“The sayings of the Savior, recorded in the 13th chapter of His Gospel according to St. Matthew, … afford us as clear an understanding upon the important subject of the gathering, as anything recorded in the Bible” (in History of the Church, 2:264).
“This doctrine of the gathering is one of the important teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. … We not only teach this doctrine, but we participate in it. We do so as we help to gather the elect of the Lord on both sides of the veil. …
“… We gather pedigree charts, create family group sheets, and do temple work vicariously to gather individuals unto the Lord and into their families” (“The Gathering of Scattered Israel,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2006, 80–81).
“For the seeds of faith to sprout in our lives, we must avoid Satan’s grasp.
“We also need to prepare our own seedbed of faith. To do this we need to plow the soil through daily humble prayer, asking for strength and forgiveness. We need to harrow [break up] the soil by overcoming our feelings of pride. We need to prepare the seedbed by keeping the commandments to the best of our ability” (“Of Seeds and Soils,” Ensign, Nov. 1999, 48).
"The seeds that “fell by the way side” ( Mark 4:4) have not reached mortal soil where they might possibly grow. They are like teachings that fall upon a heart hardened or unprepared." (“The Parable of the Sower,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 32)
"Young people, … here is a specific example. If the emblems of the sacrament are being passed and you are texting or whispering or playing video games or doing anything else to deny yourself essential spiritual food, you are severing your spiritual roots and moving yourself toward stony ground." (“The Parable of the Sower,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 33)
Sunlight is required for a plant to grow, but if a plant’s root system is not deep, that sunlight will scorch and destroy the plant. Similarly, trials, persecution, and opposition can actually help us grow if we allow the word of God to develop deep roots in our hearts; if not, such experiences can cause fragile testimonies to wither away.
"We surrender to the “pleasures of this life” [ Luke 8:14] (1) when we are addicted, which impairs God’s precious gift of agency; (2) when we are beguiled by trivial distractions, which draw us away from things of eternal importance; and (3) when we have an entitlement mentality, which impairs the personal growth necessary to qualify us for our eternal destiny.
"We are overcome by the “cares … of this life” [ Luke 8:14 ] when we are paralyzed by fear of the future, which hinders our going forward in faith, trusting in God and His promises." (“The Parable of the Sower,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 34–35)
"We have the seed of the gospel word. It is up to each of us to set the priorities and to do the things that make our soil good and our harvest plentiful. We must seek to be firmly rooted and converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ (see Colossians 2:6–7). We achieve this conversion by praying, by scripture reading, by serving, and by regularly partaking of the sacrament to always have His Spirit to be with us." (“The Parable of the Sower,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2015, 35)
“The parable conveys to the hearer religious truth exactly in proportion to his faith and intelligence; to the dull and uninspired it is a mere story, ‘seeing they see not,’ while to the instructed and spiritual it reveals the mysteries or secrets of the kingdom of heaven. Thus it is that the parable exhibits the condition of all true knowledge. Only he who seeks finds” (Bible Dictionary, “Parables”).
“Unless the roots of your testimony are firmly planted, it will be difficult for you to withstand the ridicule of those who challenge your faith. When firmly planted, your testimony of the gospel, of the Savior, and of our Heavenly Father will influence all that you do throughout your life” (“May You Have Courage,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2009, 126).
“‘The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed. …’ [Matthew 13:31.] Now we can discover plainly that this figure is given to represent the Church as it shall come forth in the last days. …
“Let us take the Book of Mormon, which a man took and hid in his field, securing it by his faith, to spring up in the last days, or in due time; let us behold it coming forth out of the ground, which is indeed accounted the least of all seeds, but behold it branching forth, yea, even towering with lofty branches and God-like majesty, until it, like the mustard seed, becomes the greatest of all herbs. And it is truth, and it has sprouted and come forth out of the earth, and righteousness begins to look down from heaven [see Psalm 85:11; Moses 7:62], and God is sending down His powers, gifts, and angels to lodge in the branches thereof. …
“‘… The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto leaven. …’ [Matthew 13:33.] It may be understood that the Church of the Latter-day Saints has taken its rise from a little leaven that was put into three witnesses. Behold, how much this is like the parable! It is fast leavening the lump, and will soon leaven the whole” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 301, 302–3).
“We are to live in the world but not be of the world. We must live in the world because, as Jesus taught in a parable, His kingdom is ‘like leaven,’ whose function is to raise the whole mass by its influence (see Luke 13:21; Matthew 13:33; see also 1 Corinthians 5:6–8). His followers cannot do that if they associate only with those who share their beliefs and practices” (“Loving Others and Living with Differences,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2014, 25).
“While it may be said, and it is in a measure true, that we are but a handful in comparison with our fellowmen in the world, yet we may be compared with the leaven of which the Savior spoke, that will eventually leaven the whole world” (Gospel Doctrine, 5th ed. [1939], 74).
“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 [see Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 416–17]” (“The Spirit and Purposes of Gathering” [Brigham Young University–Idaho devotional, Oct. 31, 2006], byui.edu).