Ye shall have joy

Perhaps my least favorite scriptures in the Book of Mormon is the allegory of the tame and wild olive trees. I remember that Edward used to skip those chapters in our nightly reading. It isn’t that it isn’t important or even that it is too hard to understand. The problem is that we get tangled up in the words despite the gems found there. 

One of those precious truths is when the Lord of the vineyard calls his faithful servants and said, “…this is the last time we have nourished my vineyard… and I have preserved the natural fruit, that it is good, even like it was in the beginning. And blessed art thou for thou has been diligent in laboring with me in my vineyard and have kept my commandments…Behold ye shall have joy with me because of the fruit of my vineyard.” (Jacob 5:75)

Christ paid the debt for all of us knowing that not everyone would return, and he loved us so much he gave his life for us. He knew us in that heavenly home. We walked, talked, laughed and cried with him. We trusted him to fulfill his part of the plan. He has done that. Have we done our part? Have we been diligent in laboring with him in the vineyard?