“It Grieveth Me That I Should Lose This Tree”

W. Cleon Skousen

But the master did not intend to abandon the mother tree. He wanted to graft in the wild olive tree branches in an attempt to save the mother tree. And he ordered the dead wood which was cut out of this tree to be burned so that it would not encumber or clutter up the master's vineyard. The servant did exactly as he was told and successfully grafted in the branches of the wild olive tree.

The lord of the vineyard then instructed that the tree be cultivated, pruned, and nourished so that he would not lose this very special source of fine tame fruit. He especially wanted to preserve the root of the tree which provided the nourishment for the house of Israel. As indicated earlier, this source of nourishment is described in Jacob 6:7 as the scriptures or the "good word of God." The Lord knew it was of the greatest importance to save these sacred writings as the spiritual touchstone or foundation for future generations.

Note that the parable does not specifically identify the "lord" or "master" of the vineyard. It has been interpreted various ways but this writer believes the "master" is our Heavenly Father and his "servant," who, it will be noted, remains the same from generation to generation, is the Savior.

Treasures from the Book of Mormon

References