What follows is a summary of Jacob, chapter 5, from the Book of Mormon. This allegory, or extended parable, deals with the scattering and gathering of Israel as taught originally by an ancient prophet named Zenos.
The allegory uses the symbol of an olive tree to represent the house of Israel. It details a process used by God to work, over time and generations, to build up a righteous people worthy of His presence. This process reflects Israel's disobedience and repentance. It clearly demonstrates the Lord's willingness to remember His people, and to serve them by strengthening and nourishing as a careful, tender Parent. It starkly warns the wicked against the terrible consequences of their choices. It ultimately shows the marvelous ways God can turn any hardship into happiness, every misfortune magnified into means.
It gives us some poignant insight into the relationship between a prophet and the Lord, how they counsel together, with the Lord sometimes asking the prophet what he thinks ought to be done. It shows the pattern of careful dispensations of gospel truth and divine authority, according to each generation's capacity to receive.
This summary makes it easier for me to follow the events in the story, mainly by eliminating repetition. For instance, sometimes a plan will be described in advance of the action, and thereby double the necessary words to explain the story. Sometimes this repetition is important to give us insight into the thought processes and feelings of those involved.
The allegory is incredibly rich and deep. It portrays the scattering and gathering of Israel in a great deal of detail as it plays out on this earth. We see a broad overview of the efforts to build up a righteous people, along with intricate technical detail regarding the spreading of ideas and the rise and fall of nations, to bring about the spectacular eventuality the Lord requires. It shows how the scattering of Israel as a result of their disobedience can be turned by the Lord into a great blessing for the whole earth, by grafting in any and all who wish to join in on the work of the Lord.
There is no record of the prophet Zenos in the Holy Bible as we have it today. Comments by other Old Testament prophets, however, may indicate they were familiar with his writings (See Isaiah 5). Apparently, his book is included in the plates of Laban, taken by Nephi and studied by Lehi and his people.
I invite you to study the whole text, as it appears in the Book of Mormon. Perhaps it won't be too long before a copy of the Book of Zenos will be found, corroborating the historicity of the Book of Mormon in a powerful way, due to the complexity of this allegory.
Tame olive tree (Israel) grows old and begins to decay.
The tree is pruned and the ground around it is fertilized.
After many days it begins to shoot forth young, tender branches, but the main top begins to perish.
The dying tame branches are removed and burned by the master. The servant gets branches from a wild tree and grafts them in their places.
The master causes the tree to be pruned and fertilized and tells the servant to watch and nourish the tree according to his words. He explains that he grafted in the wild branches to maintain the roots of the tree.
The master cuts the young tender branches off of the tree and hides them in several different parts of the vineyard.
After a long time, the master and the servant go down and look at the tree. They see that the wild branches have begun to bear good fruit, like unto tame fruit. The wild branches caused the roots to strengthen greatly. The master rejoices in the fruit.
The master takes the servant out to look at the natural branches that he planted in the nethermost parts of the vineyard.
They see one tree that was planted in a poor spot of ground, and nourished for a long time, bearing much good fruit. The master commands the servant to take the fruit and store it. The servant asks the master why he came to this poor spot of ground to plant this tree. The master replies "Counsel me not."
They go to another branch, planted in an even poorer spot of ground than the first and see that it too has brought forth much good fruit after being nourished for a long time. The master commands the servant to lay up the fruit unto the master.
They go and see another branch, that it has brought forth fruit.
They go and see the last of the natural branches, which was planted in a good spot of ground and nourished like the others bearing good fruit on part of the tree, and bad fruit on the other part.
The master commands the servant to cut off and burn the branches of this tree that have produced the wild fruit. The servant instead decides that they should prune and fertilize the tree.
The master and the servant nourish all of the vineyard and leave.
After a long time, they return to the vineyard. The master says that the end soon cometh and he must have fruit stored away.
They come to the original old tree and see that all different kinds of fruit are growing on it. The master tastes the fruit and finds that it is all bad. The master asks the servant what they should do to the tree to get good fruit again.
The servant tells the master that the wild branches have caused the roots of the tree to strengthen—wherefore the roots are still good.
The master says that the tree is not productive as it once was because the wild branches have overrun the good roots and produced bad fruit.
The two, at the master's command, go and look at the trees grown from the natural branches of the original tree which were planted in the nethermost parts of the vineyard. They see that they have been corrupted and are producing bad fruit; "The first, and the second, and also the last."
They see that the wild fruit of the last tree has overcome the part of the tree that had been producing good fruit, and the branch that made good fruit has withered away and died.
The master laments the loss of the good trees to the servant and explains all he has done to ensure a productive harvest of fruit. He asks the servant, "Who is it that has corrupted my vineyard?"
The servant suggests that the loftiness of the vineyard has caused the trees to turn bad. The branches took strength unto themselves and overcame the good roots because they grew faster than the roots.
The master commands that they go down and destroy the trees of the vineyard, for he feels he has done all he can for the trees.
The servant says, "Spare it a little longer." The master agrees and plans to take branches from the "nethermost" trees and replace the most bitter of the branches of the main tree with them, explaining that he desires to preserve the roots of the tree for his own purpose. He plans also to preserve the roots of the "nethermost" trees by grafting into them branches from their mother tree.
The work begins. Branches from the main tree are grafted into the "nethermost" trees, branches from the "nethermost" trees are grafted into their mother tree. The master explains that the servant is not to remove but the most bitter of the branches and replace them with branches from the other tree, pruning and fertilizing all the trees as they go. The master explains his expectations for his vineyard and the joy he will have again in storing up much good fruit.
The master commands the servant to call other servants to prepare the way for the master to bring forth good fruit for the last time, beginning at the last that they may be first, and that the first may be last, all trees being dug about and pruned and fertilized—the first and the last, and the last and the first.
The master explains that they are not to remove all the corrupt branches at once, but are to clear out the bad as the good ones grow, so as to keep the strength of the roots and the strength of the branches equal.
The master sends the servant, who brings the other servants unto the master. The master commands all the servants to carry out the directions given to the first servant. They do so, all working together to prepare the way for the good fruit to come forth.
The trees are grafted, pruned and nourished. They begin to produce good fruit. The trees are eventually all made equal in producing good fruit. The master rejoices in the fruit, reporting the results to the servants, stating that they shall have joy and rejoicing in their labor along with the master. He looks forward with delight in having good fruit growing in his vineyard for a long time.
The master explains that when the time comes that evil fruit shall again begin to come forth, the good fruit will be gathered unto himself, and the bad will be "cast away into its own place." Then will the season and the end come, in which the whole vineyard will be burnt with fire.