According to Brant Gardner, in Jacob 5:11 we find that the primary goal of the Lord of the Vineyard is to "preserve the roots thereof that they perish not, that I might preserve them unto myself." The Lord of the Vineyard is not taking care to preserve the tree, but the root. Zenos' allegory uses the root as the Abrahamic covenant itself; the original covenant between God and his people is what is being preserved. For the Lord, it is his covenantal relationship that is the important aspect of his relationship to man. It is not necessarily the amount of time it takes for the tree to bear good fruit, nor is it necessarily the particular make-up of the branches (the race of men who become attached to the collective designation as "tree," or "Israel." What is important is that the branches (or covenant people) are cultivated to match the roots (or covenant terms) which are continually preserved. [Brant Gardner, "Brant Gardner's Page, "[http://www.highfiber.com/~nahualli/LDStopics/Jacob/] Jacob5.htm, pp. 16-18] [See the commentary on Jacob 5:35]