The Allegory Part Three

Ok we left part 2 of the allegory with verses 37-38 speaking about the latter day gentile church in the 2^nd watch.

Verses 36 reveals that some good fruits did initially come out of the wild gentile Church, the roots had “hitherto brought forth from the wild branches good fruit” yet in verse 37 we are informed that ultimately the wild branches have grown and “overrun the roots”. It repeats the indictment with a little different terminology; “the wild branches have overcome the roots”. This results in the bringing forth of much evil fruit!

This brings us to the incredible pronouncement by the Lord that the tree is becoming ripened and will need to be cast into the fire unless the do SOMETHING to preserve it!

“…it will soon become ripened that it may be cast into the fire except we should do SOMETHING for it to preserve it….”

Translation: At this time in the history of the LDS foundation movement, following the Kirtland apostasy, Joseph Smith stated that the Lord had revealed to him that SOMETHING NEW must be done for the salvation of the Church!

“the Lord has revealed to me that SOMETHING new must be done for the Salvation of His Church”

That quote has been taken from the History of the Church, 2:489; from “History of the Church” (manuscript), book B-1, p. 761, Church Archives, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Here is an interesting clip from the LDS Church website regarding this amazing pronouncement from Joseph Smith;

"During the last few years the Saints lived in Kirtland, many members and even some leaders of the Church apostatized.

The Church seemed to be passing through a time of crisis.

“In this state of things,” the Prophet wrote,

“God revealed to me that something new must be done for the salvation of His Church.”

This “something new” was linked to a revelation to send missionaries to England to preach the gospel.

Heber C. Kimball, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve, recalled:

“About the first day of June 1837, the Prophet Joseph came to me, while I was seated in … the Temple, in Kirtland, and whispering to me, said, ‘Brother Heber, the Spirit of the Lord has whispered to me, “Let my servant Heber go to England and proclaim my gospel and open the door of salvation to that nation.”

Elder Kimball was overwhelmed by the thought of such an undertaking:

“I felt myself one of the very weakest of God’s servants. I asked Joseph what I should say when I got there; he told me to go to the Lord and He would guide me, and speak through me by the same spirit that [directed] him.”


The Prophet also extended calls to Orson Hyde, Willard Richards, and Joseph Fielding in Kirtland, and to Isaac Russell, John Snyder, and John Goodson in Toronto, Canada.

These brethren were to join Elder Kimball on his mission to England. Gathering in New York City, they sailed on the ship Garrick for Great Britain on July 1, 1837.

This first mission outside of North America brought some 2,000 converts into the Church during the missionaries’ first year in England. Elder Kimball wrote joyfully to the Prophet: “Glory to God, Joseph, the Lord is with us among the nations!”

A second apostolic mission to Britain, involving most members of the Twelve under the leadership of Brigham Young, was directed by the Prophet from Nauvoo.

Leaving in the fall of 1839, the Twelve arrived in England in 1840. There they began a labor that by 1841 would bring over 6,000 converts into the Church, fulfilling the Lord’s promise that He would do “something new” for the salvation of His Church.

From Nauvoo, Joseph Smith continued to send missionaries throughout the world.

Elder Orson Hyde landed in England in 1841 and later continued his assigned mission to Jerusalem.

On May 11, 1843, the Prophet called Elders Addison Pratt, Noah Rogers, Benjamin F. Grouard, and Knowlton F. Hanks to perform missions to the islands of the South Pacific. This was the first mission of the Church anywhere in that vast region. Elder Hanks died at sea, but Elder Pratt traveled to the Austral Islands, where he taught the gospel on the island of Tubuai. Elders Rogers and Grouard continued to Tahiti, where hundreds of people were baptized as a result of their labors.

Under the direction of Joseph Smith, the Saints were moving forward to fulfill the Lord’s command: “Go ye into all the world; and unto whatsoever place ye cannot go ye shall send, that the testimony may go from you into all the world unto every creature” (D&C 84:62)."

Now in part 3 we will take up verse 38 wherein the Lord of the Vineyard and the Servant go the nethermost parts of the vineyard to see if the natural branches have also brought forth evil fruit.

The Lord of the Vineyard and his Servant are observing and lamenting that the “wild branch gentiles” were bringing forth only evil fruit during the 2^nd watch. The Lord observes that SOMETHING must be done to preserve the roots since the wild branches had overcome the roots and it was quickly becoming ripened and ready to be burned.


We have previously documented from scripture and LDS Church History that something was done.


Joseph Smith had said that the Lord had revealed to him that “SOMETHING new must be done for the Salvation of the Church” he then began sending the apostles to set up foreign missions. He had told some of the missionaries that they were being sent to gather the outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of Judah. Please understand that the remnants of the kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah, as we shall see as we review more of the allegory, had already been grafted together before the LDS missionaries went forth to send the message of the gospel to them.


Joseph Smith was being cryptic when he said something new must be done for the Salvation of the Church. The Church membership did not realize that he was declaring that the gospel was now going from the Gentiles to the remnants of Judah and other branches… Joseph Smith was establishing foreign missions for the purpose of, in the terms used by Brother Zenos, grafting into the wild tree, the natural branches (which had become wild) from the nethermost part of the vineyard.


