FIRST PRESIDENCY MESSAGE
God’s Harvest
BY PRESIDENT DIETER F.
UCHTDORF
Second
Counselor in the First Presidency
A woman named Christa once worked for a
small seed company. She loved her job. It was a source of immense wonder that
each tiny seed she sold had the capacity to transform itself into something
quite miraculous—a carrot, a cabbage, or even a mighty oak tree.
Christa loved sitting at her
computer taking orders and answering questions. But one day she received a
complaint that puzzled her.
“The seeds don’t work,” the
customer said. “I bought them two months ago and still nothing.”
“Did you plant them in good
soil and give them enough water and sunlight?” Christa asked.
“No,
but I did my part,” the customer replied. “I bought the seeds. After all, they
are guaranteed to
grow.”
“But you didn’t plant them?”
“Heavens no. That would mean
getting my hands dirty.”
Christa thought about this
and decided that planting guidelines would have to be written. She resolved
what the first guideline would be: “You must follow planting instructions for
the seeds to sprout. You can’t set them on the shelf and expect them to grow.”
It wasn’t long before
another complaint puzzled her.
“The seeds aren’t
producing,” a customer claimed.
“Did you plant them in good
soil?” Christa responded. “Did you give them the appropriate amount of water
and sunlight?”
“Oh, yes,” the customer
insisted. “I did all that―exactly as it says on the package. But they don’t
work.”
“Did anything happen at all?
Did they sprout?”
“Nothing happened,” the
customer said. “I planted them just as directed. I was hoping to have tomatoes
for dinner. Now I am very disappointed.”
“Wait,” Christa replied.
“Are you saying you planted the seeds today?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” the
customer replied. “I planted them a week ago. I was not expecting to see
tomatoes on the first day; I was patient. Let me tell you, there has been a lot
of watering and waiting between then and now.”
Christa knew she would have
to add another guideline: “These seeds conform to the laws of biology. If you
plant the seeds in the morning and expect to eat tomatoes later that week, you
will be disappointed. You must be patient and wait for the work of nature to
unfold before you.”
All went well until Christa
received another complaint.
“I’m very disappointed in
your seeds,” the customer began. “I planted them just as the package
recommended. I gave them water, made sure they had sunshine, and waited until
finally they produced their harvest.”
“Sounds like you did
everything right,” Christa said.
“That’s all very fine,” the
customer replied. “But what I got was zucchini!”
“My records show that those
were the seeds you ordered,” Christa said.
“But I don’t want zucchini;
I want pumpkins!”
“I’m not following.”
“I planted the seeds in my
pumpkin patch—the very same soil that produced pumpkins last year. I praised
the plants every day, telling them what beautiful pumpkins they would become.
But instead of large, round, orange pumpkins, I got long, green zucchini. Tons
of them!”
Christa knew then that
guidelines might not be enough and that it was necessary to state a principle:
“The seed you plant and the time of the planting determine the harvest.”
The Law of the Harvest
The
Apostle Paul taught about God’s harvest:
“Be
not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he
also reap.
“For
he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that
soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
“And let us not be weary in
well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:7–9).
In
recent times, the Lord has given us additional wisdom and insight into this
immutable law:
“There
is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world,
upon which all blessings are predicated—
“And when we obtain any
blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated”
(D&C 130:20–21).
What
we sow, we reap.
God’s harvest is
unimaginably glorious. To those who honor Him, His bountiful blessings come in
“good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over. … For with
the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38).
Just
as earthly seeds require effort and patience, so do many of the blessings of
heaven. We cannot put our religion on a shelf and expect to harvest spiritual
blessings. But if we plant and nurture gospel standards in the daily life of
our family, there is a high probability that our children will grow up to
produce spiritual fruit of great value to them and to future generations.
God’s
answers to our prayers do not always come immediately—sometimes they do not
appear to come at all—but God knows what is best for His children. Assuredly,
one day we will see more clearly; and on that day we will recognize the
goodness and generosity of heaven.
In
the meantime, our goal and great joy is to walk in the footsteps of our Master
and Savior and to live good and refined lives so that the promised and precious
harvest of God’s priceless blessings can be ours.
What
we sow, we reap.
That
is the law of heaven.
That
is the law of God’s harvest.
Teaching from This Message
Discuss with those you visit
how the law of God’s harvest applies to relationships, conversion and
testimony, or career and educational goals. You could read and consider
scriptures related to this law, such as Proverbs 11:18; 2 Corinthians 9:6; and Alma 32. Encourage them to review previous goals and
set new goals to achieve righteous outcomes. Help them develop a plan to act
consistently in order to reach their long-term purpose.
Children
Plan Your Harvest
God’s
law of the harvest is that if we want something later, we have to work for it
now. If we want to grow a garden, we need to plant the seeds, water them, and
protect them from weeds. If we don’t do this, we won’t have any harvest later!
This
garden shows some good “fruit” you may want in your life. On the lines below,
write some things you can do this month to help you receive these blessings.
“Harvesting
our Seed”
cji
8/1/14
One can
buy their seeds
even take
another’s seeds
our
fruit only comes within
what we
are and what we do
planting
our roots in the ground
strange
splits will not grow
thus
what we harvest and till
has to
be our own effort
plowing,
pruning, dunging
then
when paying the price
harvesting
our own seed!
Copyright
© 2014 – cji
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