Show Notes for Episode 12 of the Teach Me to Walk in the Light Podcast. Learn about the 4 different types of people and how they receive the word of God along with how it compares to the people in Lehi’s Dream. Includes an FHE suggestion, a teaching tip from Elder Rasband, and a fun family activity! This episode goes along with the Come, Follow Me – for Individuals and Families for the week of March 18-24, 2019.
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**This Episode goes along with the Come, Follow Me – For Individuals and Families for the week of March 18-24, 2019.
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PERSONAL STUDY [2:04]
1.Jesus explains how parables reveal the mysteries or truths of the kingdom of heaven to those who were ready to receive them, while hiding the meaning from those who are spiritually unprepared (see New Testament Student Manual [Church Educational System manual, 2014], 45).
2.“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” (Bible Dictionary, “Parables”).
3. General Conference talk given in April 2015 by President Oaks entitled The Parable of the Sower. Click HERE
4.FALL BY THE WAY SIDE
Matthew 13:4 “fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up”
A wayside is a path near fields that becomes hardened as people walk on it. And so the hardness of the wayside prevents seeds from taking root in the soil because the soil is just too hard.
So what kind of heart does the wayside represent? A hardened heart – one that doesn’t understand the truth or maybe is unprepared for the truth. And the fowls represent Satan and his servants who come and devour them up.
Compare to Lehi’s Dream: 1 Nephi 8:27, 31-33
5.STONY GROUND, NO ROOT
Matthew 13:5-6 “fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root they withered away.”
Stony places are rocky surfaces covered with just a thin layer of soil. The seeds are only able to grow very short roots because the rock that lies just below the soil prevents the roots from going any deeper.
Mark 4: 16-17 Jesus teaches us that these are those who when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and yet they have no root in themselves, and so they endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.
Pres. Oaks explains that this can happen to new members who are only converted to the missionaries or to the many attractive characteristics of the Church or this can also happen to long-term members as well. Anyone can neglect the need for constant spiritual nourishment and develop a stony heart.
Pres. Oaks also said, “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.”
These seeds represent anyone who starts out on the right path but they don’t do what is necessary to nourish their spirits or as Pres. Oaks said you “deny yourself essential spiritual food.” By denying yourself spiritual food, you don’t develop a strong enough testimony to sustain you through temptations, trials, and tribulations.
Compare to Lehi’s Dream: 1 Nephi 8:22-23
Sunlight Analogy: Sunlight is required for a plant to grow, but if a plant’s root system is not deep, that sunlight will scorch and destroy the plant. Similarly, trials, persecution, and opposition can actually help us grow if we allow the word of God to develop deep roots in our hearts and we draw closer to Christ; if not, such experiences can cause frail and fragile testimonies to wither away.
6.THORNS: THE CARES OF THIS WORLD AND THE DECEITFULNESS OF RICHES
Matthew 13:7 “fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them”
The ground with thorns is fertile soil, but it is the thorns that crowd out the plants by depriving them of light, water, and needed nutrients.
Mark 4:18-19 Jesus explains 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”
Compare to Lehi’s Dream: 1 Nephi 8:24,25, & 28
President Oaks said, “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).”
President Oaks said, “We surrender to the “pleasures of this life” [by] (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.”
7.FELL INTO GOOD GROUND AND BROUGHT FORTH FRUIT
Matthew 13:8 “fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit”
The good ground is fertile soil – enough fertile soil for long, healthy roots to grow.
Compare to Lehi’s Dream: 1 Nephi 8:30.
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).
As President Oaks has said, we must seek that mighty change of heart that replaces evil desire and selfish concerns with the love of God and the desire to serve Him and His children.
8. Matthew 13:12 it reads:
For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Jesus is teaching us here that if we receive the spiritual truths that the Lord gives us, then He will bless us with more. But, if we are not willing to receive the spiritual truths the Lord gives us then we will lose the spiritual understanding we once had.
FHE [18:15]
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TEACHING TIP [22:31]
Elder Rasband has said,
“Remember the words of Nephi, I was led by the Spirit not knowing beforehand the things which I should do. Nevertheless, he said, I went forth and so must we. We must be confident in our first promptings. Sometimes we rationalize, we wonder if we are feeling a spiritual impression or if it is just our own thoughts. When we begin to second guess, even third guess our feelings, and we all have, we are dismissing the Spirit. We are questioning divine counsel. The prophet Joseph Smith taught, that if you will listen to the first promptings you will get it right 9 times out of 10.”
This is the key to becoming the most effective teachers we can be at home or in our callings, and that is by listening to the first promptings of the Spirit we receive and acting upon those promptings. Whether it be something we should say or do for our children, whether it is someone who comes into our minds and we wonder how they’re doing or perhaps it’s a thought of something we should say as we are teaching our class on Sunday. Whatever it may be, learn to listen to those very first promptings, and follow them. Remember, 9 out of 10 times you will be right.
I highly recommend Elder Rasband’s book Led by Divine Design. It is available to listen to for FREE if you are a member of Deseret Bookshelf Plus. If you’re not a member, you can try it out for FREE for 30 days. Click HERE
This book is also available on Amazon in Kindle, Hardcover or Audio CD format.
#taketimeforfamily [24:50]
One of my favorite games to play with family is The Game of Things. You can buy the game on Amazon
OR you can also just make up questions yourself.
Basically, you take turns being “it”. With each person who is “it”, they will say a statement that will have a thing as the answer, such as “Things you shouldn’t do while at work.” Everyone then writes on a piece of paper something that shouldn’t be done at work, such as sleep. The person who is “it” then collects all the answers and reads them out loud. Then, you go around the room letting everyone take a turn to try and match up an answer with the person who gave that answer. If they are correct, that person gets a point, and the person whose answer was guessed is out until the next round. Continue going around the room until one person is left. Whoever is left or last to be matched up with their answer, gets 3 points. The game continues until everyone has had a turn being it.
Don’t forget to take some pictures and use the #taketimeforfamily and post them on your favorite social media site. Let’s show the world how important it is that we take time for those who matter the most to us.
If you have any fun family activities or dinner conversation starters that you’d like to share, I’d love to hear them. Simply email me at melanie@melanieslibrary.com.
Yours Truly,
Disclaimer: Melanie’s Library is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
