August 4-10 Part Two
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I want to talk about two different themes from the sections assigned this week, standing in holy places and the parable of the wheat and tares. I’m not sure whether the Lord purposefully put these two themes right next to each other, but now it’s caught my attention and won’t leave me alone. Here are just a couple of excerpts from the Lord regarding these themes.
In the parable of the wheat and tares, the Lord says this.
Doctrine and Covenants 86:6 But the Lord saith unto them, pluck not up the tares while the blade is yet tender (for verily your faith is weak), lest you destroy the wheat also.
In the parable of the wheat and tares, the wheat are the righteous and the tares are the wicked. Many biblical scholars believe that the tares are darnell, a plant that looks incredibly similar to wheat until it’s fully grown. Only at the last day are they divided, after what they truly are comes to fruition.
Then the Lord prophesies of immense war through Joseph Smith before teaching us this:
Doctrine and Covenants 87:8 Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come; for behold, it cometh quickly, saith the Lord. Amen.
In Section 86, we learn that we will be surrounded by the wicked and the righteous until the day of the Lord.
In Section 87, He tells His Saints that they should stand in holy places until the day of the Lord.
Even though the Lord allows us to grow amongst wickedness, He asks us to stand where it’s holy.
How do we stand in holy places when much of the world around us isn’t holy? We cannot forever stand on temple grounds. We cannot stay in the chapel indefinitely. Even if we can turn our homes into sacred spaces, I don’t think it’s advisable to never leave your home.
In the guide to the scriptures, we learn that “Holiness indicates purity of a person’s heart and intent.”
THIS IS SO DANG COOL TO ME. It’s cool because wheat and tares look incredibly similar. You can’t really tell them apart in a field until they are fully ripe. And though wheat and tares look similar, what they truly are is hidden internally. Holiness is something that happens internally. When a place is holy, it’s because the things that are happening within that place are turned towards the Lord.
We can make ourselves a holy place. The space that we inhabit, the air that we breathe, can be a holy place if we are pure in heart and intent. We can stand in holy places by making ourselves holy.
How do we make ourselves holy? How do we purify our hearts and intent?
Get this. We weed out any of our personal tare tendencies.
Tare and wheat look similar. Sometimes we have traits that look Christlike but aren’t. Sometimes we do things that look Christlike but are not truly so.
For example, sometimes we serve and find resentment. Sometimes we go out and try to correct someone from a pedestal we’ve put ourselves upon. Sometimes we think we’re so wonderful for tolerating someone to their face, but find ourselves relieved when they’re gone because we haven’t taken the time to truly develop love for them. Christ felt true love. He didn’t tolerate people and then secretly rejoice when they left. And yet sometimes we think we’re being Christlike because we’re nice on the outside. We’re nice, but we’re not actually being Christlike. We’re not wheat. We are being tares, and we have to work to weed those tendencies out of ourselves.
As we extend ourselves to being truly Christlike, we become wheat. As we practice truly seeing others and loving them in our heart, we purify ourselves and become holy.
The Lord placed us in an environment that has plenty of tares. And though He placed us in an unholy environment, He asks us to stand in holy places. There are many ways to stand in holy places, but one of the best ways is to take holiness with us. We take holiness with us by weeding out the parts of ourselves that are not truly Christlike even if it mimics Christlike behavior.
I testify that as we shed those parts of ourselves that look like love but are not based in love, we will become a blessing to others and to ourselves. I’m an introvert. Being around people is often tiring for me. There have been plenty of times that I’ve been a tare, and I’ve just endured people until I could get some peace. However, as I truly engage and connect with others, I have found that those encounters are worth it even if I’m tired after. I’ve learned that the Lord is extremely willing to help us shed those tendencies. I testify that He stands ready to help purify us so that we can experience life as He does.
Autumn Dickson 
THIS IS SO DANG COOL TO ME ALSO —- now!! You have really gotten my mind spinning. Thank you for these profound insights once again.
When you commented on D & C 86:6, some deep thoughts went through my mind. We know little children cannot sin and are covered by the Atonement. The parable says the field is the world and makes it sound like wheat is always wheat and tares are always tares – it’s just impossible to distinguish one from the other in the beginning.
When the Lord says not to pluck out the tares while the blades are tender, do you think he is referring to little children? Are little children innocent, but weak in faith? It doesn’t make sense to me that some little children are wheat and some are tares, (although children can definitely acts like tares for brief moments,). So, when do the tares get sown? Since you wrote so eloquently about the difference between wheat and tares being internal, do the tares start getting sown once a child’s heart reaches the age of accountability?
I agree it’s all about the heart!! Can a tare heart become wheat and wheat hearts become tares by using our agency to cultivate one or the other? Do we allow wheat or tare tendencies to choke out the other because of what we allow to remain in our hearts? Once a person has had a few decades to nourish their internal wheat (holy places) or tares (wicked places), don’t we start to really see who they have chosen to become?
Yet, because of repentance and applying the Atonement, can someone who has acted like a tare for 30, 50 or 80 years become wheat? I have definitely become more like wheat since my wonderful deathbed experience in the hospital 6+ years ago. Can I throw it all away next week, next month, next decade? I think I could if I don’t continue steering toward and following the Ark (see my comments to part 1 – Steadying the Ark) and doing I’m doing it all joyfully!!
I am feeling like everyone has internal wheat & tares. The difference at judgment day is what is still growing and what has been rooted out!!
Please provide more of your excellent wisdom. 🙂
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Thank you for those awesome insights that add more layers. It definitely provides more to think about. I love it when that happens. I love when I’m studying, and the Lord gives me a tidbit that floods me with questions and provides new perspectives. I don’t always get the exact answers (such as when tares are sown, etc.), but I do look at the world differently after that. Absolutely love it.
Forgive me for taking so long to respond. School has been starting up, and I’ve taken on way more than I should have. Thanks for the support!
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Oops…… I guess this earlier comment didn’t go through like I had thought, but thankfully I had saved it to my AD journal.
Happy Sunday my friend,
I found you during our study of the Book of Mormon in 2020. We have enough of a history that I am quite confident you will reply….. eventually. We also have enough history that a delayed or zero reply is no indication of anything related to malice or ill will at all.
I have not commented on every one of your messages each week for 5+ years and we are still friends :). Things happen. It’s all good. I also remember you suggesting at one point that we could correspond in a more direct way. My opposition to that had nothing to do with the direct correspondence, but the suggestion that your videos and written messages would be better with my input. I felt then, and now, that you are doing just fine on your own & I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I certainly appreciate that we have inspired and uplifted each other — just a true Saints should do!!
About the sowing of tares, I did notice what it says in D&C 86:3 — after they (the original apostles) fell asleep, the great persecutor….. even Satan…. behold he soweth the tares….to choke the wheat and drive the church into the wilderness. Then in verse 7, the Lord says that the wheat is gathered first from among the tares. (Matthew 13:30 has it opposite tares gathered first and wheat second).
Keep up the great work!!
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Always too kind, my friend.
Honestly, your mention of Satan sowing the tares made me think of the fact that we never have to let them grow. He doesn’t transform us into tares or make them grow. He just puts them there. We can choke them out before they grow.
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I agree we don’t have to let Satan’s tares grow. The less tares growing with the wheat, the better. Unfortunately, we live in a world where some love to water, nourish the tares he plants and love to plant more tares by following in Lucifer’s ways and being his disciples.
Many tares will be burned up when the Savior comes again & that will be good for the wheat.
Keep up your marvelous works and wonders.
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