12 Behold, I say unto you, that the house of Israel was compared unto an olive-tree, by the Spirit of the Lord which was in our father; and behold are we not broken off from the house of Israel, and are we not a branch of the house of Israel?
Nephi is setting up to teach Laman and Lemuel about their place in this recurring comparison of the house of Israel to an olive tree. He wants them to understand that the prophecies are about them. He wants them to liken the scriptures to themselves (1 Nephi 19:23). So he reminds them that they are a branch broken off of the Israelite family tree, and that the prophecies about that tree include Lehi’s little band of refugees.
This is a great principle for every student of the scriptures to remember. Paul taught this to Timothy, that all scripture is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:14–17). This is only the case if we liken them to ourselves, if we personalize them, if we study them as if they were written to and for us individually, which they were.
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