Parables: Sower and Soils, Wheat and Tares

1. Word Search: 
Do you know the story?  
What can you tell us about it? 












The Sower and Soils, the Wheat and  the Tares

Purpose:  We can apply the spiritual messages in two of the parables Jesus told.


2.  Read the story: 
When Jesus taught the people, he sometimes taught in parables, which are short stories that have hidden spiritual messages.

Matthew 13
1 The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.

2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

3. Watch a brief video the illustrates the story:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9IOhGPrRvY Parable of the Sower

(Also available, downloaded here.)
4. Jesus interpreted this parable. 

•  18 ¶Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
   19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, andunderstandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
   20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
   21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for whentribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
   22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
   23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareththe word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

5. Elder Oaks taught about this parable in April General Conference.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/04/the-parable-of-the-sower?lang=eng#watch=video

Minute 00:42 My message concerns those of us who have committed to be followers of Christ. 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.

I. Stony Ground, No Root

[Minute 3:20] 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.

[3:58] 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. In an age dominated by the Internet, which magnifies messages that menace faith, we must increase our exposure to spiritual truth in order to strengthen our faith and stay rooted in the gospel.

Young people, if that teaching seems too general, 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.  -- [5:13]

http://catholicapptitude.org/2014/03/18/beyond-silent-mode-etiquette-for-using-your-cell-phone-in-church/

[And what about Primary?]

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). These are too numerous to recite. Some examples will suffice.

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.

The Savior’s examples could cause us to think of this parable as the parable of the soils. The suitability of the soil depends upon the heart of each one of us who is exposed to the gospel seed. In susceptibility to spiritual teachings, some hearts are hardened and unprepared, some hearts are stony from disuse, and some hearts are set upon the things of the world.

III. Fell into Good Ground and Brought Forth Fruit

The parable of the sower ends with the Savior’s description of the seed that “fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit” in various measures (Matthew 13:8). How can we prepare ourselves to be that good ground and to have that good harvest? . . . 

[14:15]  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.

6.  The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares
https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2014-01-027-jesus-declares-the-parable-of-the-wheat-tares-mustard-seed-and-leaven?lang=eng

1. Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

   Sower	Jesus Christ and his Apostles
   Good seed (wheat)	Followers of Jesus
   Field	World
   Enemy	Satan
   Tares (weeds)	Followers of Satan
   Reapers	Angels
   Harvest	Jesus’ second coming