Isaiah also documents the account of the apostasy of the latter day Church as the apostate gentile church is being merged with the apostate remnants of Judah and Israel (the outcasts of the Kingdom of Israel and the dispersed of the kingdom of Judah).

This provides a 2^nd witness to the account given by Brother Zenos in the Allegory of the Olive Trees. You can read about it in Isaiah 5. The imagery that Isaiah decided to use is that of grape vines instead of olive trees, but the exact same scenario referring to the LDS foundation movement is clearly described.


“What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done one in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?


Notice how Isaiah includes both the outcasts of Israel and the remnants of Judah as part of the corrupt vineyard in the latter days.


“For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant..” verse 7


It is very important to remember that Joseph Smith never claimed that God commanded him to start a Church. He was simply restoring the New Testament Church which had been taken to the Gentiles. The times of the Gentiles began back when the Jews rejected the gospel in the meridian of time and it had continued up to and including the time that Joseph Smith restored the Gentile Church in America to a knowledge of who they were, their relationship with God and the plan of salvation and the saving ordinances.


Now think about it, which Church was he restoring?


Was he restoring the Jewish Church that had rejected the Gospel or was he restoring the Gentile Church that Peter, James John, Paul and the other apostles took the gospel to after the Jews rejected it?


First he restored the Gentile Church!


Then, after the Kirtland apostasy, he set up foreign missions to begin grafting in the natural branches that had also become wild.


Geographically, many of the latter day remnants of the Gentiles had already been gathered to the latter day Promised Land of America through the grace and providence of God. The Lord needed to restore the gentile branch to their tribal knowledge of who they are and their relationship with the God of Israel. He also needed to restore priesthood and the fullness of the Gospel.


When the Church was restored and legally organized in 1830 it was called the “Church of Christ”

Shortly after the saints failed to establish Zion by the end of 1834, the leading elders of the church held a meeting and changed the name of church... taking the name of Christ out of the Church... calling it the "Church of the Latter day Saints".

Here is what David Whitmer had to say about it:

“In June, 1829, the Lord gave us the name by which we must call the church, being the same as He gave the Nephites.  We obeyed His commandment, and called it The Church of Christ until 1834, when, through the influence of Sydney Rigdon, the name of the church was changed to The Church of the Latter Day Saints, dropping out the name of Christ entirely…” (An Address to All Believers In Christ Whitmer, p. 73). er Day Saints


Shortly after the failure of the Gentile Church to redeem Zion at the appointed time by September 11, 1836, all hell broke loose and the Kirtland Apostasy took place.


During this time a large portion of the Gentile leadership and membership, including two of the three gentile witnesses to the book of Mormon start rebelling against Joseph the Seer. At this time, the Lord makes it known that the Church has undergone a name change, again, he reveals that from this time forth, those who gather to the appointed places of refuge and live the higher law of consecration are to be called the Church in Zion while all other branches of the church that have not entered into the Law of Zion and are in a scattered condition are to be called the “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints”.


It is critically important to realize that according to the word of God in section 115 , the term Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints refers to Gods unconsecrated people who are in a scattered condition among the gentiles. That definition continues until today despite the assumption by many that Salt Lake is the center stake of Zion and that stakes throughout the world are legitimate stakes of Zion… this of course is contrary to the revealed word of God (see also D&C 113:7-10 for further clarification on who the scattered remnants are and see D&C 57:1-3 and 101:20 regarding where the center stake of Zion is to be)


The name change that appears to have taken place on or shortly after September 11^th 1836 , really freaked some of the Gentile members of the Church out because it seemed pretty flakey for an all knowing God to reveal by revelation that the restored Church was to be called the Church of Christ and then four years later, for no apparent reason to change the name of the Church to the Church of the Latter day Saints... then, a few years after that, change it to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints.


Of course, at face value, the logic of those angry Gentile Saints was sound. The problem is that they didn’t realize that the saints had collectively rejected the fullness of the Gospel. According to latter day revelation, the saints cannot call themselve by the church of Christ as long as they reject his commandments. According to the Dead Sea Scrolls, Gods people in the latter days would not be aware that he is angry with them;

"The people will neither know nor understand that I am angry at them because of their rebellion.. because they abandoned Me and did what was evil in My eyes, because they chose what displeases me, overpowering others for the sake of riches and profiteering... They will rob their neighbors and oppress one another and defile my temple..." (Page 56 The Dead Sea Scrolls Uncovered )


They did not realize the full consequences of failing to consecrate, finance the publishing of the JST Bible, the defiling of the Temple and their inability to redeem Zion by the appointed time which necessitated the taking of the gospel from the wild Gentiles to the wild natural branches (remnants of the scattered Kingdom of Judah and remnants of scattered Kingdom of Israel throughout Europe). Hence, the name change was very fitting. It also matched the prophecies of Daniel who had foretold that in the latter days Gods people would be referred to as Saints…


Notice the observation of Joseph Smith regarding those Gentiles Saints in Kirtland that wanted to overthrow him and who were angry about the name change of the Church;


"During my absence Warren Parrish, John F. Boynton, Luke Johnson, Joseph Coe, and some others united together for the overthrow of the church. I returned to Kirtland on or about the 10th of December, soon after which this dissenting band openly and publicly renounced the Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints, and claimed themselves to be the old standard, calling themselves the Church of Christ, excluding that of SAINTS, and set me at naught, and the whole church, denouncing us as heretics, not considering that the SAINTS shall possess the kingdom according to the Prophet Daniel.”

