Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

The Savior used a parable of a field of wheat and tares (poisonous weeds) to teach about the righteous being gathered together and the wicked being burned before His return. This lesson is intended to increase your desire to participate in the gathering of Israel.

Encouraging application. The purpose of gospel teaching is to help students apply doctrine and principles found in the scriptures. Questions and activities that encourage application can help students see how to apply these principles in their own circumstances.

Student preparation: Invite students to come prepared to discuss these questions: Who was one of the first people in your family to join the Church? What do you know about their story? Students could discuss these questions with a family member.

Possible Learning Activities

The parable of the wheat and tares

Invite students to discuss the following questions. Consider sharing personal experiences.

• Who was the first person in your family to join the Church?

• Who helped invite them to the Church?

• How has this family member’s membership in the Church affected your life?

• How might your decision to keep your covenants with God influence others?

In Matthew 13, the Lord used the parable of the wheat and the tares to teach about gathering people into His Church. As you study, pay attention to the promptings of the Spirit to help you understand why the Lord is gathering His people and how you can participate.

Students could study this parable in pairs or small groups. Consider displaying the four-step study process and following questions.

Study the parable in Matthew 13:24–30. It may be helpful to know that a tare is “a grass or poisonous weed that is similar in appearance to wheat. It cannot be distinguished from wheat until it is fully grown” (Guide to the Scriptures, “Tares,” scriptures.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).

To help you study, use this four-step pattern:

1. Find important details.

2. Make spiritual comparisons.

3. Discover valuable lessons.

4. Determine personal application.

• What details in this parable did you find significant?

• What spiritual comparisons did you make?

• What valuable lessons did you identify?

• How can you apply the lessons from this parable to your life?

Read Matthew 13:36–43, looking for what the Lord taught about this parable.

• What does the Savior’s explanation add to your understanding of the parable?

In our dispensation, the Lord shared one way this parable will be fulfilled. Read Doctrine and Covenants 101:64–65, looking for what the Lord promised to do before the Second Coming. It may be helpful to know that a garner is a barn or storehouse where grain is kept.

• What do you learn about the Lord from these verses?

One truth we can learn from the parable of the wheat and tares is that in the last days, the Lord will gather His people in preparation for His Second Coming. Consider recording this truth near Matthew 13:30.

• How is the Lord gathering His people in the latter days?

• What role are you playing in this important work?

The gathering of Israel

To help students understand the gathering of Israel more deeply, consider printing out segments of the following statement by President Nelson, along with statements in the “Commentary and Background Information” section.

Display the statements throughout the classroom, and invite students to walk around and study them. After studying the statements, students could share their insights with a partner.

President Nelson taught about the Lord’s efforts to gather His people in the latter days. Watch “Let God Prevail” from time code 4:07 to 5:48, or read the following text. You may also find scriptures or other statements on your own to deepen your understanding of the gathering of Israel.

The Lord is gathering those who are willing to let God prevail in their lives. The Lord is gathering those who will choose to let God be the most important influence in their lives.

For centuries, prophets have foretold this gathering, and it is happening right now! As an essential prelude to the Second Coming of the Lord, it is the most important work in the world!

This premillennial gathering is an individual saga of expanding faith and spiritual courage for millions of people. And as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or “latter-day covenant Israel,” we have been charged to assist the Lord with this pivotal work.

When we speak of gathering Israel on both sides of the veil, we are referring, of course, to missionary, temple, and family history work. We are also referring to building faith and testimony in the hearts of those with whom we live, work, and serve. Anytime we do anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—to make and keep their covenants with God, we are helping to gather Israel.

(Russell M. Nelson, “Let God Prevail,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2020, 92–93)

• What do you understand about the gathering of Israel?

• What questions do you have about it?

• What does the parable of the wheat and the tares help you understand about the importance of the gathering of Israel?

