in the name of Jesus Christ.
Don
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
The Short Books: Enos, Jarom, Omni
These books are fascinating in a number of ways and the things I learned as I really poked through them are invaluable. The testimonies in these books really support and strengthen my own. The time lines are curious and, for me, raise some interesting questions. These books also provide an interesting insight to the nature of human beings. First, getting a testimony:
Enos, Jacob's son, takes charge of the plates that Nephi created and that Jacob, Enos' father continued to write in. It's interesting to me that in 2 Nephi 4 we read of Lehi's death and in Jacob 1 we read of Nephi's death, but Enos doesn't record when Jacob died. We know that the plates were handed down from Jacob to Enos, because Enos records the marvelous story of his conversion and a brief description of his ministry. I have two thoughts on why this is. It could be that Enos didn't mention Jacob's death because he was doing what his father charged him to do: record sacred things and touch only lightly on the happenings of the people (although we don't read of this instruction in these books, I have to believe that Jacob charged Enos with this direction, just as Nephi charged Jacob). It could also be that due to the difficulty in writing in the plates, that Jacob simply didn't include this detail. More on this thought later.
Enos had the kind of conversion that we all wish for. His father taught him well, both in academic and in spiritual things. He is out hunting and is pricked by the words he heard his father teach. He is motivated to pray for spiritual confirmation, eventually converses with the Lord and his faith is made sure.
Here are the action words he uses to describe the experience: the wrestle I had; heard my father speak; sunk deep into my heart; soul hungered; kneeled; cried in mighty prayer; raise my voice; feel a desire; pour out my whole soul (Enos 2 - 9). These words, even without the context given them in the verses they come from, are powerful examples of what it takes to have a true testimony of God's love.
In the context of the verses they come from, they tell of a man who was wholly converted. They also tell of a means - a method - by which each of us can be totally converted to the Lord's Gospel.
It is my testimony that if each of us can follow the pattern that Enos has shared with us, the spiritual witness we receive will be as sure and steady as a great rock. It is my hope that we each will put this method to the test.
Don
P.S. More on these books.....
Enos, Jacob's son, takes charge of the plates that Nephi created and that Jacob, Enos' father continued to write in. It's interesting to me that in 2 Nephi 4 we read of Lehi's death and in Jacob 1 we read of Nephi's death, but Enos doesn't record when Jacob died. We know that the plates were handed down from Jacob to Enos, because Enos records the marvelous story of his conversion and a brief description of his ministry. I have two thoughts on why this is. It could be that Enos didn't mention Jacob's death because he was doing what his father charged him to do: record sacred things and touch only lightly on the happenings of the people (although we don't read of this instruction in these books, I have to believe that Jacob charged Enos with this direction, just as Nephi charged Jacob). It could also be that due to the difficulty in writing in the plates, that Jacob simply didn't include this detail. More on this thought later.
Enos had the kind of conversion that we all wish for. His father taught him well, both in academic and in spiritual things. He is out hunting and is pricked by the words he heard his father teach. He is motivated to pray for spiritual confirmation, eventually converses with the Lord and his faith is made sure.
Here are the action words he uses to describe the experience: the wrestle I had; heard my father speak; sunk deep into my heart; soul hungered; kneeled; cried in mighty prayer; raise my voice; feel a desire; pour out my whole soul (Enos 2 - 9). These words, even without the context given them in the verses they come from, are powerful examples of what it takes to have a true testimony of God's love.
In the context of the verses they come from, they tell of a man who was wholly converted. They also tell of a means - a method - by which each of us can be totally converted to the Lord's Gospel.
- Hear or listen to the gospel and recognize the goodness of the people who are sharing it with you (this is true of both the spoken words of testimony or the written testaments that we can read).
- Embrace the ideas of a God in Heaven who loves His children and longs for them to come to Him.
- Feel the desire grow inside of you, just your body hungers for nourishment.
- Seek for a confirmation to the things you have begun to believe through prayer.
- Be earnest in your prayer, putting your whole soul into the prayer, even to the point of raising your voice to the skies.
- Continue in this prayer until you receive the witness you desire.
