Nephi is candid in expressing his worries over latter-day Zion. He does not want us to be thinking “all is well,” as mentioned earlier. He included this short allegory in his selection of Isaiah materials:
And then will I sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved, touching his vineyard. My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill. And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a wine-press therein; and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes it brought forth wild grapes. And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard—I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and I will break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down; And I will lay it waste; it shall not be pruned nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant; and he looked for judgment, and behold, oppression; for righteousness, but behold, a cry. (2 Nephi 15: 1-7.)
This is a ‘mini’ version of a larger allegory written by an earlier prophet Zenos. The larger Zenos version is preserved in Jacob’s book, Chapter 5. Because of the interrelationship between these two passages (Isaiah’s set out above, and Zenos’ from Jacob, Chapter 5), we are going to look at these two allegories in depth.
In Jacob’s longer version, there are different lands to which different parts of the family of Israel (olive branches) are led away to occupy. The scattering begins from the original spot, Jerusalem. From there, three different places are identified to which the “natural branches” or descendants of Israel are to be scattered. These include a variety of locations throughout the world (vineyard). From the locations to which the “natural branches” (Israel) were scattered, there are several, including a “first” (Jacob 5: 20) which is also called the “poorest spot in all the land of the vineyard.” (Id. vs. 21-22.) We do not know the geography, but are told it is a “poorest spot” presumably for development of righteousness. Though there is no identification of the location, if the first dispersion here relates to the Northern Kingdom or Lost Ten Tribes, we know from Esdras they were scattered into the “lands of the north.” Then the next spot is called “poorer than the first.” (Id. v. 23.) There is a third spot, which is called “a good spot of ground.” (Id. vs. 24-25.)
In all, there are four divisions of Israelites who are scattered. There is an original location in the land of Palestine or land of Jerusalem, and three other different locations. We can identify one of these three scatterings: the Americas; which is the location called “choice above the others.” Jacob does this for us in his sermon found in Second Nephi. During his explanation of Isaiah he quoted in his sermon, Jacob refers to the new land in which they have been relocated in these terms:
Wherefore, I will consecrate this land unto thy seed, and them who shall be numbered among thy seed, forever, for the land of their inheritance; for it is a choice land, saith God unto me, above all other lands, wherefore I will have all men that dwell thereon that they shall worship me, saith God. And now, my beloved brethren, seeing that our merciful God has given us so great knowledge concerning these things, let us remember him, and lay aside our sins, and not hang down our heads, for we are not cast off; nevertheless, we have been driven out of the land of our inheritance; but we have been led to a better land, for the Lord has made the sea our path, and we are upon an isle of the sea. But great are the promises of the Lord unto them who are upon the isles of the sea; wherefore as it says isles, there must needs be more than this, and they are inhabited also by our brethren. For behold, the Lord God has led away from time to time from the house of Israel, according to his will and pleasure. And now behold, the Lord remembereth all them who have been broken off, wherefore he remembereth us also. (2 Nephi 10: 19-22; emphasis added.)
The scattering of Lehi’s family to the Americas was part of a long-before prophesied plan. The Lord intended to place branches of Israel in at least four locations, including PalestiNephi From these scatterings, the whole earth would be leavened with the blood of Israel.
Zenos’ allegory prophetically foreshadowed the history of the Nephite/Lamanite peoples. Once you know the Americas are the land “choice above all others,” then you can see the unfolding history of the peoples who would inhabit it. As Zenos’ account goes:
And behold this last, whose branch hath withered away, I did plant in a good spot of ground; yea, even that which was choice unto me above all other parts of the land of my vineyard. And thou beheldest that I also cut down that which cumbered this spot of ground, that I might plant this tree in the stead thereof. And thou beheldest that a part thereof brought forth good fruit, and a part thereof brought forth wild fruit; and because I plucked not the branches thereof and cast them into the fire, behold, they have overcome the good branch that it hath withered away. (Jacob 5: 43-45.)
There would be a division between the “good fruit” (Nephites) and “wild fruit” (Lamanites). Eventually, however, the “wild fruit” would overtake all the “good fruit,” and the Nephite end would come from this first planting or scattering. Indeed, all the branches in the entire vineyard would become corrupted. The time would come when none would bear good fruit anywhere in the world. This, of course, is speaking of a universal apostasy from Christ’s Gospel.