Joseph Smith was being very cryptic with the above narrative… he was referring to the following statement from Daniel;

“But the SAINTS of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.”

He was of course using the prophesies of Daniel to prove that the name change which refers to Gods latter day people as Saints was scriptural and prophetic, however, if you study those passages of scripture you realize that Daniel was also prophesying that the “horn” would make war with the Saints and would prevail against them UNTIL the Ancient of days returns to the vineyard in the 3^rd watch.

“I beheld, and the same horn made war with the SAINTS, and PREVAILED against them; Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the SAINTS of the most High; and the time came that the SAINTS possessed the kingdom.”

INCREDIBLE!


Not only does Brother Daniel verify that the latter day church will be called Saints, he provides a witness that the horn will PREVAIL against the Saints until the Lords Servant of the Vineyard returns to prepare the way! Did I just say that the Ancient of Days, otherwise known as Michael or Adam is the Servant of the Lord of the Vineyard?


The Horn prevails over the Saints, then the Ancient of days returns with OTHERS to prepare the way for the Lord of the Vineyard to labor with them. (of course we know from the JST that the Lord of the Vineyard labors with them in secret) so they can harvest the good fruit before they burn what is left of the vineyard.


Notice the verification in modern revelation that the Kingdoms of the world would PREVAIL against the Saints if they failed to keep the commandments of God;

“But verily I say unto you, that I have decreed a decree which my people shall realize, inasmuch as they hearken from this very hour unto the counsel which I, the Lord their God, shall give unto them. Behold they shall, for I have decreed it, begin to prevail against mine enemies from this very hour. And by hearkening to observe all the words which I, the Lord their God, shall speak unto them, they shall never cease to prevail until the kingdom of the world are subdued under my feet, and the earth is given unto the saints, to possess it forever and ever. But inasmuch as they keep not my commandments, and hearken not to observe all my words, the kingdoms of the world shall PREVAIL against them.” D&C 103:5-8

Before we dive into the allegory by verse, I want to share my speculations about a few more terms in the allegory at this point.

Branches vs Fruit

Let me suggest that when we speak of “branches” we are speaking of the “collective body of a particular part of Israel, in a particular part of the vineyard”, but the definition is even broader than that. I think the definition includes the “organizational structure” and even the “religious teachings and culture and priesthood authority of that structure”.


In New Testament times and modern times we speak of the organized body of believers as the “Church”.


Sometimes when we speak of the “Church” we are speaking about the members, or the body of Christ. Other times we might say “The Church teaches a certain doctrine…” referring to the authorized or commonly taught doctrines of the organization. Sometimes we might say “the Church doesn’t allow that” referring more to the direction being given by the leadership of the church.


I believe the term branches incorporates all of these terms and this is important to understand because there is an important distinction between the “Branches” of the Olive tree and the “Fruits” of the Olive Tree..

The fruit refers to those individual members of the branch that bring forth good works and therefore become the good fruits that are reserved unto the Lord against the season. The good fruits that are harvested are Gods people that are saved in the kingdom of God… they are preserved unto the Lord of the Vineyard. (for the proper definition of good works please see the following article: BECOME Ye Therefore Perfect? OR BE Ye Therefore Perfect?

Here are some of the verses that are typical of how the fruit is described in the allegory;


“I may preserve the fruit thereof unto myself”


“I may lay up fruit thereof against the season”


“And now, behold, I shall lay up much fruit, which the tree thereof hath brought forth; and the fruit thereof I shall lay up against the season, unto mine own self.”


All the way through the allegory the tree and the branches represents the group sponsored institution from which fruit would be generated… sometimes good fruit, sometimes bad fruit, but the roots nourishes the branches and the branches are a facilitator for nourishing and producing the fruit… until the third watch takes place and the Saints successfully live consecration. At this point, the allegory reveals that the entire tree BECOMES good fruit!


Notice this interesting verse wherein the tree becomes the fruit as a result of successfully living consecration;

“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.” Jacob 5: 74

Prior to the 3^rd watch and the return of the Lord of the Vineyard and his Servant and the other servants, the allegory never refers to the branches or the trees being preserved unto the season, only the fruit! This is another major distinguishing factor between the first two watches and the 3^rd watch when the dispensation of the fulness of times breaks forth and Celestial Law will be lived by the elect.


The purpose of the branch, or church, is to produce good fruit by nourishing is members and dispensing the saving ordinances of the gospel! Ultimately, after the bad portions of the branches are cast away, the entire branch becomes good fruit.

