In discussing the application of this portion of the allegory to latter-day Israel, Elder Carlos E. Asay observed: “Our personal vineyards become lofty and produce strange fruits when we polish only the ’outer vessel’ of our lives and allow the ’inner’ to rot away. I refer to people who perform religious rituals to receive the acclaim of congregations rather than the approval of conscience. I refer to those who become so immersed in administrative and management affairs that they have little time to read, pray, and ponder over the affairs of God. Such persons allow the branches to overcome the roots in their lives (see Matthew 23).”