It is my testimony that if each of us can follow the pattern that Enos has shared with us, the spiritual witness we receive will be as sure and steady as a great rock. It is my hope that we each will put this method to the test.
Don
P.S. More on these books.....
Monday, April 11, 2011
Zenos Allegory, Part 2
I felt somewhat unfinished after completing my last blog entry, then I understood that I hadn't reported any of my analysis. Jacob chapter 5 provides a lot of insight to the children of Israel, including Lehi's posterity, and including the human race as well. Here are my thoughts:
I mentioned that there are repeating phrases in chapter 5. In reviewing them I found that the phrases fall into a few categories, as shown below.
Care of the tree / vineyard:
Benefits or reasons:
End:
This is good instruction for us, as children of our Heavenly Father. We can learn from the phrases and the number of times they are repeated. Look at the number of times that care is given to the Lord's vineyard.
Care comes in several ways - some of the ways are pleasant and loving: nourishing, for instance. We receive boons from our Father in Heaven constantly and more so when we live His laws.
Care comes sometimes in more drastic ways; we sometimes get plucked out of a comfortable situation and grafted into somewhere that will cause us to grow differently. I think of the men who were just called to be the stake presidency of my stake. One was a bishop of one of the wards here... he got plucked off and grafted in! Think of missionaries who leave their homes and families and are grafted into a different place, society or location.
Sometimes the care comes in ways that are painful yet necessary, when comfortable things in our lives are burned away. I think we can all think of a real-life analogy here. Certainly we can learn from painful experiences if we face them with the Holy Spirit as our guide.
The allegory uses phrases that give insight to the Lord's motivation to care for His vineyard. He cares for us in the ways the allegory shows because it grieves Him if we are lost to Him. He wants to preserve us so that we will dwell with Him in the eternities, and so he wants to lay up our souls to Himself. I'm positive that He weeps for us at times. I'm certain that I've made Him weep, much to my dismay. Is there any question that the Lord loves his vineyard? Is there any question that the Lord loves each one of us individually, just as the lord of the vineyard loved the tree?
Finally, there is a timetable involved: The end does draw near, and at that time the Lord's entire vineyard will face Him and be judged. Some will be cast out of His presence - burned, so to speak. Others, although saved into His kingdom, will face a stringent, burning examination.
I think that Jacob chapter 6 bears out my evaluation: "...this is my prophecy - the the things which this prophet Zenos spake, concerning the house of Israel, in the which he likened them unto a tame olive-tree, must surely come to pass" (Jacob 6:1). "...the servants of the Lord shall go forth in his power, to nourish and prune His vineyard; and after that the end soon cometh. And how blessed are they who have labored diligently... and how cursed are they who shall be cast out... And the world shall be burned with fire" (Jacob 6:2-3).
Jacob pleads with us: "I beseech of you...that ye would repent and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you." (Jacob 6:5). "...after ye have been nourished by the good word of God all the day log, will ye bring forth evil fruit, that ye must be hewn down and cast into the fire?" (Jacob 6:7).
He offers two of the most quotable phrases in the Book of Mormon: "Yea, today, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts; for why will ye die?" (Jacob 6:7). "O then, my beloved brethren, repent ye, and enter in at the strait gate, and continue in the way which is narrow, until ye shall obtain eternal life. O be wise; what can I say more?" (Jacob 6:11-12).
I pray that I can be grafted in by my favoring Lord. I pray that we may all be productive to Him who cares for His vineyard.
Don
I mentioned that there are repeating phrases in chapter 5. In reviewing them I found that the phrases fall into a few categories, as shown below.
Care of the tree / vineyard:
- Nourish (dung) - 14 times
- Prune / dig - 4 times
- Planted / grafted - 9 times
- Pluck - 17 times
- Burn - 17 times
- Labor, follow commandments - 13 times
Benefits or reasons:
- Lay up , lay up unto myself - 10 times
- Preserve, preserve unto myself - 14 times
- Grieveth - 6 times
- Wept - 1 time
End:
- End draweth near - 3 times
- Vineyard burned - 1 time.
This is good instruction for us, as children of our Heavenly Father. We can learn from the phrases and the number of times they are repeated. Look at the number of times that care is given to the Lord's vineyard.
