Wheat and Tares

After reading D&C 85-87 this week, I really wanted to focus my studies on Section 86-the parable of the wheat and the tares.  I wanted to learn more about the deeper meanings it has to convey. I would like to share some of the insights I was taught:

1) We live in the dispensation of the fullness of times. It's not just the fullness of times for the wheat, but it's the fullness of times for the tares as well, as they are growing together. There has never been an easier time to engage in sinful behavior and the wickedness that exists in the world. But at the same time, there's never a better time to be on the earth with so many opportunities to choose good. 

2) Wheat and tares look very similar in the early stages of their growth. It's not until the wheat starts to grow its fruit that you can tell the two plants apart. The good seed (wheat) will bear fruit and its head will start to bow. The bad seed (tares) will not bear any fruit and their stalks will stand proud and tall. 

3) The gatherers are charged to go out into the field (the world) and gather the wheat from the tares. Those that are receptive to the gospel message will start on the covenant path. There is an urgency to accelerate our gathering efforts as the difference between the wheat and the tares has never been as evident as it is right now. 

4) In our own lives we have wheat and tares. Those things that are good, we need to "gather". We can allow God to "burn" the bad things from our life. The ash from the burning can then be used as nourishment for the future growth of wheat in our life, helping us to know that good things can come from bad things if we follow God's plan.

5) If we're not careful, we can spend our time consuming tares (false doctrine) and become addicted to a feeling of "this is what I need for my regular diet" and forget what it feels like to taste the wheat of the gospel that will provide lasting nourishment.

6) We live in a time when it's easier than ever for any one of us to have a voice that can be amplified through social media, and all of us are spreading seeds of information of one kind or another. What kind of seeds do we plant? Wheat, or tares? We need to be careful about the type of seeds we cast into the world. 

7) This parable shows both the justice and mercy of God. The justice comes when the tares are eventually bound together and burned. The mercy is evident when God allows the wheat to grow with the tares until the harvest is fully ripe. He gives every opportunity for the gatherers to harvest as much wheat as possible.

8) Do we have enough faith in the Lord's ability to help others change (v. 6)? We need to show faith and patience in His work. People can change and we need to use our influence to help change the tares into wheat while doing all we can to help the wheat not turn into tares. 

9) Verse 6 states "pluck not up the tares while the blade is yet tender (for verily your faith is weak), lest you destroy the wheat also." It seems to me that the wheat needs the tares in order to strengthen their faith. Opposition allows faith to grow and be strengthened.

10) Verse 7 is stated differently than in the original parable given in Matthew 13. In Matthew 13 the tares are gathered first, but in D&C 86 the wheat is gathered first. This difference is significant because in 1 Nephi 14:12 we learn that in the last days the righteous will be few in number because of the wickedness upon the earth. So if the field (world) is mostly covered in tares (wicked people) then it makes sense to gather the wheat (righteous people) first because the wheat is so outnumbered by the tares.

It can be scary trying to be wheat in a field full of tares, but I found comfort in a verse in Section 87. Verse 8 reminds us to "stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come." As the wheat is allowed to grow with the tares, there will always be peace and refuge found in holy places.

(A big thank you to these resources for sharing their insights on the parable of the wheat and the tares: Book of Mormon Central Podcast, Unshaken Saints Podcast, Don't Miss This Podcast, Follow Him Podcast,  Unlocking the Doctrine and Covenants by Ed Pinegar and Richard Allen, Parables of Jesus: The Priceless Parables by Frank Judd, Jr., The Wheat and the Tares, Friend Magazine Feb 1995)