Stony Ground

In the parable of the sower, Christ teaches that some seeds of faith fell on stony ground. They grew quickly, but, with little earth to dig their roots into, they quickly withered away. He later says that these are those who receive the word of God, and then as soon as things get tough, they fall away.

Farmers who have farmed the same field for generations are still pulling rocks out of those fields. No matter how rock-free their field is one year, they still need to go out and pick rocks again the next year. They certainly get better year after year, but no field ever becomes rock free. The process of plowing and tilling the land keeps moving rocks to the surface, where they need to be picked, or the seed cannot grow in that spot.

Likewise, the process of keeping our ground from not being stony is a constant process. Being a long-time member of the church does not prevent us from needing so survey our spiritual soil and keep an eye out for rocky patches. There are places we all need to spend some time removing the rocks. This is why, no matter how long since you've been baptized, and no matter how many times you have heard that Sunday School lesson, we need to keep attending, reading, and praying.

For when temptations and persecutions come, and they will, we need to have our faith firmly planted. A period of time in our life that lacks extreme trials or tribulation is the time we need to spend pushing our roots deeper, and ridding ourselves of the stony grounds. There is no time for a latter-day saint to sit back and relax in the gospel.