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| The Sower, June 1888, Kröller-Müller Museum - Vincent van Gogh |
The
parable of the sower is one of a small number of parables reported in all three
of the synoptic Gospels. It is also one of an even smaller group of parables
Jesus explained to His disciples. 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.
The
different soils on which the seeds fell represent different ways in which
mortals receive and follow these teachings. 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. I will say nothing more of these. 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
Some
seed “fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it
sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: but when the sun was up, it was
scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away” (Mark 4:5–6).
Jesus
explained that this describes those “who, when they have heard the word,
immediately receive it with gladness,” but because they “have no root in
themselves, … when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake,
immediately they are offended” (Mark 4:16–17).
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.
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 sacramentare 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.
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. President Gordon B. Hinckley gave a vivid
description of one aspect of this keyhole view. He told a BYU audience about
political commentators “aflame with indignation” at a then-recent news event.
“With studied art they poured out the sour vinegar of invective and
anger. … Surely,” he concluded, “this is the age and place of the gifted
pickle sucker.”1 In contrast, to be securely rooted in
the gospel, we must be moderate and measured in criticism and seek always for
the broader view of the majestic work of God.
II. Thorns: The Cares of This World
and the Deceitfulness of Riches
Jesus
taught that “some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and
it yielded no fruit” (Mark 4:7). He explained that these are “such as hear
the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the
lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful”
(Mark 4:18–19). This is surely a warning to be heeded by
all of us.
I
will speak first of 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).
The Book
of Mormon tells of a time when the Church of God “began to fail
in its progress” (Alma 4:10) because “the people of the church began
to … set their hearts upon riches and upon the vain things of the world” (Alma 4:8). Whoever has an abundance of material things
is in jeopardy of being spiritually “sedated” by riches and other things of the
world.3 That is a suitable introduction to the
next of the Savior’s teachings.
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.
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. Twenty-five years ago my 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 andfamily, 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 digestedby society.”6
The Savior’s warning
against having the cares of this world choke out the word of God in our lives
surely challenges us to keep our priorities fixed—our hearts set—on the
commandments of God and the leadership of His Church.
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?
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.
I testify of the truth
of these things, and I testify of our Savior, Jesus Christ, whose teachings
point the way and whose Atonement makes it all possible, in the name of Jesus
Christ, amen.
1.
Gordon B.
Hinckley, “Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled” (Brigham Young University
devotional, Oct. 29, 1974), 1; speeches.byu.edu.
2.
See, for example,
Dallin H. Oaks, “Materialism,” chapter 5 in Pure in Heart (1988), 73–87.
3.
I am indebted to Elder
Neal A. Maxwell for this memorable image (see “These Are Your Days,” Ensign,Oct. 2004, 26).
4.
James P. Bell, in
“Hugh Nibley, in Black and White,”BYU Today, May
1990, 37.
5.
Hugh Nibley, in “Hugh
Nibley, in Black and White,” 37–38.
6.
Charles J.
Chaput, “The Great Charter at 800: Why It Still Matters,” First Things, Jan. 23, 2015,
firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2015/01/the-great-charter-at-800; see also Tad
Walch, “At BYU, Catholic Archbishop Seeks Friends, Says U.S. Liberty Depends on
Moral People,” Deseret News, Jan. 23,
2015,
deseretnews.com/article/865620233/At-BYU-Catholic-archbishop-seeks-friends-says-US-liberty-depends-on-moral-people.html.
Archbishop Chaput also said that “some of our best Catholic institutions have
either lost or greatly softened their religious identity. … Brigham Young
is an extraordinary university … because it’s a center of learning enriched by
its religious identity. Never lose that” (“The Great Charter at 800”).
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