Matthew 13

Lesson Quotes:

Elder Dallin H. Oaks
I. Stony Ground, No Root
What causes hearers to “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…
Young people,… here is a specific example. 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. And that applies to adults also. (CR April 2015)

II. Thorns: The Cares of This World and the Deceitfulness of Riches
Wherever we are in our spiritual journey—whatever our state of conversion—we are all tempted by this. When attitudes or priorities are fixed on the acquisition, use, or possession of property, we call that materialism. So much has been said and written about materialism that little needs to be added here.2 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).
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. (CR April 2015)

III. 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. (CR April 2015)

President Thomas S. Monson:
“Unless the roots of your testimony are firmly planted, it will be difficult for you to withstand the ridicule of those who challenge your faith. When firmly planted, your testimony of the gospel, of the Savior, and of our Heavenly Father will influence all that you do throughout your life.” (“May You Have Courage,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2009, 126)

Elder M. Russell Ballard: (“How to Find Safety and Peace,” New Era, Nov. 1997)

“When I was a mission president, a fine elder came to me. I asked, “How can I help you?”

“President,” he said, “I think I’m losing my testimony.”

I asked him how that could be possible.

“For the first time I have read some anti-Mormon literature,” he said. “I have some questions, and nobody will answer them for me. I am confused, and I think I am losing my testimony.”

I asked him what his questions were, and he told me. They were the standard anti-Church issues, but I wanted a little time to gather materials so I could provide meaningful answers. So we set up an appointment ten days later, at which time I told him I would answer every one of his questions. As he started to leave, I stopped him. “Elder, you’ve asked me several questions here today,” I said. “Now I have one for you.”

“Yes, President?”

“How long has it been since you’ve read from the Book of Mormon?” I asked.

His eyes dropped. He looked at the floor for a while. Then he looked at me. “It’s been a long time, President,” he confessed.

“All right,” I said. “You have given me my assignment. It’s only fair that I give you yours. I want you to promise me that you will read in the Book of Mormon for at least one hour every day between now and our next appointment.” He agreed that he would do that.

Ten days later he returned to my office, and I was ready. I pulled out my papers to start answering his questions. But he stopped me.

“President,” he said, “that isn’t going to be necessary.” Then he explained, “I know that the Book of Mormon is true. I know Joseph Smith is a prophet of God.”

“Well, that’s great,” I said. “But you’re going to get answers to your questions anyway. I worked a long time on this, so you just sit there and listen.”

President Russell M. Nelson

"My dear young brothers and sisters, these surely are the latter days, and the Lord is hastening His work to gather Israel. That gathering is the most important thing taking place on earth today. Nothing else compares in magnitude, nothing else compares in importance, nothing else compares in majesty. And if you choose to, if you want to, you can be a big part of it. You can be a big part of something big, something grand, something majestic!

When we speak of the gathering, we are simply saying this fundamental truth: every one of our Heavenly Father’s children, on both sides of the veil, deserves to hear the message of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. They decide for themselves if they want to know more".

Prophet Joseph Smith

“The sayings of the Savior, recorded in the 13th chapter of His Gospel according to St. Matthew, … afford us as clear an understanding upon the important subject of the gathering, as anything recorded in the Bible” (in History of the Church, 2:264).

Matthew 13: Parables on the Gathering
Reference	Parable	The Gathering
vv. 3-9, 18-23	The Sower—the seeds grow differently depending on the ground they fall on.	People react differently to the gospel message their willingness to accept the truth determines whether they are gathered. Joseph Smith taught that “this parable was spoken to demonstrate the effects that are produced by the preaching of the word; and we believe that it has an allusion directly to the commencement, or the setting up of the Kingdom” (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 97).
vv. 24-30	The Wheat and Tares—an enemy plants tares in a wheat field. The householder tells his servants to let the wheat and tares grow together until the harvest.	For a time the righteous and the wicked live together. But in the last days the righteous will be gathered and the wicked will be destroyed. Joseph Smith taught that if the righteous and wicked are separated too soon, “you will destroy the wheat, or the Church, with the tares; therefore it is better to let them grow together until the harvest, or the end of the world” (Teachings, 98).
vv. 31-32	The Mustard Seed—the smallest seed grows into the largest of herbs	The kingdom of God begins small but grows. Joseph Smith taught: “Let us take the Book of Mormon, which a man took and hid in his field, securing it by his faith, to spring up in the last days….It is truth, and it has sprouted and come forth out of the earth, and righteousness begins to look down from heaven, and God is sending down His powers, gifts, and angels, to lodge in the branches thereof” (Teachings, 98).
v. 33	The Leaven—a small amount of yeast in three measure of flour grows until it leavens all the dough	The Church will grow until it can benefit the entire world. Joseph Smith taught: “It may be understood that the Church…has taken its rise from a little leaven that was put into three witnesses. Behold, how much this is like the parable! It is fast leavening the lump, and will soon leaven the whole” (Teachings, 100).
v. 44	Hidden Treasure—a man sells all he must buy a field with a hidden treasure	The righteous find the truth and do whatever it takes to gather to it. Joseph Smith applied this to gathering to Missouri: “The Saints work after this pattern. See the Church….selling all that they have, and gathering themselves together unto a place that they may purchase for an inheritance, that they may be together and bear each other’s afflictions in the day of calamity” (Teachings, 101).
vv. 45-46	Pearl of Great Price—a merchant sells all he has to buy the most valuable pearl	The righteous gather after much searching. “The Saints again work after this example. See men traveling to find places for Zion and her stakes or remnants, who, when they find the place for Zion, or the pearl of great price, straightway sell that they have, and buy it” (Teachings, 102).
vv. 47-50	The Fish Net—fishers catch all kinds of fish in their net, and they separate them later	The Church gathers all kinds of people at first. At the end of the world the righteous are separated from the wicked. “For the work of this patter, behold the seed of Joseph, speaking forth the Gospel net upon the face of the earth, gathering of every kind, that the good may be saved in vessels prepared for that purpose, and the angels will take care of the bad. So shall it be at the end of the world” (Teachings, 102).
v. 52	New and Old Treasures—a righteous scribe brings out both old and new treasures.	The Lord uses old and new scriptures to gather His children. “For the works of this example, see the Book of Mormon coming forth out of the treasure of the heart. Also the covenants given to the Latter-day Saints, also the translation of the Bible [the Joseph Smith Translation]—thus bringing forth out of the heart things new and old” (Teachings, 102).