"And thus they labored, with all diligence, according to the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard, even until the bad had been cast away out of the vineyard, and the Lord had preserved unto himself that the trees had become again the natural fruit; and they became like unto one body; and the fruits were equal; and the Lord of the vineyard had preserved unto himself the natural fruit, which was most precious unto him from the beginning."
Jacob 5:74
This is part of the allegory of the tame and wild olive trees, prophesied by Zenos, and quoted by Jacob so that it could come down to us. :) If anyone hasn't read it, in general it talks about the Lord of the Vineyard and his servant and taking care of the trees and nourishing them so that they will bring forth good fruit. Sometimes they don't, and at one point all the trees brought forth bad fruit. It's a story that talks about the house of Israel and the gentiles as trees and how God takes care of us all and encourages us to be good. The whole thing is in Chapter 5 and it is fascinating. Anyway, this verse I love because it is toward the end and talks about their eventual success in preserving the good fruit... so much so that "they became like unto one body; and the fruits were equal" ... which sounds a lot like a Zion society. I think it helps us to hope that we'll eventually get there. And if that is where we're headed, there is a lot to work to get done in becoming a Zion people... unified, equal. Today, maybe the first step is to actually consider it. What would be different in ourselves if we lived in a Zion society...? And when we have at least a partial answer to that question, then perhaps we'll have our focus for today. How can we change ourselves to encourage that unity and sense of oneness to start and to grow?
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