Roots

In the last post we discussed how the roots refer to special anointed servants of the Lord who nourish the branches by bringing forth the word of the Lord and administering the saving ordinances of the Gospel.


Notice how the Lord chastises the leading elders of the Church (roots) in section 84 for being unbelieving and taking lightly the revelations they have received. They have brought the whole church under condemnation. Now the entire church is commanded to not only say but to do the commandments that they have been given, including the law of consecration which will enable them to bring forth fruits meet for the kingdom!

“And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief, and because you have treated lightly the things you have received— Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation…

And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which I have given them, not only to say, but to DO according to that which I have written—That they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father’s kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgment to be poured out upon the children of Zion.”

This validates Jacob 5:74, that the higher law transforms the entire tree into fruits that are all equal. (consecration is finally lived in the 3^rd watch!)

The fruit that needs to be brought forth (Jacob 5:6) is cross-referenced in the LDS scriptures to Luke 3:4-13. Verse 13 gives a footnote to check out JST verses 19, 20. (These verses refer to living consecration and that is the way Israel, as an entire group, bears, or becomes good fruit. Also in 2Nephi 30:1-2 says that the gentiles that repent aren’t destroyed and are the covenant people.

Ok, enough rambling.

Now lets get into the general narrative of passages and the dissecting of certain verses that jump out. Again, we left off at verses 37 in the last post.

Verses 38- 39

So the Lord of the Vineyard and his Servant go to the nethermost part of the vineyard to see if the fruit of the other natural branches had also become corrupt.

Indeed it had.

They observe that In fact all three branches, the first, second and last had all become corrupt and brought forth evil fruit. The dispersed of Judah, the Nephites and the Gentiles had all become corrupt. (In JST Mat 21:47-56 it reveals that the Gentiles of the 2nd watch will bring forth the same wicked "fruits" that the Jews of the 1st watch brought forth)

It is very important to realize that the Gentiles are the ones that are considered the “last”. (the first shall be last and the last shall be first.)

Pay close attention to verse 40;

“And the wild fruit of the LAST had overcome the part of the tree which brought forth good fruit even that the branch had withered away and died.”

If you understand the extent of the Kirtland apostasy and the fact that many of the Saints personally rejected the fullness of the Gospel and prevented the rest of the group from redeeming Zion and living consecration, then you realize that the apostates of the Gentile branch in the 2^nd watch overcame the part of the tree (roots and righteous parts of the branch) that had previously brought forth good fruit… hence, as brother Zenos notes, that branch had completely withered. Speaking of this time, the Book of Mormon prophesied that some of the gentiles would reject the fullness of the Gospel;

“And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you: At that day when the Gentiles shall ^asin against my gospel, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, and shall be ^blifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and ^cmurders, and ^dpriestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations; and if they shall do all those things, and shall ^ereject the fulness of my gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my gospel from among them.” 3 Ne. 16: 10

Verse 41 informs us that the Lord of the Vineyard wept, asking his Servant, “What could I have done more for my vineyard?” (See Isa 5 for Isaiah’s perspective on the latter day Church)

Verse 42 provided one of several verifications that the “Last” is referring to the Latter day Saints in Kirtland;

“Behold I knew that all the fruit of the vineyard, save it were these, had become corrupted. And now these which have once brought forth good fruit have also become corrupted and now all the trees of my vineyard are good for nothing save it be to be hewn down and cast into the fire”

Why did the Lord of the Vineyard know that the other branches had become corrupt yet he was surprised that the “last” Gentile tree had become corrupted?

Because it had a VERY long time since he had labored among the other branches of Israel but he had just recently labored among the latter day gentiles! He had just recently restored the saving ordinances of the gospel among them and laid up fruit against the season thereof so it was surprising to him that within such a short time the entire tree was bringing forth evil fruit! Lets review;

Back in verses 29-31 he acknowledged that much good fruit had been harvested from the gentiles when he labored among the gentiles in the 2^nd watch and nourished them, bringing forth the Book of Mormon, many revelations, restoring priesthoods and dispensing the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In verse 32 he acknowledges that shortly after the success, none of the fruit being produced by the Gentile tree was good.

In verse 34 we are informed that the roots are still good because the Lord had grafted two separate gentile branches into the tree. The followers of the Spokesman in Kirtland united with the followers of the Seer from New York.

Moving on… verse 40 acknowledges that the wild gentile branches overcome the others. Verse 41 the Lord of the vineyard weeps and exclaims what could I have done more… 42 He acknowledges that he really knew all the time that the other branches in the nethermost part of the vineyard had become corrupted but it was surprising to him that the gentile branch that he had been laboring with had also become corrupt.

Verses 43-44 are really significant in providing additional proof that we are speaking of the LDS gentile church as the primary branch of the 2^nd watch. Pay close attention;

“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.”

