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TRUE VINE AND FRUIT
by Gar Walton
The scriptures are replete with references to fruitfulness and the need to be attached to the True Vine. It is helpful to understand the reasons behind the prolific use of metaphors, allegories, parables and proverbs including the terms vine and fruit as they relate to the productive Christian life.
The first reference appears in Genesis 1:22 with the admonition to be fruitful and multiply. Then we learn in Genesis 49:22, speaking of Joseph the son of Jacob, with the prophetic suggestion that his posterity would be fruitful and separate from his brethren in a location characterized by everlasting hills. The beauty of the terminology of fruit or any of its synonyms is entirely appropriate as they always suggest that which is tasty, nutritious and universally desirable, hence a very positive semantic for use in Gospel exhortation suggesting the righteous life in Christ.
We are admonished, in many scriptural citations, to be fruitful in the land, to bring forth fruit, to be fruitful in every good work and many others. The Savior suggested a guide for finding the true Church as he declared that,"by their fruits ye shall know them." (Matthew 7:20) The fruits in this instance include lives of the Church members and also the restored priesthood and its ordinances and principles necessary for eternal salvation. Since the terms fruit and vine are such powerful vehicles for one seeking full discipleship, a list is included herein giving many of the most interesting and useful references found in both ancient and latter-day scripture.
These words are effective in communicating meaning to us, because of the imagery that comes into our minds instantly at their suggestion. We have grown up with the flora and fauna of this world to the extent that we have an existing framework of ready reference that quickly colors our thoughts with meaningful information and understanding at the mere mention of the words "vine" or "fruit." These words imply that which is positive and comforting and that which will meet some real need, such as hunger for nourishment or the need to experience beauty such as in flowers, shrubs or trees. What the words suggest are feelings that are warm, uplifting, and encouraging to us as we continue our quest for everlasting life with our Eternal Father in Heaven.
These fruits, whether they be of the visually satisfying kind or those needed to feed us physically, represent things constantly sought after by each of us, without being conscious of the words themselves. This conscious or subconscious response to the words has made them useful to ancient and modern prophets alike, as they wrote and spoke that which had been given them by the Spirit. If this discussion of powerful words is to have any practical value to us as we strive to better our discipleship to the Master, they need to be studied in the context in which they appear.
It may be helpful to also examine several other words from our standard works which are closely related to fruit and vine. These other words would include good soil, roots, branches, leaves, and that which is used to enrich and nourish these vines so they will bring forth fruit. Roots in good soil are obviously essential to feed a healthy plant or tree, and branches are a necessary part of any healthy growing plant, whether it be small or large. We also understand the function of leaves in the process of photosynthesis necessary to the growth and health of the plant or tree. Without constantly cultivating with adequate nutrients, fertilizer or dung, there would not be a healthy plant. As we read in the fifth chapter of Jacob in the Book of Mormon, if any of these elements are missing, the plant will not thrive. Interestingly enough, when removal of part of the plant is necessary, total destruction of the organism is not always necessary. As we learn from Jacob's allegory, it is possible at times to graft in plant tissue to replace that which has become bad. The kinds of growing things referred to in the scriptures, describing God's children or His Church and Kingdom, are spiritually critical to each of us in our quest to become good and faithful servants (fruitful).
As a young man, I had a lot of experience growing trees and shrubs, hence the interest and blessing of a unique experience and perspective on "growing" things. How beautifully these analogies help us understand and teach the great doctrines and principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The following list of "growing" words is intended to be an aid in our understanding and enjoyment of these beautiful, colorful and true teachings of the gospel.
Chronologically:
1. Genesis 1:22 ...be fruitful and multiply....
2. Genesis 49:22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well....
3. Psalms 80:8 Thou hast brought a vine out of Egypt....
4. Isaiah 54:3 Thy seed (beginning of vine?) shall inherit the Gentiles....
5. Daniel 2:44 ...kingdom taken and given to a Nation bringing forth the fruits
thereof...
6. Hosea 10:1 Israel is an empty vine....
7. John 12:24 Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
8. John 15 I am the true vine...every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away...As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself...I am the vine and ye are the branches except it abide in the vine...He that abideth in me...the same bringeth forth much fruit...Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit...that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that fruit should remain....
9. Hebrews 12:11 ...peaceable fruit of righteousness....
10. James 3:12 ...can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries (fruit)?
11. 1 Nephi 15:15 ...receive strength and nourishment from the true vine?
12. 1 Nephi 15:16 ...they shall be grafted in, being a natural branch of the olive tree, unto the true olive-tree.
13. 2 Nephi 9:53 ...in future generations they shall become a righteous branch unto the house of Israel.
14. 2 Nephi 24:19 ...cast out like an abominable branch.
15. Alma 16:17 ...receive...word with joy and as a branch, be grafted into the true vine....
16. Alma 28:14 ...call of diligence to labor in the vineyard.
17. Alma 32: (from chapter preface) Alma compares the word unto a seed-it must be planted and nourished-then it grows into a tree from which the fruit of eternal life is picked.
18. Alma 33:23 ...even so nourish it...it will become a tree springing up in you...unto everlasting life.
19. Helaman 14:1 ...he that repenteth, the same is not hewn down and cast into the fire.
20. D & C 24:19 For thou art called to prune my vineyard with a mighty pruning....
21. D & C 33:3 ...last time that I shall call laborers into my vineyard.
22. D & C 95:4 ...to prepare mine apostles to prune my vineyard....
Of the fifteenth chapter of John, Elder James E. Talmage wrote: "In superb allegory the Lord thus proceeded to illustrate the vital relationship between the apostles and Himself, and between Himself and the Father, by the figure of a vine-grower, a vine, and its branches: 'I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.' A grander analogy is not to be found in the world's literature." (Jesus the Christ, 22nd Edition, 1955, p. 604)
Acquiring a clear understanding of the meaning of the true vine and the glorious eternal fruit growing thereon, will greatly aid our spiritual growth. Additionally, as Elder Talmage wrote in Jesus the Christ, be alert to the effects of the grafting in of heathen doctrines, which have and will deceive many, just as the adversary intends it to. We should rather stay grafted into the true vine and live.
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