Jacob 5

70 And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard sent his servant; and the servant went and did as the Lord had commanded him, and brought other servants; and they were few.
(Book of Mormon | Jacob 5:70)

As I read the allegory of the olive tree, I began to think about what we, as a family, need to do to be one of the few laborers in the garden. The thought came to me that I first need to put myself in the place of the tree, and realize that there is much work to do in making our "roots" strong. I see that, as a family, we tend to wander, looking for the best things to do, and I know that I, being the at home influence, cause much of this. Tradition & routine is a good thing, a thing which I often shun away from, but know my family needs. I need to be more stable, more predictable, more in the Lord's hands in order to guide my children such that we as a family will bring forth good fruit.



72 And it came to pass that the servants did go and labor with their mights; and the Lord of the vineyard labored also with them; and they did obey the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard in all things.
73 And there began to be the natural fruit again in the vineyard; and the natural branches began to grow and thrive exceedingly; and the wild branches began to be plucked off and to be cast away; and they did keep the root and the top thereof equal, according to the strength thereof.
74 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.
75 And it came to pass that when the Lord of the vineyard saw that his fruit was good, and that his vineyard was no more corrupt, he called up his servants, and said unto them: Behold, for this last time have we nourished my vineyard; and thou beholdest that I have done according to my will; and I have preserved the natural fruit, that it is good, even like as it was in the beginning. And blessed art thou; for because ye have been diligent in laboring with me in my vineyard, and have kept my commandments, and have brought unto me again the natural fruit, that my vineyard is no more corrupted, and the bad is cast away, behold ye shall have joy with me because of the fruit of my vineyard.
76 For behold, for a long time will I lay up of the fruit of my vineyard unto mine own self against the season, which speedily cometh; and for the last time have I nourished my vineyard, and pruned it, and dug about it, and dunged it; wherefore I will lay up unto mine own self of the fruit, for a long time, according to that which I have spoken.
77 And when the time cometh that evil fruit shall again come into my vineyard, then will I cause the good and the bad to be gathered; and the good will I preserve unto myself, and the bad will I cast away into its own place. And then cometh the season and the end; and my vineyard will I cause to be burned with fire.
(Book of Mormon | Jacob 5:72 - 77)

In my mind, sooner or later I see the world coming full circle. We had the truth, we thought it old & archaic, and now we are becoming a world of searchers. You may doubt me, but what makes the headlines is a small percentage of what is really happening. Literature of a culture is a good way to see what it is becoming. I went to the library and looked at the new releases, many titles are about man's search for a higher power. Even the business / motivational speaking books have turned toward preaching balance, spirituality, positive thinking in the past twenty years.