This apostasy would require a restoration of the various branches back to their native trunk. Israel would have to be restored through yet another, final regrafting (i.e., the Gospel would have to be restored). As Zenos puts it:
And, behold, the roots of the natural branches of the tree which I planted whithersoever I would are yet alive; wherefore, that I may preserve them also for mine own purpose, I will take of the branches of this tree, and I will graft them in unto them. Yea, I will graft in unto them the branches of their mother tree, that I may preserve the roots also unto mine own self, that when they shall be sufficiently strong perhaps they may bring forth good fruit unto me, and I may yet have glory in the fruit of my vineyard. (Jacob 5: 54, emphasis added.)
This refers to the restoration of the Gospel, beginning in 1820 with Joseph Smith’s First Vision. The restoration included a divinely supervised return of scripture, doctrines, ordinances, Church organization, and eventually the return of all covenants necessary to remake a covenant people. The sealing power, which confers the blessings of Abraham, was the crowning part of re-grafting the wild branches to the “mother tree” of Israel. The Lord tells us He does this “that [He] may have joy again in the fruit of [His] vineyard, and, perhaps, that [He] may rejoice exceedingly that [He has] preserved the roots and the branches of the first fruit.” (Id., v. 60.) So the restoration of the Gospel is in hope that “perhaps” we might yet bring good fruit. That “perhaps” is pregnant with meaning. We have no guarantees. The jury is still out on us. Therefore, we should be contrite about our standing before God, rather than arrogant about being “re-grafted” just by association with His Latter-day Church.
The restoration was to begin in the Americas. It was this “choice above all other” lands in which the last planting takes place in the allegory. But it was to be the first place in which the restoration of the Gospel was to begin. The work is formidable, but “they were few” who are to do the work. (Id., v. 70.)
The process of this final restoration is labor intensive. There is always a tendency to overgrow, or to bring about wild shoots, or to otherwise become compromised. As a result, we are told about our day: “there began to be the natural fruit again in the vineyard; and the natural branches began to grow and thrive exceedingly; and the wild branches began to be plucked off and to be cast away; and they did keep the root and the top thereof equal, according to the strength thereof.” (Id., v. 73.) It is this latter-day struggle to keep the fruit good, and not allowing it to become corrupt, Nephi is referring to in his Isaiah material quoted at the beginning of this chapter. The Lord “looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.” Men invariably struggle with the Gospel. Our day is no exception.
We have seen this already in this dispensation. The “natural branches” that have been preserved as the “wild branches” are “plucked off” in the persecutions and mobbing in Ohio, Missouri and in Illinois. Pruning has been done in the past, but is hardly to be compared with the future pruning we will see in this dispensation. We all know the location of the Saints in the Rocky Mountains is temporary. The “place which is now called Independence is the center place.” (D&C 57: 3.) Though the Saints have been prevented from locating their gathering there, “Zion shall not be moved out of her place, notwithstanding her children are scattered.” (D&C 101: 17.) Between now and the time when Zion is established with her center at Independence, we have this to endure: “Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth, a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation; and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth, saith the Lord. And upon my house shall it begin, and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord; First among those among you, saith the Lord, who have professed to know my name and have not known me, and have blasphemed against me in the midst of my house, saith the Lord.” (D&C 112:26, emphasis added.) The difficulties which will bring His people back to the center stake will begin with the Saints. The purgative effects of this final pruning, however, will then qualify the surviving Saints to gather in righteousness in Zion and there be delivered.
