12 Yea, even my father spake much concerning the Gentiles, and also concerning the house of Israel, that they should be compared like unto an olive-tree, whose branches should be broken off and should be scattered upon all the face of the earth
13 Wherefore, he said it must needs be that we should be led with one accord into the land of promise, unto the fulfilling of the word of the Lord, that we should be scattered upon all the face of the earth.
14 And after the house of Israel should be scattered they should be gathered together again; or, in fine, after the Gentiles had received the fulness of the Gospel, the natural branches of the olive-tree, or the remnants of the house of Israel, should be grafted in, or come to the knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer.
Lehi was apparently influenced by the allegory of the olive vineyard as recorded on the Brass Plates by the prophet, Zenos, and later put into the Plates of Nephi by Jacob (Jacob 5). Lehi clearly had a firm understanding of the comparison, especially as it related to his branch of the family. This grafting in seems to be more descriptive than “gathering,” which is the term more often used. It seems like everyone is looking for a physical gathering of the Jews to the land of their inheritance. While that may be true, the term “grafting” suggests more of a conversion. The Children of Israel won’t necessarily pack their bags and move to Jerusalem, but will be spiritually gathered, or grafted into the true Church. They will “come to the knowledge of the true Messiah, their Lord and their Redeemer” (verse 14). This seems to be farther off than the physical gathering is right now.
- 1 Nephi 13:42
- 1 Nephi 19:15 (14–17)
- 1 Nephi 22:3 (3–8)
- D&C 14:10
No comments:
Post a Comment