Parable of the Sower
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.
Christ’s Explanation of the Parable of the Sower
19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catchethaway 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 when tribulation 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 heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
3 ways to Cultivate Good Ground in our Hearts
- “But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word.” For us to receive the word we need to hear the word. The “word” is the word of God.
We should be putting ourselves in positions where we can hear or read the word of God regularly. We can do this by going to church, reading our scriptures, listening to conference talks, and do other productive things that would help us hear the word.
- “…heareth the word, and understandeth it;”. The next step to cultivating good ground in our hearts is to understand the word of God. This implies more than just hearing. We need to take time to think about what is being said and how it applies in our lives
We can understand the word of God more fully by keeping a study journal, praying before we study, teaching what we learn to other people, and think about how the principles being taught apply in our lives.
- “…heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit and bringeth forth”. The third and final way we can cultivate good ground in our hearts is to “bear fruit and bringeth forth”. Fruit in the scriptures often refers to our actions. “By theirfruits ye shall know them”. The Lord teaches us that for us to have good ground we need to live the word.We can live the word by practicing what we preach. We can hear the word of God, understand it, and then apply it into our lives. In simple terms we just need to keep the commandments and live the doctrine.
Benefits of having good ground
When we have good ground we are more capable of receiving the seed. I interpret the seed as revelation or blessings. The better ground we have or the more prepared our hearts are, the more Lord is able to bless us and help us in our lives.
