11 Yea, even if they should dwindle in unbelief the Lord shall prolong their days, until the time shall come which hath been spoken of by our fathers, and also by the prophet Zenos, and many other prophets, concerning the restoration of our brethren, the Lamanites, again to the knowledge of the truth. (Helaman 15)
In this single verse, we find a subtle example of internal consistency regarding an ancient prophetic allegory given by Zenos, which was recorded on the brass plates and preserved for the Nephite prophets/record-keepers to study and comment on over the centuries.
Jacob 5 is a remarkable and complex chapter. I'm using this helpful diagram from the Come, Follow Me manual to help sort through the various visits and the various branches. The Lehites branch is discussed in verse 25 -- the "last" branch placed on "good ground" (promised land) which brings forth both "tame" (Nephites) and "wild" (Lamanites) fruit.
In this presentation about Jacob 5, Matthew Bowen makes the case that references to "nourish" in this chapter are a reference to temple covenants. I strongly agree, especially in light of all of the tree symbolism we've discussed on this blog recently.
To see how the restoration of the Lamanites is mentioned in this chapter, we need to turn our attention to verse 40:
40 And the wild fruit of the last had overcome that part of the tree which brought forth good fruit, even that the branch had withered away and died.
This is a reference to the Lamanites' destruction of the Nephites.
At this point in the allegory, The Lord of the vineyard is ready to mete out justice for all the wild branches:
49 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard said unto the servant: Let us go to and hew down the trees of the vineyard and cast them into the fire, that they shall not cumber the ground of my vineyard, for I have done all. What could I have done more for my vineyard?The servant convinces the Lord to "[s]pare [the vineyard] a little longer."
What follows is the last gathering of all the branches back to the "mother tree," including the "last branch" that represent the remnant of the Lamanites. This final time, all of the trees would be nourished by the labor of the servants. Notice the obvious symbolic references to the work of ministering and covenants (in bold):
61 Wherefore, go to, and call servants, that we may labor diligently with our might in the vineyard, that we may prepare the way, that I may bring forth again the natural fruit, which natural fruit is good and the most precious above all other fruit.
62 Wherefore, let us go to and labor with our might this last time, for behold the end draweth nigh, and this is for the last time that I shall prune my vineyard.
63 Graft in the branches; begin at the last that they may be first, and that the first may be last, and dig about the trees, both old and young, the first and the last; and the last and the first, that all may be nourished once again for the last time.
So there it is, a pretty subtle allegorical prophecy of the restoration of the Lamanites to a knowledge of the truth. Keep in mind that Helaman 15 precedes Jacob 5 in the dictation sequence by about 100 chapters.
"other prophets"
Just as Samuel said in Helaman 15:11, "other prophets" testified of these things. Lehi, Nephi, others prophesied of the restoration of the Lamanites. I'll cover this in a future post.