Gospel doctrine Lesson Eleven

He Spake Many
things Unto them
in parables

Purpose:
To help class
members
develop ears
to hear so
they can
understand how
Jesus parables
apply to them

Unto him that receiveth I will give more; and from

them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall
be taken away, even that which they have.
2 Nephi 28:30
When the Lord say To him
which receiveth he is not
talking about mere knowledge
of truth, but about truth
which is acted on. You never
have the truth when you
merely have it in your head.
You have truth only when
you have acted on it, when it
has affected you, when it has
changed you. It doesn't do
any good just to learn
something and then to file it
away as an intellectual fact in
your brain. If you do not act
upon it, it is not your truth;
it does not belong to you. In
other words, what this
scripture is really saying is,
Unto him that acts on truth
will be given more; but he who
has learned the truth and
doesnt act on it will lose it
and the ability to receive
more truth in the future.

What is one gospel truth

that you have learned
about but have yet to
implement or put into
action?

What is one thing that

you can do this week to
begin to put that truth
into action?

Parable of the Sower

Matthew 13:3-8; 18-23
Mark 4:1-9; 13-20;
Luke 8:4-8, 11-15

Ty pe of Soil

The wayside

Rocky Soil

Thorny Soil

Good Soil

Parallel group
of people in
Lehis dream

1 Nephi 8:21-23

1 Nephi 8:24-28

1 Neph8:30i

1 Nephi 8:31-33

What does this look like in todays world?

This is a person who upon hearing the word of God thinks
about it for a moment but does not immediately
understand it. It is not that they couldnt understand it,
its that they do not try. They hear the word, they begin
to think about it and then determine that it is too much
trouble. At this point Satan (the birds) comes and takes the
teachings and the promptings to think about them out of
his heart
These people are what we would call shallow, people that flit from
this to that, from one experience to another, never content with
anything for very long.

Here is the ty pical church member. Their biggest problem? Busyness.. It is not that they are uninterested; They are interested in
the gospel. It is not that they are shallow; they arent. They are very
capable of deep thinking and applying the gospel teachings to their
life, they just dont have time. For in addition to a family solidly
rooted in the church, they want to coach the high school soccer
team at night, raise stellar athletes, have daughters that speak two
languages and are professional ballerinas. He enjoys playing softball
on the weekends and she runs marathons. The result is that, though
their hearts are in the right place, they have no time to think about
the word, no time to receive it and no time to meditate upon it..
They are too wrapped up with the cares of this world and the
pursuit of things to seriously and consistently apply the teachings
of the scriptures and the brethren to their lives.

Notice the qualities of this soil. Here is a heart that is neither

hard nor narrow. He understands the word, i.e., he thinks
about it, ponders over it. He receives it gladly but his life is
not shallow. He bears fruit. The seed remains long enough to
sprout and grow and to come to fruition. The fruit once It
has matured, is not lost in a jumble of things, the thorns
and thistles of life, but benefits the multitude as it brings
forth ever increasing amounts -- thirty, sixty, and a
hundredfold.

Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
D&C 86:1-7
In this parable, the sowing is quite different than in the first parable. In
this parable the seed is not the Word of God; is is what Jesus, in his
explanation, calls the sons of the kingdom. These sons of the kingdom
were produced by the good seed of the word in the first parable and
are subsequently taken by the Lord and scattered throughout the
world. These sons of the kingdom are placed exactly where God wants
them to be. Likewise, wherever you are, as a child of God and as a
faithful follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, you have been put there by
the lord.

Have you recognized the hand of the Lord in placing you in your
current situation? Why do you think that you are there?

Read v 25. While the men yet slept (during the time of the Garden of
Eden, before their eyes had been opened), the enemy came and sowed
tares among the wheat. The actual plant named here is darnel., a
poisonous weed which looks so much like wheat when it first begins to
grow that even an expert cannot distinguish it from wheat. However, as
it grows it begins to change. When it comes to harvest, even a child can
tell that it is not wheat.

What things in your own life started out as small events,

indistinguishable from the good things of God, but quickly grew
to threaten your testimony? A new relationship? A fascination
with reading your horoscope? A desire to learn the anti-mormon
literature in order to be prepared to answer our critics? How can
we be open to new experience while keeping ourselves safe from
the enemy?

Parable of the Mustard Seed

Mustard is a small seed. It pungent, it is biting, it is irritating. It is an irritant. Why
then did the Savior compare the gospel of peace to this disturbing plant? The
Savior was warning that the message of the Gospel often instigates trouble,
trouble within families, communities, and countries. By choosing the smallest seed
known to the people to whom he is preaching, Jesus addresses the apparent
insignificance of the gospel. The gospel does not look like much. It does not sound
like much. But, if you read the whole parable, you will find that it can grow into
something great!
Have you ever seen a mustard tree? I grew up in California where we had acres and
acres of blooming mustard each spring. Now, I am not a horticulturalist, but I do
know thismustard does not grow on trees. It is an annual that dies every year. It is
impossible for it to grow into a tree. Then why did Jesus say it did?
That question is the heart of the parable. Our Lord obviously intended to teach
that the growth of the church would be beyond the natural mans understanding.
It will not be normal. Just as a tree is not what you would expect from mustard
seed, the magnificent, unexplainable growth of the church will be just as surprising.
Instead of the lowly, humble plant you would expect from a mustard seed there
would be a huge, abnormal, ungainly growth into a tree.

Parable of the treasure in the field

The Pearl of Great Price

In this parable Jesus is the man

and the world is represented by
the field. In the field Jesus finds
treasures (us). Throughout our life,
Jesus uncovers our true worth by
helping us through the learning
experiences of mortality, and
providing us with the ordinances
necessary for us to become
perfect, like unto Him. Then, we
experience physical death, at which
point we are placed once again in
the ground and buried. Through
the atonement (which required all
that the Savior had) we are
purchased once again.

Why a pearl? The Hebrews never valued

pearls...this was an Asian tradition. I
believe the Savior chose the pearl
because it is the only jewel that is
the product of living matter. A pearl is
the response of an oyster to
something intent on causing it harm.
A pearl grows out of hurt.. In the
oyster, the grain of sand, is
transmuted into something glorious.
The unsightly is transformed into
something of beauty. Likewise, In the
love of Christ, trials and tribulations,
which Satan intends to be irritants
and distractions from our service to
the Savior, can become treasures.

Matthew 13:43

Matthew 13:45-46

Parable of the Leaven

Matthew 13:33

Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like

unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid three measure of meal, till
the whole was leavened

Cultural Note
The Jews to whom Jesus was speaking
would have known immediately they
symbolism that Jesus was referring
to in this verse. It was the most
common offering in Israelthe meal
offering. The meal offering consisted
of three measures of unleavened meal.
In Genesis 18 we can read of the
beginning of this tradition and can
learn of its meaning. This offering,
represented fellowship with our
Heavenly Father and with one another.
More specifically, it represented the
offers service to his fellow man and
portrayed his commitment to the
second great commandment
(Matthew 22:36-39)
Jesus audience would also have been
aware that leaven was never once
used in the Old Testament to refer
to something good. Leaven
disintegrates, breaks up, corrupts and
causes a puffed up, swollen condition.
Bread that has been made with leaven
spoils much more quickly than bread
that has not.
The word hidden in this parable
comes from the Greek root krupto,
which means to conceal or keep
secret. Hence, this woman is
surreptitiously placing the leaven of
false doctrine in the church.

Thought Questions
In what way is leaven
hidden in the church
today? And by whom?

How can we protect

ourselves and our families
from the corrupting
influences found in the
world today?