“Sprung Forth and Begun to Bear Fruit”

Jana Reiss

At long last, the master and the servant begin to see the fruit of their labors. The grafted tree is thriving; in fact, its roots are stronger than they would have been without the graft from the wild olive tree. (Apparently, some of the Gentile converts of the first century were aware of their contribution to this revitalization, which led to Paul’s soft rebuke in Romans 11:17–18:

“if you …a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the rich root of the olive tree, do not boast over the branches. If you do boast, remember that it is not you that support the root, but the root that supports you.”

(Although Mormons routinely use the King James Version, this is from the NRSV, which is a more accessible translation of this passage.)

The Book of Mormon: Selections Annotated & Explained

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