Jacob, Lehi’s son, will quote in full the allegory of the olive tree (Jacob 5–6). Nephi records his brief explanation of the allegory to Laman and Lemuel in 1 Nephi 15:12–18.
Lehi was obviously familiar with this allegory from the brass plates and alluded to it in unfolding his vision. Thus, Lehi must have read parts of the brass plates aloud to his family during his sermon. He could not have used the metaphor unless his hearers were also aware of it. The multiple topics Lehi covers offer the possibility that Lehi discoursed on his vision more than once, perhaps for a couple of hours on consecutive days. Lehi uses the allegory of the olive tree only as it relates to his family’s mission. While the full allegory as presented in Jacob 5–6 covers a much more comprehensive prophesy of the relationship of Yahweh to the scattering and gathering of his people, Lehi extracts from the allegory only that part that places his family inside the allegory. That, in turn, is Nephi’s emphasis, though Nephi’s view of the family history shifts to the long projection of the ultimate restoration of the New World Israelites (1 Ne. 15:14).
At least Nephi’s brief presentation of his father’s use of the allegory provides and interesting contrast to his own explanation. Lehi speaks of Gentiles, but in an apparently more immediate context. Lehi emphasizes the Gentiles before discussing his family as a broken-off branch of the olive tree. Verse 13 begins with “therefore” and speaks of his family traveling to a new promised land—after which the Gentiles would know the gospel and the scattered branches of Israel would be gathered again. In Lehi, the timing of this delivery of the gospel to the Gentiles is not clear, only that it precedes the gathering. It is not inconceivable that Lehi saw this prophecy as having a proximate fulfillment, and that part of their sojourn in the new promised land might effect the bringing of the gospel to the Gentiles, hence hastening their return to the Israel. On the other hand, Nephi’s rendition sees that event in the far future. The difference is that Nephi’s explanation to his brothers comes on the heels of his own vision of the future which clearly indicated the long-range future of these events (1 Ne. 13–14).
History: The olive tree is an appropriate allusion in a sermon on tree of life, since it was traditionally considered to have been the Edenic tree of life.