Jacob 5 Allegory--The Servant

[marc]

I prefer not to venture guesses and judgments. It's one thing to generalize, but I try to avoid the slippery slope of accusing any group or individual of anything because I find myself slip sliding away when I do. The church casts a very wide net when it comes to gathering fishes. But it's up to each of us to learn and grow individually. On one hand, someone who has just been baptized, may understand very little, and yet lives up to his or her light to the best of his or her ability. Then there's someone like King David, who was a Lord's anointed. You get the picture. But if we're judging the path, whether it be good or not, I default to what Christ personally taught:

32 And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me.

33 And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.

34 And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned.

35 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost.

36 And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are one.

37 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these things.

38 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.

39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.

40 And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them.

Believe
Repent
Be Baptized with water
Christ baptizes you with Fire and with the Holy Ghost
(The Holy Ghost tells you what to do
The Holy Ghost brings you to Christ
Christ brings you to the Father) 2 Nephi 32

So the question, more appropriately is, who has truly received the Holy Ghost. And once they have received it, are they receiving instruction, praying without fainting? Are they seeking true messengers from Father? Are they importuning the Lord? We've been given the pattern. Ask, seek, knock. That's the purpose of the temple endowment-not to magically make us worthy-but to teach us how to approach heaven. It is how we learn to walk the walk and not just talk about the walk. That brings us back to the allegory. Are we just barren branches, lofty and proud of ourselves for being such chosen branches of a chosen tree? Or are we working to produce celestial fruit? We must respond. If we aren't doing everything we can to respond, it's like not RSVPing to the wedding invite. It's like not filling our lamps with oil. We're just being idle and lazy and proud, set in our ways. And that makes us no different than the ancient Israelites or the Nephites at Zarahemla or King Noah's people in the land of Nephi.

[marc]

I want to revisit this topic, which I created two years ago to add something significant found in the final verses. I will only quote one verse:

74 And thus they labored, with all diligence, according to the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard, even until the bad had been cast away out of the vineyard, and the Lord had preserved unto himself that the trees had become again the natural fruit; and they became like unto one body; and the fruits were equal; and the Lord of the vineyard had preserved unto himself the natural fruit, which was most precious unto him from the beginning.

Aside from some odd grammar halfway through the verse, it is significant to note that the efforts of the Lord and His servants, which were few, had finally produced "natural" fruit and that it was all like unto one body, "equal." Contrast this with earlier verses where the branches had become lofty and had taken strength unto themselves. The Lord had lamented that the roots and the branches profited Him nothing. It is the fruit that He wants. But not only that, but all as one, being equal.

From this allegory, we learn that the Lord's work is to nourish the tree, which began as a covenant, which nourished the nations. But if the nations produce no fruit or evil fruit, they are good for nothing but to be destroyed, having forsaken their covenant relationship with God. But as we see above, the Lord does so much work that "perhaps" the tree may respond. It's up to the covenant people to become equal. And we see how the Nephites got off to an early start in their corruption as Isaiah prophesied happens with covenant people:

Jacob 2:5 But behold, hearken ye unto me, and know that by the help of the all-powerful Creator of heaven and earth I can tell you concerning your thoughts, how that ye are beginning to labor in sin, which sin appeareth very abominable unto me, yea, and abominable unto God...

In this chapter, the Lord tells Jacob to warn his small flock that they have already begun to be adulterous and idolatrous. In other words, they began to take on extra wives and dig for gold and silver and other precious ores and to lift themselves up in pride because of their "speculation." They had done exactly what Nephi said they would do in 2 Nephi 33, esteeming his words as naught because they reject the Holy Ghost. They had quickly made themselves unequal and lofty because of their covetousness and lusts. These are the same things that happened with the early saints of the restoration and why they polluted their inheritances (D&C 101). And when they migrated to the Salt Lake Valley, they brought Babylon with them and built it up bigger and better than ever.

It will be some time before the fruits become equal and pleasing to the Lord. It's just not something the membership in general is interested in and has been proving it for nearly 200 years.

[Arenera]

I want to revisit this topic, which I created two years ago to add something significant found in the final verses. I will only quote one verse:

74 And thus they labored, with all diligence, according to the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard, even until the bad had been cast away out of the vineyard, and the Lord had preserved unto himself that the trees had become again the natural fruit; and they became like unto one body; and the fruits were equal; and the Lord of the vineyard had preserved unto himself the natural fruit, which was most precious unto him from the beginning.

Aside from some odd grammar halfway through the verse, it is significant to note that the efforts of the Lord and His servants, which were few, had finally produced "natural" fruit and that it was all like unto one body, "equal." Contrast this with earlier verses where the branches had become lofty and had taken strength unto themselves. The Lord had lamented that the roots and the branches profited Him nothing. It is the fruit that He wants. But not only that, but all as one, being equal.