Care comes in several ways - some of the ways are pleasant and loving: nourishing, for instance. We receive boons from our Father in Heaven constantly and more so when we live His laws.
Care comes sometimes in more drastic ways; we sometimes get plucked out of a comfortable situation and grafted into somewhere that will cause us to grow differently. I think of the men who were just called to be the stake presidency of my stake. One was a bishop of one of the wards here... he got plucked off and grafted in! Think of missionaries who leave their homes and families and are grafted into a different place, society or location.
Sometimes the care comes in ways that are painful yet necessary, when comfortable things in our lives are burned away. I think we can all think of a real-life analogy here. Certainly we can learn from painful experiences if we face them with the Holy Spirit as our guide.
The allegory uses phrases that give insight to the Lord's motivation to care for His vineyard. He cares for us in the ways the allegory shows because it grieves Him if we are lost to Him. He wants to preserve us so that we will dwell with Him in the eternities, and so he wants to lay up our souls to Himself. I'm positive that He weeps for us at times. I'm certain that I've made Him weep, much to my dismay. Is there any question that the Lord loves his vineyard? Is there any question that the Lord loves each one of us individually, just as the lord of the vineyard loved the tree?
Finally, there is a timetable involved: The end does draw near, and at that time the Lord's entire vineyard will face Him and be judged. Some will be cast out of His presence - burned, so to speak. Others, although saved into His kingdom, will face a stringent, burning examination.
I think that Jacob chapter 6 bears out my evaluation: "...this is my prophecy - the the things which this prophet Zenos spake, concerning the house of Israel, in the which he likened them unto a tame olive-tree, must surely come to pass" (Jacob 6:1). "...the servants of the Lord shall go forth in his power, to nourish and prune His vineyard; and after that the end soon cometh. And how blessed are they who have labored diligently... and how cursed are they who shall be cast out... And the world shall be burned with fire" (Jacob 6:2-3).
Jacob pleads with us: "I beseech of you...that ye would repent and come with full purpose of heart, and cleave unto God as he cleaveth unto you." (Jacob 6:5). "...after ye have been nourished by the good word of God all the day log, will ye bring forth evil fruit, that ye must be hewn down and cast into the fire?" (Jacob 6:7).
He offers two of the most quotable phrases in the Book of Mormon: "Yea, today, if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts; for why will ye die?" (Jacob 6:7). "O then, my beloved brethren, repent ye, and enter in at the strait gate, and continue in the way which is narrow, until ye shall obtain eternal life. O be wise; what can I say more?" (Jacob 6:11-12).
I pray that I can be grafted in by my favoring Lord. I pray that we may all be productive to Him who cares for His vineyard.
Don
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
The Allegory: Jacob 5 - 6
I wanted to devote a post to these chapters, thinking that if I didn't I would not be able to adequately cover the topic. The result, though, was that I had a little longer to think about chapter 5 and the prophet Zenos' allegory of the tame and wild olive trees. The story is this: A rich man - known here as the lord of the vineyard - has an olive tree that he loves. It must have been productive and been around for some time for him to like it so much. The tree begans to decay and die, even after extra care is give to it, so the lord trims branches from the tree and grafts them into wild olive trees. The lord grafts wild olive branches onto the tree itself as well. This meets with success for awhile and produces good fruit initially, but then the wild branches or roots take over and the fruit becomes bad. Eventually the natural branches of the tame olive tree are grafted back onto the natural tree and good fruit is again produced.
That's a thimble sized summary of chapter 5, which has almost 7 pages - 77 verses. I have always skimmed through this chapter, getting distracted by the nourishes, pluckings and grafts of the chapter. In closely examining the chapter, though, I found some really good insights. One thing I realized is that to truly understand the allegory I had to think of the host of Israel; not just them but of all humanity as well.
I should note that in reflecting on chapter 5 I realized that there were phrases that appeared continually, such as: "Lay up the fruit", "preserve the tree", "it grieveth me to lose this tree", "nourish round about it", "pluck off the branches", "burn", "planted" or "grafted", "end draweth nigh", "go down and labor". Each of these concepts were repeated multiple times.