This remarkable part of the allegory is identifying America as the GOOD SPOT OF GROUND. America is more choice to the Lord than all other parts of the vineyard. These verses are verifying that the Lord gave the gentiles power over the Book of Mormon remnants and swept the apostate remnants of Lehi’s posterity from off the face of many of the general places where the Saints were to eventually gather to... all this was done so that the gentile church could be nourished for a season on the good spot of ground. History verifies that the trail of tears, Indian wars, many broken treaties and the other events that pushed the Indians out of the way were fulfilling prophecy.

Notice the statements in the Book of Mormon verifying that America is the most choice land in the vineyard and that those who cumber it in unrighteousness will be swept off. Although the Gentiles were given power over the apostate Lamanites for a season, the time has almost come when the Lord God of Israel will sweep the wicked gentiles off of this holy promised land!

“And inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall ^aprosper, and shall be led to a land of promise; yea, even a land which I have prepared for you; yea, a land which is choice above all other lands.”

“Nevertheless, thou beholdest that the Gentiles who have gone forth out of captivity, and have been lifted up by the power of God above all other nations, upon the face of the land which is choice above all other lands, which is the land that the Lord God hath covenanted with thy father that his seed should have for the ^aland of their inheritance; wherefore, thou seest that the Lord God will not suffer that the Gentiles will utterly destroy the ^bmixture of thy ^cseed, which are among thy brethren”. 1 Ne. 13: 30

“But, said he, notwithstanding our afflictions, we have obtained a ^aland of promise, a land which is ^bchoice above all other lands; a land which the Lord God hath ^ccovenanted with me should be a land for the inheritance of my seed. Yea, the Lord hath ^dcovenanted this land unto me, and to my children forever, and also all those who should be ^eled out of other countries by the hand of the Lord” 2 Ne. 1: 5

“For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be ^aswept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God… but thou shalt not sin any more, for ye shall remember that my ^aSpirit will not always ^bstrive with man; wherefore, if ye will sin until ye are fully ripe ye shall be cut off from the presence of the Lord. And these are my ^cthoughts upon the land which I shall give you for your inheritance; for it shall be a land ^dchoice above all other lands.”

Please also notice that in section 101, the Latter day saints are told in the parable of the redemption of Zion that the nobleman who planted the 12 trees did it in a "VERY CHOICE LAND". Compare those words to verse 43-

"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."

Verse 45 reiterates what has become the trademark of the latter day gentile church, namely that it brought forth some good fruit and some bad fruit. It brought forth good and evil. The Lord of the vineyard notes that because he did not pluck out the bad branches and cast them into the fire, they overcame the good branch… this is verified in the parable of the wheat and the tares… see section 86. The Lord of the vineyard decided to allow the wheat and the tares to grow together until the time of harvest.

President Benson once quoted the words of a controversial and ominous hymn that speaks about the latter day church being composed of wheat and tares. These verses are so powerful in getting the point across that I have decided to post them here;

"Though in the Outward Church Below"

Though in the outward Church below

Both wheat and tares together grow,

Ere long will Jesus weed the crop

And pluck the tares in anger up. . . .

We seem alike when here we meet;

Strangers may think we are all wheat;

But to the Lord's all-searching eyes,

Each heart appears without disguise.

The tares are spared for various ends,

Some for the sake of praying friends,

Others the Lord against their will,

Employs, his counsels to fulfill.

But though they grow so tall and strong,

His plan will not require them long;

In harvest, when he saves his own,

The tares shall into hell be thrown."

(Hymns, No. 102, old hymn book. It appears to be taken out of our current hymnal)

Verses 46-47 reiterates that the gentile tree has become corrupt and laments “what could I have done more?” They end with this startling question;

“Who is it that has corrupted my vineyard?”

Wow! Is the Lord of the Vineyard pointing a finger at old Scratch, or is he identifying one of Scratches minions…. a specific leader of the Church who effectuates a pivotal event that takes the Church off course?

I leave that to you, the reader to determine for yourself. In any case, there is little doubt that this section of the allegory is referring to the latter day gentile church. (rather than the Lamanites like many sanitized version of the allegory suggest)

Interestingly, the Servant responds to the question posed by the Lord of the Vineyard and makes a most profound observation;

“Is it not the loftiness [PRIDE] of the vineyard. Have not the branches overcome the roots that are good?”

Pride is the stumbling block of the Gentiles. President Benson gave an incredible talk on pride because the Book of Mormon informs us that pride is what brought down the great Nephite nation and in modern revelation the Lord warns the Gentile church to beware of pride. Here is an excerpt from the talk;

“Behold, the pride of this nation, or the people of the Nephites, hath proven their destruction.” (Moro. 8:27.) And then, lest we miss that momentous Book of Mormon message from that fallen people, the Lord warns us in the Doctrine and Covenants, “Beware of pride, lest ye become as the Nephites of old.” (D&C 38:39. of course it was also the abominable practice of polygamy that is also attributed to the fall of the Nephites.. but of course, pride and sexual promiscuity are closely interrelated. One often begets the other. See Jacob see Jacob 3:4-8)

(It is also interesting to note, as addressed in other posts, that according to 1st Nephi 13, the Bible that went forth to the Gentiles which had become corrupted by the Whore is also a stumbling block to them until the JST version of the Bible is published and sent forth to the world.)

