A Poor Spot of Ground

In the allegory of the olive tree there is an interesting interchange between the servant and the lord of the vineyard.  They went together to go look at one of the trees that the “master had hid” and which was producing good fruit.  Observing the odd location of the tree as well as the good fruit it produced, the servant inquired, “How comest thou hither to plant this tree, or this branch of the tree? For behold, it was the poorest spot in all the land of thy vineyard.”  The lord of the vineyard responded, “Counsel me not; I knew that it was a poor spot of ground; wherefore, I said unto thee, I have nourished it this long time, and thou beholdest that it hath brought forth much fruit.”  The Lord then pointed out another part of the vineyard that had succeeded: “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” (Jacob 5:20-23).  For both of these trees the Lord had chosen a “poor” spot of ground and yet the tree brought forth good fruit because the Lord had nourished the tree.

               It seems to me that this part of the allegory has something to teach us about why certain people may face difficult and seemingly unfair situations.  For example, consider the story of the people of Alma.  They rejected the wickedness of King Noah, repented of their sins, made covenants with the Lord, and fled so they could worship the Lord.  And yet despite their good choices, they were discovered by the Lamanites and put under bondage.  One of the wicked priests of King Noah, Amulon, became their oppressor and persecuted them and did “cause that his children should persecute their children” (Mosiah 24:8).  It’s easy to read that story and be frustrated with the injustice of it all.  Why would the Lord let the wicked prosper while those who were trying so hard to keep His commandments suffered?  Perhaps if we asked the Lord He would say something like this, “Counsel me not; I knew that it was a poor spot of ground; wherefore, I said unto thee, I have nourished it this long time, and thou beholdest that it hath brought forth much fruit.”  In other words, He knew that He was giving them a “poor spot of ground” or difficult trials that are undesirable from a worldly perspective.  But the Lord gave them those trials—the poor ground—and nourished them at the same time.  Whiel they were in the midst of their difficulties the Lord told them, “I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions” (Mosiah 24:14).  The Lord did indeed strengthen and nourish them, and they became the kind of people He wanted them to become—they brought forth the fruit He desired as He “[tried] their patience and their faith (Mosiah 23:21).  The Lord’s purpose was not to give the most righteous the easiest life, but rather He wanted to refine His righteous Saints as He prepared them to return to Him.  In our lives we need not attempt to counsel the Lord for the specific difficulties we face; rather we trust that He will indeed “nourish” us we go through our own refiner’s fires.  We need not worry if we feel we have our times of being in “poor ground”—the Lord can grow us no matter where we have been planted.