One of The Book of Mormon's most appealing characteristics for me, is its versatility of interpretation for the blessing of our individual lives.
I can read a verse of scripture, and receive revelation regarding the demonstrated principles of truth in it, and have my best friend next to me reading the same verse, but receiving revelation on an entirely different topic.
Jacob chapter 5 is a chapter which I have discovered to be extremely open for interpretation.
Its originally intended message was regarding the scattering and gathering of the House of Israel, alongside the grafting of the Gentiles into the fold of God.
Though, I have learnt personal lessons of life from Jacob's words.
Some examples follow.
Jacob 5:54
"And, behold, the roots of the natural branches of the tree which I planted whithersoever I would are yet alive; wherefore, that I may preserve them also for mine own purpose, I will take of the branches of this tree, and I will graft them in unto them. Yea, I will graft in unto them the branches of their mother tree, that I may preserve the roots also unto mine own self, that when they shall be sufficiently strong perhaps they may bring forth good fruit unto me, and I may yet have glory in the fruit of my vineyard."
In terms of being patient with the wayward, the Lord's way is to:
First: identify and see the good in them. In the words of Jacob, "And, behold, the roots of the natural branches of the tree which I planted whithersoever I would are yet alive..." (verse 54). Like the Lord of the vineyard, we can choose to see that the natural goodness of God is still in the heart of the wayward. In the words of an efy song I love, "I believe there's love in everyone inside, I swear there's love in every heartbeat, and I'm gonna see it in everyone."
Second: "wherefore, that I may preserve them also for mine own purpose, I will take of the branches of this tree, and I will graft them in unto them. Yea, I will graft in unto them the branches of their mother tree, that I may preserve the roots also unto mine own self..."
We can do two things as demonstrated here. We can give our vision, desires, plans we have for the wayward, to God. Trust in God for His plan to unfold, remembering that His ways, visions, desires and plans is higher and better than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9).
We can also graft into the wayward principles of truth - through teaching. The best teaching being through example. We demonstrate in our lives what we would expect of others to be. We live our lives as we know the truth would be executed, even as Jesus Christ is the truth. And we lovingly teach the wayward in consistent, unfailing efforts.
Third: "...that when they shall be sufficiently strong perhaps they may bring forth good fruit unto me, and I may yet have glory in the fruit of my vineyard."
Be patient. Wait for the wayward to grow they're strength and have their personal teaching experiences from God.
The Lord will give all chances people need to choose exaltation. Every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus in the Christ - the timing of this is not controlled by us, but can be accelerated by us through our love, testimony and personal lives of righteousness. It can be decelerated by our laziness, unrighteousness, lack of commitment to the gospel, and so forth.
Here's another example.
Jacob 5:23, 25
23 "And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto his servant: Look hither; behold I have planted another branch of the tree also; and thou knowest that this spot of ground was poorer than the first. But, behold the tree. I have nourished it this long time, and it hath brought forth much fruit; therefore, gather it, and lay it up against the season, that I may preserve it unto mine own self."
25 "And he said unto the servant: Look hither and behold the last. Behold, this have I planted in a good spot of ground; and I have nourished it this long time, and only a part of the tree hath brought forth tame fruit, and the other part of the tree hath brought forth wild fruit; behold, I have nourished this tree like unto the others."
Here, the Lord of the Vineyard planted a tree in poor quality soil, and another tree he planted in good soil.
The tree in poor soil brought forth high quality, healthy fruit.
The tree in good soil brought forth a mixture of good and bad fruit.
The poor soil can be symbolic of lives and circumstances of struggle. We might have low income for the family, loneliness experienced in life, a mental or physical disability, and so forth. The Lord may suffer us to be placed in these circumstances, like the Lord of the vineyard placed the tree in poor soil. Yet, I have learnt from this single verse of scripture (verse 23) that being placed in poor circumstances doesn't take away our potential. It just alters the path we need to take to get there.
For an excellent example, watch movies with this demonstrated. A personal favourite is the Ben Carson Story: Gifted Hands.
The tree planted in a spot of good ground brought forth fruit both good and bad.
Liken this to our friend Richard in his movie Richie Rich. His childhood was one of perfection in providence. He lacked nothing. It was not until he struggled with the issue of having true friendships, that he discovered he had not much at all.
A boy was once given a gift: a cocoon, soon to hatch. Excited and ecstatic, he accepted the gift and took it home.
Before long, he noticed the cocoon beginning to wiggle on its own. A small crack was followed by an opening, and a butterfly struggled from inside to push the cocoon open.
The boy wanted so desperately to assist. After watching for a painful minute or so, he pulled the cocoon apart. The butterfly flew for a moment, but thereafter dropped to the ground dead.
The Lord's creation of the cocoon and the butterfly is such that the butterfly strengthens its wings in pushing against the cocoon shell. The boy's opening of the cocoon removed this required experience, and the butterfly did not have the strength it needed to fly.
Likewise did our Heavenly Father watch His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, in the hours of suffering He endured that Atoning Friday night. Heavenly Father would not remove the cocoon for His Son, because it would mean the failure of Christ's mission, and hence the eternal fall of the entire human race on earth (2 Nephi 9:6-10).
Moral: struggle gives necessary growth and preparation for the future.
I definitely am not saying that being placed in bad circumstances in life guarantees success. Nor am I saying that being placed in perfect, spoonfeeding circumstances predestine one for failure. Rather, I am pointing out the possibilities that exist. No doubt someone given wonderful, perfect opportunities in life can still achieve wonderful things, and needless to say, those placed in bad circumstances can, by their neglect, become themselves bad.
Overall, the principle taught here is that our destiny - because of Christ - is a choice.
A friend of mine has made the observation that graduates from private schools have had knowledge and skills spoonfed to them, and hence the struggle when they enter university, where you fend for yourself in time management, learning schedule, etc. Such students (generally speaking) obtain lower marks. Contrast this with public school graduates, who may have poor teachers, poor education quality, and must figure many things out for themselves. They are not spoonfed, and learn for themselves how to succeed. They seem to (again, generally speaking) obtain higher marks in university. (Of course, many factors come into play - this is a generalisation of sufficient accuracy.)
Hence the saying, "Don't take away my sufferings, I'm learning life's deeper lessons as God wills it to be."
I think those two examples suffice, given my unbridled habit of long elaboration.
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