Verse 48 ends by noting that the corrupt branches overcame the roots by growing faster than the strength of the roots… and taking the strength unto themselves. This veiled statement has reference to the fact that God allows wicked people to have the priesthood and to use the priesthood for wicked purposes.

INTERCESSION

Verses 49-50 reveal a most remarkable intercession that takes place. The Lord of the Vineyard tells the Servant that they should destroy the vineyard but the Servant pleads with the Lord to spare it a little longer;

“And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: Let us go to and hew down the trees of the vineyard and cast them into the fire, that they shall not cumber the ground of my vineyard, for I have done all. What could I have done more for my vineyard? But, behold, the servant said unto the Lord of the vineyard: Spare it a little ^alonger. And the Lord said: Yea, I will spare it a little longer, for it grieveth me that I should lose the trees of my vineyard.”

This concept of intercession takes place at different levels.

First of all, one of the callings of the Holy Ghost as the third member of the Godhead is to act as an intercessor.

Our father Adam has been acting as an intercessor for us all the day long. Bringing this concept of intercession down to a more personal and identifiable event, it is interesting to note that just as the Lord had told Moses that he was going to destroy the Children of Israel from of the face of the earth and Moses intervened and provided an intercessory atonement, taking upon himself the sins of Israel to prolong their lives upon the earth, we have documented that in the latter days, he who is LIKE unto Moses also provides an intercessory atonement just like Moses did. (see Sidney Rigdon Tribute Part Four)

Verse 52-60 provides the strategy that the Lord of the Vineyard shares with the Servant pertaining to how they are going to preserve the roots so that the vineyard can be saved and bring forth good fruit at a future time.

They are going to take the natural branches from the nethermost part of the vineyard which have become wild, and graft them into the mother tree that has the gentile branches that have become corrupted. Somehow, this strange merging together of two wild groups of branches prolongs the existence of the tree until the future appointed time when the 3^rd watch begins. (The first part of verse 55 reveals that the scattered remnants of the Kingdom of Israel and the scattered remnants of the Kingdom of Judah had been grafted together before they were grafted into the natural tree with the gentile branches)

Verses 61-64 begins the calling of laborers in the 2nd watch who are to go to the outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of Judah. They are to graft the natural branches that have become wild into the mother tree with the gentile branches. (These laborers should not be confused with the first laborers of the last kingdom. They are referred to in modern revelation as those "who are not the first Elders". See D&C 88:74-85)

Notice in verse 63 that the grafting in of the branches is so that ALL may be nourished once again for the LAST TIME. This is indicating that that the gentile church had already been nourished once when the Lord of the Vineyard and his Servant came to the vineyard at the beginning of the 2^nd watch, at that time the tree was nourished with the Book of Mormon and the D&C and the endowment received at the Morley Farm which will be discussed in a future post..

Now, the Lord and his servant were calling additional laborers to gather the rest of scattered Israel so that when the 3^rd watch opens, they can be nourished the last time with the fullness of the Gospel, the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon, the Inspired Version of the Bible containing the vision of John and other records and the "endowment" that needs to take place.

Notice the incredible wording of the following passages from Modern Revelation indicating that during the foundation movement the Lord was fulfilling the above mentioned prophecy in the allegory.

“For behold, the ^afield is ^bwhite already to harvest; and it is the ^celeventh hour, and the last time that I shall call ^dlaborers into my vineyard. And my ^avineyard has become ^bcorrupted every whit; and there is none which doeth ^cgood save it be a few; and they ^derr in many instances because of ^epriestcrafts, all having corrupt minds.” (D&C 33 3-5)

Notice also, as I mentioned before, Joseph Smith was not starting a new church in the 2^nd watch, he was calling the New Testament Gentile Church forth out of the wilderness of darkness;

And verily, verily, I say unto you, that this ^achurch have I ^bestablished and called forth out of the ^cwilderness.

Verses 65-69 speaks of the strategy that shall be used in the 3^rd watch when the Lord of the Vineyard and the Servant return.

From these verses of strategy we learn that in the 3^rd watch, the natural fruit will begin to grow again and will begin to clear away the branches that bring forth bitter fruit. What is being described here is the beginning of the stone that will role forth in the 3^rd watch as described in the book of Daniel!

Notice how verse 66 speaks of the root and the top of the tree becoming equal! Consecration… the Law of Zion!

Verse 70 is the actual beginning of the 3^rd watch wherein the strategy mentioned during the last 5 verses begins to be carried out! Notice however that the Lord of the Vineyard sends the servant to prepare the way this time and the Lord of the Vineyard comes to labor a little later on.

Notice also when you read verse 70 that the Servant brings with him other servants. (he gathers up the strength of the Lords House... see sections 101 and 103)

Now I am going to point out what I consider to be a great mystery in the past.

Notice the following verbiage in verse 73;

“And there began to be the natural fruit in the vineyard; and the natural branches began to grow and thrive exceedingly.