The degree of difficulty involved in this pruning will make the prior pruning in Ohio, Missouri and Illinois seem modest by comparison. “And that the gathering together upon the land of Zion, and upon her stakes, may be for a defense, and for a refuge from the storm, and from wrath when it shall be poured out without mixture upon the whole earth.” (D&C 115: 6.) And again: “And thus, with the sword and by bloodshed the inhabitants of the earth shall mourn; and with famine, and plague, and earthquake, and the thunder of heaven, and the fierce and vivid lightning also, shall the inhabitants of the earth be made to feel the wrath, and indignation, and chastening hand of an Almighty God, until the consumption decreed hath made a full end of all nations;” including even the United States. (D&C 87: 6.) These events will be global, but will begin with the renewed and necessary persecution of the Saints:
But, behold, I say unto you that before this great day shall come the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall be turned into blood, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and there shall be greater signs in heaven above and in the earth beneath; And there shall be weeping and wailing among the hosts of men; And there shall be a great hailstorm sent forth to destroy the crops of the earth. And it shall come to pass, because of the wickedness of the world, that I will take vengeance upon the wicked, for they will not repent; for the cup of mine indignation is full; for behold, my blood shall not cleanse them if they hear me not. Wherefore, I the Lord God will send forth flies upon the face of the earth, which shall take hold of the inhabitants thereof, and shall eat their flesh, and shall cause maggots to come in upon them; And their tongues shall be stayed that they shall not utter against me; and their flesh shall fall from off their bones, and their eyes from their sockets; And it shall come to pass that the beasts of the forest and the fowls of the air shall devour them up. And the great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall be cast down by devouring fire, according as it is spoken by the mouth of Ezekiel the prophet, who spoke of these things, which have not come to pass but surely must, as I live, for abominations shall not reign. (D&C 29: 14-21.)
Though the prophetic pictures we have been given are terrible to contemplate, they are necessary events. We will finally end our ingratitude for each other, finally end our murmuring about each other, and then be willing to huddle together in gratitude as a result of these ordeals. We will at last find it necessary to share with each other, rather than divide into our socio-economic strata. We will rejoice in having each other as companions, rather than holding a critical and uncharitable attitude about one another. We will never arrive there voluntarily, but must be brought there by a chastening Lord, Who will prepare our hearts through the refining fire preceding that return. So the Lord, in His mercy and wisdom, will grant us the difficulties which will bring us there. We will understand how adversity makes us better, and brings us closer to God. As Elder Neal A. Maxwell wrote:
For us to overcome requires us to reach that point at which, in words translated by Joseph, there is a “yielding [of our] hearts unto God” (Helaman 3:35.)“Being called,” therefore, is not always precisely the same as “being chosen,” and even those “chosen” must still finally qualify as those who are “faithful” (see D&C 121:34-35). Called, chosen, and faithful Joseph Smith, who slept on a “dirty straw couch in a” lonesome, dark, and dirty“ jail in Liberty, was in that sense triply crowned, for he ”endured it well."
As the Prophet Joseph Smith was told in the prison-temple, experiencing and enduring are part of the essence of significant spiritual development, the end for which all serious disciples are to strive. The Missouri dungeon provided just such a tutoring mixture of obscurity, adversity, irony, and testimony.
Three times Jesus has told us that we are to seek to become like the Father and like the Savior, an objective not to be reached without obedience in the midst of soul stretching: “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). “Therefore I would that ye should be perfect even as I, or your Father who is in heaven is perfect” (3 Nephi 12:48). “Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am.” (3 Nephi 27:27.)
This same pattern was operative anciently, as evidenced by the Lord‘s allowing some of the heathen nations with their influence to remain in the land of Canaan as Israel’s neighbors: “And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses” (Judges 3:4).
Some of the soul-stretching experiences are so wrenching that even the best Saints need reassurance during the process: “Know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good” (D&C 122:7). (Neal A. Maxwell, But for a Small Moment, (Bookcraft, Salt Lake City, 1986) p.103.)
Adversity is not unnecessary or superfluous. It is essential. It is how the pruning occurs to keep the vineyard from moving wholly into “wild fruit.” As Nephi explains to us from his Isaiah materials: “In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious; the fruit of the earth excellent and comely to them that are escaped of Israel. And it shall come to pass, they that are left in Zion and remain in Jerusalem shall be called holy, every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem—When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning. And the Lord will create upon every dwelling-place of Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for upon all the glory of Zion shall be a defence.” (2 Nephi 14: 2-5.)
A final pruning will begin with a concerted effort to destroy the latter-day work. As Nephi wrote: “And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw. And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God.” (1 Nephi 14: 12-13.) Nephi saw this, and his quotes from Isaiah are intended to testify to us about these events.
Returning to the Isaiah material: “My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill.” Nephi knew this land was “choice above all others” and would be the place where the Gospel would be planted again in the last days. This is the Lord’s great, final starting place of restoring Israel.