From this allegory, we learn that the Lord's work is to nourish the tree, which began as a covenant, which nourished the nations. But if the nations produce no fruit or evil fruit, they are good for nothing but to be destroyed, having forsaken their covenant relationship with God. But as we see above, the Lord does so much work that "perhaps" the tree may respond. It's up to the covenant people to become equal. And we see how the Nephites got off to an early start in their corruption as Isaiah prophesied happens with covenant people:

Jacob 2:5 But behold, hearken ye unto me, and know that by the help of the all-powerful Creator of heaven and earth I can tell you concerning your thoughts, how that ye are beginning to labor in sin, which sin appeareth very abominable unto me, yea, and abominable unto God...

In this chapter, the Lord tells Jacob to warn his small flock that they have already begun to be adulterous and idolatrous. In other words, they began to take on extra wives and dig for gold and silver and other precious ores and to lift themselves up in pride because of their "speculation." They had done exactly what Nephi said they would do in 2 Nephi 33, esteeming his words as naught because they reject the Holy Ghost. They had quickly made themselves unequal and lofty because of their covetousness and lusts. These are the same things that happened with the early saints of the restoration and why they polluted their inheritances (D&C 101). And when they migrated to the Salt Lake Valley, they brought Babylon with them and built it up bigger and better than ever.

It will be some time before the fruits become equal and pleasing to the Lord. It's just not something the membership in general is interested in and has been proving it for nearly 200 years.

Alma 37
4 Behold, it has been prophesied by our fathers, that they should be kept and handed down from one generation to another, and be kept and preserved by the hand of the Lord until they should go forth unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, that they shall know of the mysteries contained thereon.

5 And now behold, if they are kept they must retain their brightness; yea, and they will retain their brightness; yea, and also shall all the plates which do contain that which is holy writ.

[marc]

Continuing from my previous post:

Jacob 5:74...and they became like unto one body; and the fruits were equal; and the Lord of the vineyard had preserved unto himself the natural fruit, which was most precious unto him from the beginning...

Once the Lord has preserved unto Himself fruit, which is most precious unto Him from the beginning, what might that look like? We get a glimpse six hundred years later after Jesus manifested Himself unto them in the flesh when He said:

3 Nephi 27:30 And now, behold, my joy is great, even unto fulness, because of you, and also this generation; yea, and even the Father rejoiceth, and also all the holy angels, because of you and this generation; for none of them are lost.

31 Behold, I would that ye should understand; for I mean them who are now alive of this generation; and none of them are lost; and in them I have fulness of joy.

And what manner of people were they that they should be preserved?

4 Nephi 1:2 And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another.

3 And they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift.

What are the "fruits" of such people then? Mormon tells us in the next few verses:

5 And there were great and marvelous works wrought by the disciples of Jesus, insomuch that they did heal the sick, and raise the dead, and cause the lame to walk, and the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear; and all manner of miracles did they work among the children of men; and in nothing did they work miracles save it were in the name of Jesus...

When a group of the Lord's "covenant" people make themselves equal in temporal things, the Lord makes them equal in heavenly things and his joy is full because of them. And mighty works follow them because of such great faith in diligently doing what He has said to do.

[Finrock]

Continuing from my previous post:

Jacob 5:74...and they became like unto one body; and the fruits were equal; and the Lord of the vineyard had preserved unto himself the natural fruit, which was most precious unto him from the beginning...

Once the Lord has preserved unto Himself fruit, which is most precious unto Him from the beginning, what might that look like? We get a glimpse six hundred years later after Jesus manifested Himself unto them in the flesh when He said:

3 Nephi 27:30 And now, behold, my joy is great, even unto fulness, because of you, and also this generation; yea, and even the Father rejoiceth, and also all the holy angels, because of you and this generation; for none of them are lost.

31 Behold, I would that ye should understand; for I mean them who are now alive of this generation; and none of them are lost; and in them I have fulness of joy.

And what manner of people were they that they should be preserved?

4 Nephi 1:2 And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another.

3 And they had all things common among them; therefore there were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift.

What are the "fruits" of such people then? Mormon tells us in the next few verses:

5 And there were great and marvelous works wrought by the disciples of Jesus, insomuch that they did heal the sick, and raise the dead, and cause the lame to walk, and the blind to receive their sight, and the deaf to hear; and all manner of miracles did they work among the children of men; and in nothing did they work miracles save it were in the name of Jesus...

When a group of the Lord's "covenant" people make themselves equal in temporal things, the Lord makes them equal in heavenly things and his joy is full because of them. And mighty works follow them because of such great faith in diligently doing what He has said to do.

