I have enjoyed this study of The Parable of the Sower. As I have looked at what modern day prophets have said, I was reminded of the recent General Conference address Parable of the Sower given by Elder Dallin H Oaks, April 2015.
Special Note: Wayside soil people are those who have no place in their
hearts for seeds/the word of God. The other soils made a place for the
seed/word and in one form or another made a commitment to follow Christ.
Below is a short summary of some of the key points Elder Dallin H Oaks made.
What do we do with the Savior’s teachings
as we live our lives?
The parable of the sower warns us of
circumstances and attitudes that can keep anyone who has received the seed of
the gospel message from bringing forth a goodly harvest.
SEED
The seed that was sown was “the word of
the kingdom” (Matthew
13:19), “the word” (Mark
4:14), or “the word of God” (Luke
8:11)—the teachings of the Master and His
servants.
SOIL
The different soils on which the seeds
fell represent different ways in which mortals receive and follow these
teachings.
WAYSIDE
Thus the seeds that “fell by the way
side” (Mark
4:4) have not reached mortal soil where they might possibly
grow. They are like teachings that fall upon a heart hardened or
unprepared.
STONY
“have no root in themselves”
This is the circumstance of new members
who are merely converted to the missionaries or to the many attractive
characteristics of the Church or to the many great fruits of Church membership.
Not being rooted in the word, they can be scorched and wither away when
opposition arises. But even those raised in the Church—long-term members—can
slip into a condition where they have no root in themselves. I have known some
of these—members without firm and lasting conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
If we are not rooted in the teachings of the gospel and regular
in its practices, any one of us can develop a stony
heart, which is stony ground for spiritual seeds.
Spiritual food is necessary for spiritual
survival, especially in a world that is moving away from belief in God and
the absolutes of right and wrong. .. we must increase our exposure to
spiritual truth in order to strengthen our faith and stay rooted in the gospel.
If the emblems of the sacrament
are being passed and you are texting or whispering or playing video games or
doing anything else to deny yourself essential spiritual food, you are severing
your spiritual roots and moving yourself toward stony ground. You are making
yourself vulnerable to withering away when you encounter tribulation like
isolation, intimidation, or ridicule.
Another potential destroyer of spiritual
roots—accelerated by current technology but not unique to it—is the keyhole
view of the gospel or the Church. This limited view focuses on a particular
doctrine or practice or perceived deficiency in a leader and ignores the grand
panorama of the gospel plan and the personal and communal fruits of its
harvest.
THORNS
The Cares of This World and the
Deceitfulness of Riches.
Those who believe in what has been called
the theology of prosperity are suffering from the deceitfulness of riches. The
possession of wealth or significant income is not a mark of heavenly favor, and
their absence is not evidence of heavenly disfavor. When Jesus told a faithful
follower that he could inherit eternal life if he would only give all that he
had to the poor (see
Mark 10:17–24), He was not identifying an evil in the
possession of riches but an evil in that follower’s attitude toward them. As we
are all aware, Jesus praised the good Samaritan, who used the same coinage to
serve his fellowman that Judas used to betray his Savior. The root of all evil
is not money but the love of money (see
1 Timothy 6:10).
The most subtle thorns to choke out the effect of the gospel word in our lives are the worldly forces that Jesus called the “cares and riches and pleasures of this life” (Luke 8:14).
On one occasion Jesus rebuked His chief Apostle, saying to Peter, “Thou art an offence unto me: for thou
savourest not the things that be of God, but those that
be of men” (Matthew 16:23; see also D&C 3:6–7; 58:39).Savoring the things of men means putting the cares of this world ahead of the things of God in our actions, our priorities, and our thinking.
We surrender to the “pleasures of this life” (1) when we
are addicted, which impairs God’s precious gift of
agency; (2) when we are beguiled by trivial distractions,which draw us away from things of eternal importance;and (3) when we have an entitlement mentality, which
impairs the personal growth necessary to qualify us for
our eternal destiny.
We are overcome by the “cares … of this life” when we
are paralyzed by fear of the future, which hinders our
going forward in faith, trusting in God and His promises.
…esteemed BYU teacher Hugh W. Nibley
spoke of the dangers of surrendering to the cares of the world. He was asked in
an interview whether world conditions and our duty to spread the gospel made it
desirable to seek some way to “be accommodating of the world in what we do in
the Church.”4
His reply: “That’s been the whole story
of the Church, hasn’t it? You have to be willing to offend here; you have to be
willing to take the risk. That’s where the faith comes in. … Our commitment is
supposed to be a test, it’s supposed to be hard, it’s supposed to be impractical
in the terms of this world.”5
This gospel priority was affirmed on the
BYU campus just a few months ago by an esteemed Catholic leader,
Charles J. Chaput, the archbishop of Philadelphia. Speaking of “concerns
that the LDS and Catholic communities share,” such as “about marriage and family, the nature of our
sexuality, the sanctity of human life, and the urgency of religious liberty,”
he said this:
“I want to stress again the importance of
really living what we claim to believe. That needs to be a priority—not just in
our personal and family lives but in our churches, our political choices, our
business dealings, our treatment of the poor; in other words, in everything we
do.”
“Here’s why that’s important,” he
continued. “Learn from the Catholic experience. We Catholics believe that our
vocation is to be leaven in society. But there’s a fine line between being
leaven in society,
and being digested by society.”6
GOOD
GROUND
Fell into Good Ground and Brought Forth
Fruit
Jesus explained that “the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word,keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15).We have the seed of the gospel word. It is up to each of
us to set the priorities and to do the things that make our soil good and our harvest plentiful. We must seek to be firmly rooted and converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ (see Colossians 2:6–7). We achieve this conversion by praying, by scripture reading, by serving,
and by regularly partaking of the sacrament to always
have His Spirit to be with us. We must also seek that
mighty change of heart (see Alma 5:12–14) that replaces
evil desires and selfish concerns with the love of God
and the desire to serve Him and His children.
View the complete series of 'Parable Of The Sower HERE
Note - This series is ongoing. As I learn more, I will provide updates.
Note - This series is ongoing. As I learn more, I will provide updates.
With love and gratitude,
Each of us lead a life filled with miracles, we just need to pause and see them! What's new and good with you?