Understanding the Parables - Quotes

President Eyring Quote

Testimony will come to you in pieces as parts of the whole truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ are confirmed. For instance, as you read and ponder the Book of Mormon, verses you have read before will appear new to you and bring new ideas. Your testimony will grow in breadth and in depth as the Holy Ghost confirms that they are true. Your living testimony will expand as you study, pray, and ponder in the scriptures. The best description for me of how to gain and keep this living testimony has already been referred to; it is in the 32nd chapter of Alma in the Book of Mormon. You may have read it many times. I find new light in it every time I read it. Let’s review the lesson it teaches once again tonight. We are taught in those inspired passages to begin our quest for testimony with a “particle of faith” and with desire for it to grow (see Alma 32:27). Tonight you have felt faith and that desire as you listened to stirring talks of the Savior’s kindness, His honesty, and of the purity His commandments and the Atonement made possible for us. So, a seed of faith is already planted in your heart. You may even have felt some of the expansion of your heart promised in Alma. I did. But, like a growing plant, it must be nurtured or it will wither. Frequent and heartfelt prayers of faith are crucial and needed nutrients. Obedience to the truth you have received will keep the testimony alive and strengthen it. Obedience to the commandments is part of the nourishment you must provide for your testimony. You remember the promise of the Savior: “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself” (John 7:17). That has worked for me, as it will for you. (President Eyring Address, Young Women Broadcast, Yesterday)

Joseph Smith said: "I have a key by which I understand the scriptures. I enquire what was the question which drew out the answer or caused Jesus to utter the parable. (Smith, Teaching, p.276)

Bible Dictionary about Parables. (1) Most teachers, especially Oriental teachers, have used some form of parable in their instruction, but none so exclusively as Jesus at one period of his ministry. During part of the Galilean ministry the record states that “without a parable spake he not unto them” (Mark 4:34). From our Lord’s words (Matt. 13:13–15; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10) we learn the reason for this method. It was to veil the meaning. The parable conveys to the hearer religious truth exactly in proportion to his faith and intelligence; to the dull and uninspired it is a mere story, “seeing they see not,” while to the instructed and spiritual it reveals the mysteries or secrets of the kingdom of heaven. Thus it is that the parable exhibits the condition of all true knowledge. Only he who seeks finds.





Personal Research - Connections - Patterns & Themes (see how it relates to Lehi's Dream?)


1) Those that hear the message, but don't do anything about it. In the parable, they are desribed as falling by the wayside and being eaten by fowls. In Lehi's dream, he says that multitudes felt their way toward the great and spacious building (apparently ignoring the rod and the path to the tree altogether.)

2) Those that hear the message and start to obey, but fall away quickly. The Savior says that these fell into stony places and sprung up, but having no root withered in the sun. In the dream, these would be those that started along the path to the tree but lost their way in the mist.

3) Those that hear and accept the message, but are lost to the world. The parable describes these as falling among thorns which choked them. In Lehi's dream, these are the multitude who make it to the tree and partake of the fruit only to hear the scoffing of those in the great and spacious building and become ashamed, falling away.

4) The last group are those that hear and accept the message and then endure to the end. The Savior describes them as falling into good soil and bringing forth good fruit. Lehi says that "other multitudes" pressed forward, holding to the rod, and partook of the fruit of the tree.

Commentary to better understand parables:

Understanding the parables of Jesus helps in understanding the gospel, but it also involves understanding him, his times, and his people. We must often work at interpreting Jesus’ parables now, because the world of parables has largely passed away. Its herds were mainly those of sheep and goats, small enough to get personal attention; beef was a luxury even for a rich man. Its farms were small, often rocky, and towers were built for visibility in guarding the harvest. That world sharply divided rich and poor, and the economics of both are revealed in strange coins. Custom was strong, for even the poor fed a guest liberally. Their simple homes had one room; wealthy homes were filled with servants. Jesus used all of these as symbols for his messages, and understanding these symbols holds high priority for us, since the Savior warned: “Take heed therefore how ye hear. …” (Luke 8:18.) And understanding the parables is vital, for he illustrated with parable doctrines that he obviously cared about teaching.
In the case of the wheat and the tares. There are numerous symbols here that correspond to life, because Jesus designed these stories that way and he said so. But in the case of the wheat and tares, Jesus said the one who sowed the seed “is the Son of Man” (Matt. 13:37), or himself. There is no doubt that he was witnessing to his divine mission.
Jesus anticipated man’s varied responses to his messages. The leading example of that is the parable of the sower, which Elder Talmage suggested should be named “The Four Kinds of Soil,” since its main point concerns the way we respond to the seed of the gospel. (Jesus the Christ, p. 284.)
Jesus explained this in detail—how in some the seed fails to root at all, and in others it roots but withers because of lack of determination in serving God, and in still others the gospel seedlings are choked by the weeds of worldliness and materialism. (See Matt. 13:18–22.) But even when the seed grows, it does so with various degrees of success, as good ground may have low, medium, and high yields. (Matt. 13:23.) This parable is a story of vital personal relevance, for everyone hearing the gospel message can find his own “category” and evaluate his “yield.” In other parables the Savior tells how to measure our productivity. Comparing God’s kingdom to treasure or to a costly pearl, Jesus drove the point home that one gains eternal wealth by selling “all that he hath” (Matt. 13:33–36) or, in other words, one must be willing to continue in his word and do all that he commands.
For All Ages
A student can draw from the teachings of the Lord in a measure equal to that which he brings to it. That is why any of the great illustrations He used are useful in teaching Primary and in illustrating to tiny minds principles that they will come to understand in a greater measure later in life. Likewise the same parable or the same story can be the subject of a lesson in the Gospel Doctrine class in Sunday School or in the high priests quorum, to be wrestled by venerable senior members of the Church, still drawing lessons and instructions and meaning by association with other things they have learned in life.
There is no ideal age at which each or any of the illustrations might be used. They are good for every age and any age. They never become outdated. They were meaningful in Palestine in the meridian of time; they were powerful in the Middle Ages; they were necessary at the turn of the century; they are vital to us now; and they will be useful as the century turns again and will be important to each of us wherever we are then, on this side of the veil or beyond it.
The Book of Mormon has numerous examples of the use of symbolism. Particularly good examples of this are Lehi's dream of the tree of life (1 Nephi 8) and Nephi's vision of the same thing (1 Nephi 11 and 12).
Another good example of symbolism in the Book of Mormon is the comparison of the house of Israel unto an olive-tree. This symbolism is used extensively in Jacob, chapters 5 and 6. The following quotations indicate how the explanation of the symbol reinforces with the student the concept to be learned.
Behold, I say unto you, that the house of Israel was compared unto an olive-tree, by the Spirit of the Lord which was in our fathers; and behold are we not broken off from the house of Israel, and are we not a branch of the house of Israel?