Your role in the gathering of Israel

Watch the video “Gatherers in the Kingdom” (1:50) or read the following statement from President Russell M. Nelson, looking for how the gathering of Israel relates to you:

My dear extraordinary youth, you were sent to earth at this precise time, the most crucial time in the history of the world, to help gather Israel. There is nothing happening on this earth right now that is more important than that. There is nothing of greater consequence. Absolutely nothing.

This gathering should mean everything to you. This is the mission for which you were sent to earth.

So my question to you is “Are you willing to enlist in the youth battalion of the Lord to help gather Israel?”

(Russell M. Nelson and Wendy W. Nelson, “Hope of Israel” [worldwide youth devotional, June 3, 2018], supplement to the New Era and Ensign, 12, ChurchofJesusChrist.org)

Discuss with students their insights about the gathering of Israel and how they can help with it. The following could help students ponder what they learned today.

Write a paragraph or more of your thoughts and impressions about the gathering of Israel and the parable of the wheat and the tares. Invite the Holy Ghost to inspire your thoughts and feelings as you write. The following questions could help you decide what to write but are only a guide.

• What questions did you have about the gathering of Israel that you can now answer?

• What does the gathering of Israel teach you about the Savior’s trust in you and His love for everyone?

• How can you help yourself and others be gathered with the Lord’s people?

Commentary and Background Information

Why does the Lord want to gather His people?

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

The Lord gathers his people when they accept him and keep His commandments. …

… The Lord gathers His people to worship, to build up the Church, for a defense, and to receive counsel and instruction. …

The Prophet Joseph Smith declared that in all ages the divine purpose of gathering is to build temples so that the Lord’s children can receive the highest ordinances and thereby gain eternal life.

(David A. Bednar, “The Spirit and Purposes of Gathering” [Brigham Young University–Idaho devotional, Oct. 31, 2006], byui.edu)

What are the garners where the righteous will be gathered for safety?

Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

[The] essential relationship between the principle of gathering and the building of temples is highlighted in the Book of Mormon:

“Behold, the field was ripe, and blessed are ye, for ye did thrust in the sickle, and did reap with your might, yea, all the day long did ye labor; and behold the number of your sheaves! And they shall be gathered into the garners, that they are not wasted” (Alma 26:5).

The sheaves in this analogy represent newly baptized members of the Church. The garners are the holy temples.

(David A. Bednar, “Honorably Hold a Name and Standing,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2009, 97)

What role does the Book of Mormon play in the gathering of Israel?

President Russell M. Nelson taught:

The Book of Mormon is central to this work. It declares the doctrine of the gathering. It causes people to learn about Jesus Christ, to believe His gospel, and to join His Church. In fact, if there were no Book of Mormon, the promised gathering of Israel would not occur.

(Russell M. Nelson, “The Gathering of Scattered Israel,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2006, 80)

Supplemental Learning Activities

The Lord gathers His people

While the Lord invites us to participate with Him as He gathers His people, it is ultimately He who does the gathering. Consider inviting students to study some or all of the following scriptures, looking for what the Lord has taught about His role in gathering His people: Deuteronomy 30:3; Isaiah 27:12; 54:7; Ezekiel 34:12; 1 Nephi 22:25; Jacob 5:71–72; Doctrine and Covenants 29:1–2; 33:6.

Alternatively, students could be invited to study “Israel” in the Guide to the Scriptures or “Israel, Gathering of” in the Topical Guide, looking for scripture passages that describe the Lord’s role in gathering His people.

The righteous and wicked grow together

Students may benefit from considering how the Savior used the parable of the wheat and tares (poisonous weeds) to teach that the Lord will gather the righteous during the last days and then destroy the wicked at His Second Coming. After students study the parable in Matthew 13:24–30, they could also study Doctrine and Covenants 86:1–7, looking for additional details this revelation provides. Students could discuss questions like the following: What do the symbols in this parable represent? How is the Lord’s mercy manifest in this parable?