Later on in verse 74 we find that the natural tree eventually becomes again the natural fruit… but wait a minute, back in verse 73 we appear to have things backwards. First it notes that there begins to be natural fruit in the vineyard, following that, the natural branches that had been grafted into the tree begins to grow and thrive exceedingly and it also eventually becomes fruit! Isn’t that chronology backwards? Shouldn’t the natural branches begin to grow and then bring forth the natural fruit?

NO!

Because the first natural fruit that mystically shows up first in the 3^rd watch is the good natural fruit that had been previously laid up unto the Lord.

It was fruit that had been reserved to come forth during this last season! This first fruit mentioned did not grow out of the branches in the 3^rd watch, it was returning to the earth.

In the 3rd watch, the righteous Nephites that lived consecration when Christ appeared to them in the 1st watch, return to the earth again. This is what the scriptures speak of when it says that God will “bring again Zion”. It appears to be after those righteous Nephites return that the mortal olive trees finally live the Law of Zion and become equal... thereby becoming good fruits also.

Remember the three posts I dedicated to this mystical topic? Where Christ promises the righteous Nephites that they would be among the gentiles like a lion among lambs, helping to prune the vineyard? Those posts are here and here and here!

In the 1st and 2nd watches the bad overcame the good but in the 3rd watch the good overcome the bad. The reason the good are able to overcome the bad in the 3rd watch is because the first laborers return with POWER and the quickened Nephites go forth among the Nephites pruning the wicked out of the vineyard!

Now I want to speak a little about the natural branches that had become corrupt that are grafted into the mother tree with the gentile branches.

Lets visit 3^rd Nephi again but review a few additional scriptures;

10 And thus commandeth the Father that I should say unto you: At that day when the Gentiles shall ^asin against my gospel, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, and shall be ^blifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and ^cmurders, and ^dpriestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations; and if they shall do all those things, and shall ^ereject the fulness of my gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my gospel from among them.

11 And then will I ^aremember my covenant which I have made unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my gospel unto them.

12 And I will show unto thee, O house of Israel, that the Gentiles shall not have power over you; but I will remember my covenant unto you, O house of Israel, and ye shall come unto the ^aknowledge of the fulness of my gospel.

3 Ne. 16: 10

Notice how strange it is that verse 11 in the above passages clarifies that the gentiles reject the FULNESS of the gospel, but it only states that the other portion of the House of Israel gets the “gospel” as opposed to the “fulness of the gospel”.

It does not state that they RECEIVE the fulness of the gospel. Consistent with that, verse 12 notes that the House of Israel comes only to the KNOWLEDGE of the fulness of the Gospel.

Is that not the state of the Church today? We have a knowledge of what the fulness of the Gospel is but we are not getting the gift of the Holy Ghost and the associated gifts of the Spirit? We enjoy the intermittent presence of the Holy Ghost but have you ever met anyone enjoying the constant companionship? In a future post we are going to speak about the mystical endowment to comes with the fulness of the baptismal covenant. The modern church is not currently enjoying this blessing at this time... but it is coming.. it will be here soon!

I have previously pointed out in some of my articles that when Joseph Smith established foreign missions to take the gospel to the outcasts of Israel and the dispersed of Judah, that they only got the preparatory gospel.

The Majority of the evidence I have shown previously was primarily based on the History of the Church which documents that the pentecostal gifts of the spirit were present in the early years in Kirtland but never again manifested themselves after that period of time. Not in Far West, not in Nauvoo and not in Utah. Never again after the name change of the Church did the full gifts of the spirit manifest themselves in the Church.

Again, previously in my papers I would support this doctrine with circumstantial evidence that the gifts were not present. But now we are getting a second witness from Zenos in the wording in the allegory! Additionally, 3^rd Nephi 16 is supporting this premise as demonstrated above. The remnants of the house of Israel that started converting to Mormonism were only coming to a knowledge of the fullness of the Gospel!

The Book of Mormon also provides another witness that the remnants of Judah and other remnants of Israel that follow the Kirtland apostasy only get the preparatory gospel. Indeed the Book of Mormon declares that these people only BEGIN TO BELIEVE! Look closely at the following verses;

“3 And now, I would prophesy somewhat more concerning the Jews and the Gentiles. For after the book of which I have spoken shall come forth, and be written unto the Gentiles, and sealed up again unto the Lord, there shall be many which shall believe the words which are written; and they shall carry them forth unto the remnant of our seed.

4 And then shall the remnant of our seed know concerning us, how that we came out from Jerusalem, and that they are descendants of the Jews.

5 And the gospel of Jesus Christ shall be declared among them; wherefore, they shall be restored unto the knowledge of their fathers, and also to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, which was had among their fathers.

6 And then shall they rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God; and their scales of darkness shall begin to fall from their eyes; and many generations shall not pass away among them, save they shall be a pure and a delightsome people.

7 And it shall come to pass that the Jews which are scattered also shall begin to believe in Christ; and they shall begin to gather in upon the face of the land [America]; and as many as shall believe in Christ shall also become a delightsome people. [in the 2^nd watch]

8 And it shall come to pass [beginning of 3^rd Watch!] that the Lord God shall commence his work among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people, to bring about the restoration of his people upon the earth.”