So, it appears that despite jwharton's claims to the contrary, Robert Sinclair was on topic when he made his post. If you read his posts he had come to this conclusion about Jacob 5 some time ago.

-Finrock

[marc]

Somehow I missed that.

[True]

Where would we be without RS reminding us that in order to be equal in heavenly things we have to be equal in temporal things?! But I noticed something in that verse:

74 And thus they labored, with all diligence, according to the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard, even until the bad had been cast away out of the vineyard, and the Lord had preserved unto himself that the trees had become again the natural fruit; and they became like unto one body; and the fruits were equal; and the Lord of the vineyard had preserved unto himself the natural fruit, which was most precious unto him from the beginning.

They labored until the bad had been cast away. It wasn't until after that that the fruit became equal. I'm not saying we should delay, I'm just making an observation. As far as timing goes, I'm wondering if it will happen after the Lord's destroyer comes. It also says that they became one (what I'm assuming that means "they became like into one body"). This seems to play into the fruit being equal. It's hard to tell if it's a cause or effect or if it happens together after the bad are cast away.

One time, just before waking, I had a dream and the roof of my house was off and I was above it looking down. Into my house streamed all colors and types of people until it was full, and a voice said, "Black, white, bond, free and there shall be no poor among them."

My house has a lot of food in it and I have always known I would share my goods with all in need. I believe this dream will be fulfilled in my lifetime. Weather it was symbolic of me actually opening up my personal house to others or more generally symbolizing the order to be lived in the last days, I don't know. I can't wait to be equal in that respect because I think that is when the power of God will be truly manifest.

[Alaris]

Where would we be without RS reminding us that in order to be equal in heavenly things we have to be equal in temporal things?! But I noticed something in that verse:

74 And thus they labored, with all diligence, according to the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard, even until the bad had been cast away out of the vineyard, and the Lord had preserved unto himself that the trees had become again the natural fruit; and they became like unto one body; and the fruits were equal; and the Lord of the vineyard had preserved unto himself the natural fruit, which was most precious unto him from the beginning.

They labored until the bad had been cast away. It wasn't until after that that the fruit became equal. I'm not saying we should delay, I'm just making an observation. As far as timing goes, I'm wondering if it will happen after the Lord's destroyer comes. It also says that they became one (what I'm assuming that means "they became like into one body"). This seems to play into the fruit being equal. It's hard to tell if it's a cause or effect or if it happens together after the bad are cast away.

One time, just before waking, I had a dream and the roof of my house was off and I was above it looking down. Into my house streamed all colors and types of people until it was full, and a voice said, "Black, white, bond, free and there shall be no poor among them."

My house has a lot of food in it and I have always known I would share my goods with all in need. I believe this dream will be fulfilled in my lifetime. Weather it was symbolic of me actually opening up my personal house to others or more generally symbolizing the order to be lived in the last days, I don't know. I can't wait to be equal in that respect because I think that is when the power of God will be truly manifest.

Here's my interpretation of verse 74 as I have been studying the gathering quite a bit lately:
---

• Bad cast away out of the vineyard - Vineyard could be Jerusalem as there are prophecies about the Lord casting the wicked out of Jerusalem at the gathering.

• Trees had become again the natural fruit - The return of Israel bearing fruit - covenants and righteousness

• Like unto one body and the fruits being equal - This is ZION - of one heart and one mind and no poor among them.

---

Moses 7:18 And the Lord called his people Zion, because they were of one heart and one mind, and dwelt in righteousness; and there was no poor among them.

Sorry to put in a plug here for my 7 levels thread, but Enoch is the Archangel over the level 6 order, the 144,000 with the DS being the chief of that order (imho.) Enoch shows his order the example of how to build ZION at the last part of the first millennium after Adam's dispensation. Now the Davidic Servant's job is to build ZION at the first of the last millennium. Wait last shall be first -first shall be last - that sounds familiar! Then Michael finishes off the Dragon and ends the last millennium just as he began the first millennium. That is also last shall be first - holy cow it's a chiasmus!

https://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/c ... sation.pdf

Enoch's Zion is at the end of the first millennium. The Davidic Servant's ZION is at the beginning of the last. Michael starts and finishes.

For those of you who wish to read more on what a chiasmus is:

https://www.lds.org/new-era/1972/02/chi ... n?lang=eng

The basic idea is a literary chiasmus has the same or similar verse at the beginning and the end and the second verse and the second to last verse is the same or similar building to a pyramid in the center of the chapter where the middle two verses are the underscored point. Alma 36 is an amazing example of this. Amazing what a farm boy can write with just a few grades of education :ymparty: