“Every person who embraces the gospel becomes of the house of Israel. In other words, they become members of the chosen lineage, or Abraham’s children through Isaac and Jacob unto whom the promises were made. The great majority of those who become members of the Church are literal descendants of Abraham through Ephraim, son of Joseph. Those who are not literal descendants of Abraham and Israel must become such, and when they are baptized and confirmed they are grafted into the tree and are entitled to all the rights and privileges as heirs” (Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 3:246).
Allegories and parables should not be forced to perfectly correlate every item with precision. Note the following possible interpretations for the symbols in Zenos’s allegory:
| Symbol | Meaning |
| The vineyard | The world |
| Tame olive tree | The house of Israel, the Lord’s covenant people |
| Wild olive tree | Gentiles or non-Israel (later in the parable, wild branches represent apostate Israel) |
| Branches | Groups of people |
| The roots of the tame olive tree | The gospel covenants and promises the Lord makes with His children, a constant source of strength and life to the faithful |
| Fruit of the tree | The lives or works of men |
| Digging, pruning, fertilizing | The Lord’s work with His children, which seeks to persuade them to be obedient and produce good fruit |
| Transplanting the branches | Scattering of groups throughout the world or restoring them to their original position |
| Grafting | The process of spiritual birth through which one is joined to the covenant |
| Decaying branches | Wickedness and apostasy |
| Casting the branches into the fire | The judgment of God |