“And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a wine-press therein; and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.” Nephi knew this would be the problem of his people. And he also knew there would be this same tendency among the latter-days. There is a constant struggle when the Gospel is here in its purity. The adversary makes a greater effort to attack and hinder the authentic Gospel, because it alone constitutes the real threat to his ambitions. He knows it is the only means of salvation and exaltation to mankind.
“And now, …judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard that I have not done in it?” This lament from God shows the frustration on the other side of the veil with what we do with what we are given. We tend to devalue even the most valuable of gifts we have been given. One of Nephi’s final laments in closing out his record was: “And now I, Nephi, cannot say more; the Spirit stoppeth mine utterance, and I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge, when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be.” (2 Nephi 32:7.) When it is given in “plainness” we mystify it, and turn it into anything and everything other than its concrete meaning. When it is symbolic, we make it literal. We fail to grasp things through the Spirit, but learn and interpret with the “arm of flesh.” So we miss the most plain of warnings. And the Lord laments: “What more could I have done?”
If anyone is saved in a generation, their salvation is evidence to everyone in that generation that it can be doNephi The Lord has done enough if He has prepared the way so anyone can obtain salvation. At that point, each of us must decide for ourselves whether we are willing to accept what He has freely offered. There is no barrier to anyoNephi All are invited, yet few seem willing to accept the invitation. We are accountable for our own hard hearts, disbelief, preference for wickedness, and self-imposed ignorance.
The Lord laments: “Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes it brought forth wild grapes.” We have an almost constant progression from “good fruit” to “wild fruit.” It has happened in every prior dispensation. It is happening again in ours. Only through the constant process of pruning and work by the Lord of the vineyard can it be kept from becoming all “wild fruit” in our day. The Lord’s work in our day is described: “wild branches began to be plucked off and to be cast away; and they did keep the root and the top thereof equal.” Only this relentless pruning will allow us to remain gathered into Israel.
Here, then, is the problem the Lord has encountered with our forbearers in all prior dispensation: “he looked for judgment, and behold, oppression; for righteousness, but behold, a cry.” If this were not going to be a recurring problem in our day, we would not have the following commandments from modern revelation:
Behold, there are many called, but few are chosen. And why are they not chosen? Because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world, and aspire to the honors of men, that they do not learn this one lesson—That the rights of the priesthood are inseparably connected with the powers of heaven, and that the powers of heaven cannot be controlled nor handled only upon the principles of righteousness. That they may be conferred upon us, it is true; but when we undertake to cover our sins, or to gratify our pride, our vain ambition, or to exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men, in any degree of unrighteousness, behold, the heavens withdraw themselves; the Spirit of the Lord is grieved; and when it is withdrawn, Amen to the priesthood or the authority of that man. Behold, ere he is aware, he is left unto himself, to kick against the pricks, to persecute the saints, and to fight against God. We have learned by sad experience that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men, as soon as they get a little authority, as they suppose, they will immediately begin to exercise unrighteous dominion. Hence many are called, but few are chosen. No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned; By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—Reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy; That he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death. Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven. (D&C 121: 34-45.)
These strong cautionary words would certainly please Nephi. He saw us tending to err in the same way. He is not impressed with any claim of authority; he is impressed with our reliance upon the Spirit. In the end, if all we have is a hollow claim that God has delegated authority to us and therefore we deserve respect, we will find no support for that proposition in the scriptures. For “no power or influence can or ought to be maintained” merely by claiming you have been ordained.
All are invited, male or female, young or old, black or white. All are alike to Him. When you preach, exhort or expound the scriptures, never do so because you are an “authority” or “scholar” or hold a ward or stake position. Teach from the Spirit, in meekness. Persuade by the truthfulness of your words. In the end, the final authority and all power come from the ratifying confirmation of the witness of the Spirit. It does not come from office, position, rank, family, education, credentials, societies, institutions or anywhere else. As the Lord put it: “if ye receive not the Spirit ye shall not teach.” (D&C 42: 14.)
The great wonder of the latter-day restoration of the Gospel is that the Lord will not abandon it. He will work through our failings. Although He will ultimately “prune” us with some considerable distresses, it will be for our good. We need it. Without it we would not be prepared to submit in humility to His deliverance.