How Are We Sowing and Planting Seeds of Faith?

Like planting seeds of faith in fertile ground, I want to receive God’s word and truth in my life. And, more than anything, I want the same for my family. 

Planting Seeds of Faith

My first baby had just been born. He had my dark hair, and I was smitten from the moment I held him. Shortly after birth, the nurse came and asked me a seemingly simple question, “Can I take him to get his bath?” 

And then realization hit me! I was 100% responsible for him-for someone else. I had never been in this position before, and I felt a very real and immediate weight added to my shoulders. It felt like Heavenly Father was saying, “You are a steward over this child. You are responsible for his learning and his safety. Teach him, nurture him, and start planting seeds of faith that will point him back to Me.” So, I reluctantly told the nurse that, yes, she could take him away to give him a bath, but I insisted my husband go with them to watch over our baby.

Now I have six children. Each one of them is such a blessing in my life, and each comes with an added feeling of responsibility. However, I have come to know that when Heavenly Father gives us these children, he also gives us added help, guidance, and the Holy Spirit. We have God’s word through the scriptures and modern church leaders, and we have his assurance that he will be with us. 

The Parable of the Sower

Have you ever planted a small seed? The process of planting seeds is not complicated, yet the seed has specific needs to be able to grow. We learn of the Parable of the Sower found in the Bible in Matthew, that a seed needs good soil. Not wayside soil, not stony soil, and not thorny soil. 

If we look to understand the parable, we learn that Jesus Christ is telling us we are soil and our young people are soil. The kingdom of God and God’s word are the good seeds. 

So, with what kind of soil, in essence, what kind of attitudes and behaviors, are we receiving the seed of the kingdom of God? 

The Wayside Soil

The seed that fell in the wayside soil didn’t grow any roots; the seed couldn’t even get in the ground. There are those who don’t let the truths of the kingdom of God into their hearts or lives. It’s likely that you know someone like this. Maybe we can offer them our actions and words as a testimony, that could perhaps soften their soil. We never know when we could be planting seeds of faith. 

When living in Las Vegas, I had a neighbor who used to go to church, used to be a Christian, but now she just believed in science. She chose not to believe in God. When she first learned we were members of The Church of Jesus Christ, she bristled. But after months of observing us, she softened and opened up. She asked my husband and I, “How can you believe in God, being in the medical profession and knowing all you do.” We were happy to share with her our belief that science and God weren’t exclusive. Hopefully our words and examples softened her soil, even just a little bit. 

The Stony Soil

Next in the parable we have the stony soil. This could be a person that gave place to the word of God, the seed sprouts, but their roots didn’t go very deep. With shallow roots, a plant doesn’t have the sustenance it needs and withers away in the hot sun. So how can we make sure we have deep enough roots, to get the nutrients we need to withstand the difficulties and attacks of this world? 

For one, we develop deeper roots as we pray to Heavenly Father in faith, knowing that He will hear and answer. Prayer opens our hearts to God planting seeds of faith.

One Sunday my young family was visiting my in-laws’ church. Not being in our own church building and going to his usual primary class, my 6-year-old son was nervous and anxious. I couldn’t get him to go to class. His grandma, my mother-in-law, was a leader in the primary. She tried to coax him to come with her, but he was scared and would not go. Then I watched as she taught me about faith and prayer. 

She said to my son, “Would you like to say a prayer, to ask Heavenly Father to help you not be scared and be able to go to primary?” 

Now to be honest, I thought, “That’s a nice idea, but that won’t work.” He had dug his heels in the hallway and there was no moving for him. 

But, to my surprise, he said he would pray. He and Grandma said a little prayer, asking Heavenly Father to help him be brave and not be scared. The prayer ended, and he instantly starting walking towards the primary with Grandma. No more fear, no more anxiety. Grandma had helped him by planting seeds of faith through the power of prayer. I don’t think I had ever seen so clearly faith growing in answer to a prayer. Since then, I recognize it all the time, as I try to help my kids turn to Heavenly Father in prayer whenever they need help.

We sink our roots deeper as we not only read and hear, but also obey God’s word. We need the spiritual growth that comes from consistent nourishment to our soul. A seedling would die without more than a few days of water. So would our growing testimonies if we don’t continually feed it truth and light.

The Thorny Soil

Then comes the thorny soil. People with thorny soil let the opinions, temptations, and competitions of the world overpower their seed of faith. As a mother, I try my best to remove the thorns in our home and lives. We filter the media we consume, not just by quality, but also my amount. From when our children were just little guys, we tried to teach them the core values of honesty, gratitude, and compassion. Above all, we try to set our moral compass facing God. What would He think, and what are His standards?

I also try to prevent thorns from coming in, in the first place. We teach our children how to work and give them responsibilities. They have chores that are expected to be done daily. Our oldest 12-year-old is involved in a church youth group where he participates in activities, service, and worship with other peers his age. In the summer we love to go hiking, fishing, and camping as a family. We plant and nurture a garden together, seeing firsthand what it takes to grow a little seed. In the winter we bring out the games and popcorn, we go sledding and skiing. By filling our lives with good things, we don’t have as much room for the bad. 

The Good Soil

Finally, we have the last type of soil-the right conditions that cause the seed to bear fruit, which is the purpose of a good seed. 

I want to be good soil. Like planting seeds of faith in fertile ground, I want to receive God’s word and truth. And, more than anything, I want the same for my family. As small seeds in God’s field, He blesses us with His Holy Spirit to guide, guard, teach, and testify.

We try to read scriptures as a family every evening. With six young children, most of our scripture studies are too rambunctious to be reverent. But we keep trying. It was one such night, when we each took turns reading scriptures. One child asked a question, what a word meant. But I was tired and ready for bed. I didn’t want this conversation right now; besides one could understand the meaning of the scripture without understanding that specific word.

So, I was about to dismiss the question, when I felt the nudge of the Holy Spirit, telling me to answer him. Reluctantly I did. He then proceeded to tell the family a sweet spiritual experience he had a while ago. Had I not listened to the Holy Spirit, I would have missed out on a faith sharing and building moment. I felt so grateful to have the Holy Spirit to help me nourish those seeds of faith and vowed to try to listen a little more carefully.

Undoubtedly, we mess up and we make mistakes. Sometimes it seems to be a daily challenge.

Thankfully, we are able to remember for ourselves and teach our children the most profound doctrine, that Jesus Christ can forgive sin and can help us become better. We are God’s kingdom. We are God’s field. He is The Good Sower. And the truth is that he can take the wayside soil, stony soil, and thorny soil in all of us, and transform us into good soil, ready to receive His good seed. 

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