Parables and an Allegory

Jacob 5:41

There are many parables in the Bible: The Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), The Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-36), The Wise Man and the Foolish Man (Matthew 7:24-28), and The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), are only a few.

Parables are a wonderful way to teach because it is built in layers, like an onion. Let’s take the Prodigal Son as an example. To someone just starting to search the scriptures (this is the first few layers of the onion after you throw away that crusty skin stuff) they hear a feel-good story of a wayward son that decides to come back to his family and to his dad. To someone who understands the story and starts to look at who the major characters are and who they represent (this is the middle part of the onion) they hear a story about how the representation of the modern Church or they can pick out people in their own lives who are the wayward son, the jealous brother, or the father. To someone who has gone wayward and knew the prayers of her mother had more than just the meaning of bringing her safely “home” from Afghanistan (this is the core, bulb looking thing of the onion) this story, this representation, this life choice is more than just a story, it is salvation through repentance and the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

The fifth chapter of Jacob is an allegory. It is the same thing as a parable. It teaches spiritual principals with a story. The Allegory of the Olive Tree tells of a vineyard’s master, his servants, a vineyard of tame and wild olive trees that bring forth fruit. The master plants olive trees, grafts branches of the wild olive trees into the tame ones and vice versa and he asks his servants to help with the grafting and taking care of the olive trees.

In this story the tame olive tree is a representation of the House of Israel (Jacob 5:3). The master of the vineyard is a representation of Jesus Christ. The wild branches are people not yet adopted into the House of Israel. The vineyard represents the world. The fruit is the lives people live in the world. The servants are people called to serve Jesus Christ like prophets, Relief Society piano players, missionaries, nursery leaders, ward choir directors, sacrament meeting choristers, or the little old ladies that take us to the top of the Church Office Building in the superwayfast elevator.

The master of the vineyard (Jesus Christ) goes into his vineyard (the world) and sees that the fruit (lives) of his entire vineyard has become corrupt. So the master cries and says, “What else could I have done? Send more prophets? Send more Relief Society piano players? Send more missionaries? Send more nursery leaders? Send more ward choir directors? Send more sacrament meeting choristers? Send more little old ladies that take them to the top of the Church Office Building in the superwayfast elevators? What more could I have done to see my brothers and sisters succeed in the ways of our Father?”

Jesus Christ has sent forth prophets, Relief Society piano players, missionaries, nursery leaders, ward choir directors, sacrament meeting choristers, or the little old ladies that take us to the top of the Church Office Building in superwayfast elevators to help us realize that without Him none of this would have been possible and still we become corrupt. Let’s look to those prophets, Relief Society piano players, missionaries, nursery leaders, ward choir directors, sacrament meeting choristers, or the little old ladies that take us to the top of the Church Office Building in the superwayfast elevator that give the good word of Jesus Christ so we do not become corrupt, so that we can be better in tune for those that are on the verge of corruption, or so we can help those that are using a drinking straw to breathe because the rest of their head is under water because of corruption.

lds.org
mormon.org