Matthew 13:24-48. Parables

I've often thought of a parable as somewhat of an allegory. When a parable is given, a story is told that can either stand for itself, or be interpreted for a wider meaning, to convey a message.  Specifically, parables were used by Christ to teach spiritual principles in a way that people could understand on their level, but also according to their level of spiritual maturity.  Parables were a very important part of the Savior's earthly ministry.

This week I read the parable of the tares (Matthew 13:24-30), the parables of the mustard seed and the leaven (Matthew 13:31-33), the parables of the treasure and the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:44-46), and the parable of the gospel net (Matthew 13:47-50), and decided on the following interpretations:

o The parable of the tares describes the future growth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

o The parable of the gospel net tells us why the Church send out so many missionaries.

o The parable of the mustard seed and the leaven describes the remarkable growth of the Church, considering that it is fairly new compared to most world religions and started small in the American frontier.

o The parable of the tares tells why some Church members choose to leave the Church. 

​o The parable of the treasure and the pearl of great price tells us why some members of the Church are willing to sacrifice so much worldly wealth and recognition in order to maintain membership in the Church.

---

I have seen some weighty sacrifices made by those around me for the sake of the church and to follow the gospel and its teachings.  Those that have particularly impressed have had to sacrifice family, making decisions that could, at best, create a sore spot, and at worst, estrange them from those they love the most.  Many of us have those situations where we need to give up somewhat worldly things for the sake of righteousness: our favorite inappropriate TV shows, our Sunday mornings where we could be sleeping in, our friends whose negative influence is too strong for us to maintain the friendship.  The last of those can be very painful.  I've had to give up those things and many others.  But I am grateful to be in a family that can enrich my life both in temporal and gospel matters, and make it easier to make those kinds of sacrifices.  My heart goes out to people who can't say the same, but the testimonies that those choices reveal are incredibly inspiring.  

In the parable of the net, I see the net as meaning the missionaries of the church, and all those in the church that preach the gospel.  To be gathered into the net is to be converted to the gospel and become part of the body of saints.  As the scripture states, the separation of the good and bad fish from what was gathered in the net is representative of the judgment.  

Parables are really fun for me.  I love that they are so customizable (turns out, Christ is super smart :D ).  It's really interesting to go back to them over time and think of them differently or find new meaning.  It's a simple way to learn more about the basic truths of the gospel.  

-Katie