Please notice that from verse 3 through verse 7 it is speaking of the 2^nd watch. Verse 3 speaks of the beginning of the LDS foundation movement when the book of Mormon comes forth and then the sealed portion is sealed up again.

The unsealed portion was translated and was first given to the gentiles and then taken to the Lamanites.

Shortly after the mission to the Lamanites, and after the Kirtland apostasy, foreign missions were established and the preparatory gospel was sent to the remnants of Judah and Israel, who had largely become protestant and were scattered throughout the European nations.

They began to truly believe in Christ when they read the Book of Mormon AND began to gather to America.

Verse 8 speaks of the beginning of the Marvelous Work and a Wonder and the opening of the 3^rd Watch that eventually takes place when the Lord God commences his work among ALL nations. Taking the fulness of the Gospel first to the Gentiles and then to the Jews. This is spoken of in D&C 90:9.

But here is the very subtle thing that few people catch. From the time that Joseph Smith send out the foreign missionaries to gather the scattered remnants of Israel until the beginning of the Marvelous Work, is a relatively long time! It is several generations! Why is it that the scattered remnants of Israel that are gathering to America only BEGIN to believe during those several generations? Why don’t they spiritually enter into the gate and establish Zion?

When Christ visited the Nephites it took them a matter of days to weeks to become born again and living the law of Zion! How is it possible for the scattered remnants of Israel to be in a perpetual state of just BEGINNING to believe?

The answer is, they only had the preparatory gospel, not the fulness of the Gospel. If they had been given the fulness of the Gospel, they would have either become born again and established Zion or they would have rejected the fullness of the Gospel within a short period of time just like the latter day Gentiles did.

It is the preparatory gospel that enables the natural branch which had become wild, to become grafted into the Latter day Saints and remain in spiritual limbo without entering into the rest of the Lord or being cast aside!

This has something to do with the mystical way that the natural branches that had become wild were able to be grafted into to the tree and keep the roots alive until the 3^rd watch! It has something to do with the intercessory scapegoat doctrine. It has something to do with the sealing and binding power by which the fathers are sealed to the children and the hearts of the Jews are turned to the prophets.

I just wanted to finish the 2^nd watch portion of the allegory in this part of the Allegory post so I will finish here as far as reviewing verses in the allegory.

Please note, that OVER HALF OF THE ALLEGORY, IS SPEAKING ABOUT THE SECOND WATCH AND THE LDS GENTILE CHURCH IN THE LATTER DAYS, FROM THE FIRST VISION, TO OUR TIME, JUST PRIOR TO THE OPENING OF THE 3^RD WATCH!!!!!

Needless to say, my heretical interpretation of the allegory is quite different than the generally accepted versions which only attribute a very small portion of the allegory to the LDS foundation movement… and much of that part is in the wrong place, for instance many interpretations place the restoration of the church in the last portion of the allegory which include verses 70 to 76 which is not referring to the foundation movement but rather it is referring to the Marvelous Work in the 3rd watch, which is also the beginning of the rolling forth of the stone which Daniel speaks of.

Compare this interpretation with any of the popular versions of the allegory including this one; http://www.gospeldoctrine.com/Jacob5.htm. Most try to superimpose the Nephite civilization where the allegory is clearly speaking of the gentile church.

According to many generally accepted interpretations, including the one listed above, the allegory is divided into three main sections.

Section 1 is described by verses 1-14.

Section 2 is described by verses 15-28.

And section 3 is described by verses 29-75.

(Each of these sections is divided by the passage of a long time period, see verses 15 and 29. Therefore, there are three main visits of the Lord and his servants to the vineyard. Each visit is separated by the passage of a lot of time.)

According to this interpretation of the parable, the allegory is divided into four main sections.

Section 1 is described in verses 1-14. ( Prior to the Meridian of Time)

Section 2 is described by verses 15-28. ( The 1st Watch in the Meridian of Time)

Section 3 is described by versed 29-70 ( The 2nd Watch- LDS foundation movement)

Section 4 is described in verses 70-76. ( The 3rd Watch- Marvelous Work- Rolling forth of the Stone)

The first three visits are divided by a long time period, but the fourth visit (3^rd watch) happens very soon after the previous visit. (actually, verse 77 speaks of the little season that follows the millennium so we could break this allegory into more sections if we wanted to get really technical)

The first scene takes place during the Old Testament times. Unlike the next three, where the Lord of the Vineyard and his servant travel to visit the Vineyard, the opening scene takes place with the Lord of the Vineyard going forth by himself first… later he speaks to his Servant who appears to have already been in the vineyard or he came later. (This is interesting because it helps distinguish the Old Testament times from the three watches that take place during and after the meridian of time)

I think that by reviewing the 2^nd watch in relative detail I have demonstrated where the three watches are clearly identified… I don’t know if I will be doing further analysis on the other parts of the allegory as they seem pretty clear cut to me, however if anyone has any questions on them feel free to respond to me.. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll be happy to make one up… LOL