First thought was on the value of the tree. The lord loved the tree. It was valuable to him for several times it is mentioned that the lord would "...lay up fruit thereof against the season, unto myself" (Jacob 5:13). The lord continues, showing that he was loved the tree for more than it's food stuff value: "...it grieveth me that I should lose this tree and the fruit thereof." (ibid). Indeed, the lord, at the point that he felt nothing more could be done to save the tree and it's value, becomes emotional: "And it came to pass that the lord of the vineyard wept, and said unto the servant: What could I have done more for my vineyard?" (Jacob 5:41). If we think of the lord of the vineyard as God, and Israel (or us all) as the tree in the vineyard, it's easy to see: The Lord loves us. He blesses us because He loves us. He wants our lives to produce good things and return our fruit of love back to Him. He goes to great lengths to put us into growing circumstances. The Lord is grieved and weeps when he loses one of His children to the decay of Satan's deceit.
With this in mind, the lord of the vineyard took steps to preserve the tree. Each time the lord and his servants labored, they first dug about it and nourished it (sometimes they dunged it, which a gardener knows is the same thing, although it is funny to think of the word dung being in the Book of Mormon). The lord of the vineyard talks about the labor that is involved; he has his servants doing the labor, but not without him. Now think about our Savior and His servants. I believe that he is constantly laboring for our welfare, not just mystically wishing good fortune and happiness on us, but physically laboring for our welfare. He always has made efforts for our benefit, probably in ways we can't even understand. Think about the culmination of His life on earth: Truly a great and terrible labor for us. I believe that he not only sends His servants (the angels both of His realm and His earthly angels) to lead us, guide us, and to care for us. Leadership in itself is a great deal of labor. He intercedes on our behalf as well; kind of an ambassadorship to our Father in Heaven on our behalf. Diplomacy can be hard labor as well. I also believe that there are other labors He performs on our behalf that we don't understand or even know about, too (ok, that's not church doctrine, just Don speculating, alright?).
We need to relieve the Lord's efforts by being His good servants in taking care of our part of the vineyard - a.k.a His kingdom on earth. To do otherwise increases His burdens as He performs His labors to bring His children back to him. We need to respond to the care He gives us by growing in righteousness continually. To do otherwise increases His burdens as He performs His labors on our behalf.
A few words about plucking and grafting. The lord of the vineyard tries to save his tree by taking branches off of it and grafting it onto another tree and by taking branches from other olive trees and grafting them into the natural tree. Think about how Israel's troubled history - at times they have been righteous, at other times, not so much (as we read in the Old Testament). Israel has been scattered throughout the world and can be found in almost every society. According to this story, the scattering was done to preserve the good of Israel. If Israel had remained a righteous people, would they have been scattered? Think about the people of the City of Enoch; they didn't get scattered, right? For us personally, sometimes we get "scattered" as well. Things happen in our lives that seem bad or scary at the time. In the end, though, we learn, grow, and adapt if we cling to the Lord. The Lord certainly knows what we are capable of and allows things to happen that would shape us into better beings if we keep our testimonys sharp and our knees bent.
Finally, it struck me that the lord of the vineyard plucked off the bad branches and threw them into the fire to be burned. I hardly have to make any comment on that, do I? But is that always the case? Do people who sin always get burned? Sometimes it doesn't seem like it, but we must remember that the Lord has His own timetable and isn't governed by our clocks. The point is, eventually the Lord will reconcile all of our books and will reward accordingly. An interesting side-note to this: The lord of the vineyard indicates that the end draws near... end of what? The chapter doesn't say; perhaps the end of the lord's life? Maybe his creditors are catching up to him? Not sure, but the chapter says that in the end all will be burned - good and bad. I think we should learn from this that eventually we all will have to settle our spiritual debts. We would do well to live so that our spiritual accounts are in favor of the Lord.
Don
That's a thimble sized summary of chapter 5, which has almost 7 pages - 77 verses. I have always skimmed through this chapter, getting distracted by the nourishes, pluckings and grafts of the chapter. In closely examining the chapter, though, I found some really good insights. One thing I realized is that to truly understand the allegory I had to think of the host of Israel; not just them but of all humanity as well.
I should note that in reflecting on chapter 5 I realized that there were phrases that appeared continually, such as: "Lay up the fruit", "preserve the tree", "it grieveth me to lose this tree", "nourish round about it", "pluck off the branches", "burn", "planted" or "grafted", "end draweth nigh", "go down and labor". Each of these concepts were repeated multiple times.
First thought was on the value of the tree. The lord loved the tree. It was valuable to him for several times it is mentioned that the lord would "...lay up fruit thereof against the season, unto myself" (Jacob 5:13). The lord continues, showing that he was loved the tree for more than it's food stuff value: "...it grieveth me that I should lose this tree and the fruit thereof." (ibid). Indeed, the lord, at the point that he felt nothing more could be done to save the tree and it's value, becomes emotional: "And it came to pass that the lord of the vineyard wept, and said unto the servant: What could I have done more for my vineyard?" (Jacob 5:41). If we think of the lord of the vineyard as God, and Israel (or us all) as the tree in the vineyard, it's easy to see: The Lord loves us. He blesses us because He loves us. He wants our lives to produce good things and return our fruit of love back to Him. He goes to great lengths to put us into growing circumstances. The Lord is grieved and weeps when he loses one of His children to the decay of Satan's deceit.
With this in mind, the lord of the vineyard took steps to preserve the tree. Each time the lord and his servants labored, they first dug about it and nourished it (sometimes they dunged it, which a gardener knows is the same thing, although it is funny to think of the word dung being in the Book of Mormon). The lord of the vineyard talks about the labor that is involved; he has his servants doing the labor, but not without him. Now think about our Savior and His servants. I believe that he is constantly laboring for our welfare, not just mystically wishing good fortune and happiness on us, but physically laboring for our welfare. He always has made efforts for our benefit, probably in ways we can't even understand. Think about the culmination of His life on earth: Truly a great and terrible labor for us. I believe that he not only sends His servants (the angels both of His realm and His earthly angels) to lead us, guide us, and to care for us. Leadership in itself is a great deal of labor. He intercedes on our behalf as well; kind of an ambassadorship to our Father in Heaven on our behalf. Diplomacy can be hard labor as well. I also believe that there are other labors He performs on our behalf that we don't understand or even know about, too (ok, that's not church doctrine, just Don speculating, alright?).
We need to relieve the Lord's efforts by being His good servants in taking care of our part of the vineyard - a.k.a His kingdom on earth. To do otherwise increases His burdens as He performs His labors to bring His children back to him. We need to respond to the care He gives us by growing in righteousness continually. To do otherwise increases His burdens as He performs His labors on our behalf.
A few words about plucking and grafting. The lord of the vineyard tries to save his tree by taking branches off of it and grafting it onto another tree and by taking branches from other olive trees and grafting them into the natural tree. Think about how Israel's troubled history - at times they have been righteous, at other times, not so much (as we read in the Old Testament). Israel has been scattered throughout the world and can be found in almost every society. According to this story, the scattering was done to preserve the good of Israel. If Israel had remained a righteous people, would they have been scattered? Think about the people of the City of Enoch; they didn't get scattered, right? For us personally, sometimes we get "scattered" as well. Things happen in our lives that seem bad or scary at the time. In the end, though, we learn, grow, and adapt if we cling to the Lord. The Lord certainly knows what we are capable of and allows things to happen that would shape us into better beings if we keep our testimonys sharp and our knees bent.
Finally, it struck me that the lord of the vineyard plucked off the bad branches and threw them into the fire to be burned. I hardly have to make any comment on that, do I? But is that always the case? Do people who sin always get burned? Sometimes it doesn't seem like it, but we must remember that the Lord has His own timetable and isn't governed by our clocks. The point is, eventually the Lord will reconcile all of our books and will reward accordingly. An interesting side-note to this: The lord of the vineyard indicates that the end draws near... end of what? The chapter doesn't say; perhaps the end of the lord's life? Maybe his creditors are catching up to him? Not sure, but the chapter says that in the end all will be burned - good and bad. I think we should learn from this that eventually we all will have to settle our spiritual debts. We would do well to live so that our spiritual accounts are in favor of the Lord.
Don
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)