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The Same Seed

One sower, one kind of seed, four kinds of ground, and a treasure worth everything

  • 📖 Adult Sunday School
  • Week 12
  • 📅 Sunday, March 21, 2027
💡 The big idea

The word of God is the same good seed every time; what changes is the ground. With the Savior’s help our hearts can become honest and good ground that hears, keeps the word and bears fruit with patience.

I can notice what hardens, crowds or thins the soil of my heart, clear one thorn this week, and trust the Lord’s patience while my roots grow deeper.

Study it yourself firstRead Matthew 13; Luke 8; 13 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Matthew 13; Luke 8; 13)
Know the chapters

Matthew 13 is the Savior’s great chapter of parables. In 13:1–2, so many people gather by the Sea of Galilee that He steps into a boat. He teaches the crowd standing on the shore. In one sitting He gives the sower and the wheat and the tares. Then come the mustard seed and the leaven. Then the hidden treasure, the pearl of great price and the net. Luke 8 retells the sower. In Luke 8:1–3 it adds that women traveled with Jesus. Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Susanna “ministered unto him of their substance.” Luke 13 adds more. In 13:6–9 a barren fig tree is given one more year. In 13:11–17 Jesus looses a woman bowed over for eighteen years, on the Sabbath. In 13:23 someone asks, “Are there few that be saved?”

This lesson centers on the parable of the sower. The Savior explains it Himself in Matthew 13:18–23. In Luke 8:11 the seed is “the word of God.” It’s the same seed every time. The difference is the ground. On the beaten path, the word never gets in. On stony places it springs up fast but has no root. On thorny ground, “the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches” choke it. Good ground hears, understands and bears fruit. Luke 8:15 adds three phrases adults will want to notice. Good ground is “an honest and good heart.” It “keep[s]” the word. It brings forth fruit “with patience.”

Between the parable and its meaning, the disciples ask a question. In Matthew 13:10 it’s “Why speakest thou unto them in parables?” The Savior’s answer in 13:11–17 suggests that parables reward seeking. Those with “ears to hear” find more. The careless walk away with a nice story. Alma later builds his whole sermon on faith around the same image. In Alma 32:28 and 41, a seed is planted and nourished “with great diligence, and with patience.” It becomes “a tree springing up unto everlasting life.”

Twenty-five minutes goes fast, and this block has more parables than any class can cover. Resist the survey. Walk through Matthew 13 in five short readings. Spend the most time on the sower, and let people talk honestly about rocks and thorns. The fig tree in Luke 13 is a short, hopeful bonus. There, a Gardener pleads for “this year also.” The wheat and the tares and the woman lifted after eighteen years are ready in the extras.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Matthew 13 and Luke 8:15 once. Open by asking why the same talk can change you one week and slide right off the next. Walk through five short readings: 13:4–8, 10–13, 19–21, 22–23 and 44–46. Ask one question after each. Then compare Matthew 13:23 with Luke 8:15 and ask what Luke adds. Spend the most time on Rocks and Thorns. Invite everyone to clear one thorn this week.

What to bring2 items

Tick what you have. Forgot something? Every step that needs a supply has a no-supplies version in the plan below.

Before class

  1. Read Matthew 13 out loud once, then Luke 8:4–15 and Luke 13:6–9. Mark Matthew 13:21, 22 and 23 and Luke 8:14–15. They carry the lesson.
  2. Decide your honest answer to “Which thorn crowds my week?” If the room is quiet, you’ll go first. Your honesty sets the tone.

Discussion tips

  • Quiet class? Parables invite everyone in, because no one needs to be a scholar. Give about 30 seconds of silence after each question. Then share your own answer first.
  • One voice filling every pause? Thank them warmly, then say, “Let’s hear from someone who hasn’t had a chance yet.”
  • Don’t let anyone leave thinking, “I’m stony ground, so I’m hopeless.” Every one of us has all four soils somewhere. Ground can change. Luke 13:6–9 shows the Lord is a patient Gardener.
  • Someone may be grieving a child, spouse or friend whose faith withered. Don’t let the rocky-ground talk become a verdict on absent people. The Lord of the harvest knows the soil better than we do. His patience is longer than ours.
  • Visitors or new members? Say plainly that a parable is a short story with a spiritual meaning. Give page numbers or tap the references on the shared screen. Never ask anyone to read aloud without checking first.

The 25-minute plan25 min + bonus

Bonus steps are for when you have extra time. Each “On the screen” line is what the class sees on a shared screen in Teach Mode in the Gospel Sparks app; on paper, read it aloud or write it on the board.

1. Hook

Same Seed, Different Week

3 min

Opens with a real-life question about why the same words land differently, before anyone opens Matthew 13.

  1. SAY“Picture two people side by side in sacrament meeting, hearing the same talk. One walks out changed. The other can’t remember the topic by lunch.”
  2. Ask, “Have you been both of those people?” Then ask, “What was different, the words or you?”
  3. Give them about 20 seconds to think. Then take two or three answers. Tired, distracted, hurting and ready are all honest.
  4. SAY“Jesus told a story about exactly that. Today let’s look at the ground, not the seed.”

On the screen: 🌱 Why does the same truth change us one week and slide right off the next?

2. Story

Matthew 13 in Five Short Readings

9 min

Walks through the parable, the Savior’s own explanation and the treasure a few verses at a time, with one question at each stop.

  1. SAY“We’ll walk through Matthew 13 in five short readings. Listen for the ground, not the seed.”
  2. Show one scene at a time and give the setup on the screen. The Savior speaks in every passage, so you read them.
  3. After each reading, ask the scene’s question and take two or three answers. Keep each stop about two minutes.
  4. After the last reading, sum up 13:47–58. The chapter ends with a net drawn to shore and a hometown “offended in him.”

On the screen: ⛵ Matthew 13: one sower, one seed, four kinds of ground · Five short readings: 13:4–8 · 10–13 · 19–21 · 22–23 · 44–46

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: The shared screen (TV or device) with Teach Mode open

  1. SAY“We’ll walk through Matthew 13 in five short readings. The Savior speaks in each, so I’ll read.”
  2. Read verses 4–8, 10–13, 19–21, 22–23 and 44–46 yourself. Give each setup in your own words first.
  3. After each reading, ask the scene’s question aloud and take two or three answers. Keep each stop about two minutes.
3. Scripture

An Honest and Good Heart

4 min

Compares two accounts of the same verse so class members discover for themselves what makes ground good.

  1. SAY“Luke records the same explanation with a few extra words.”
  2. Read Luke 8:15, then Matthew 13:23.
  3. Ask, “What does Luke add that Matthew doesn’t?” Draw out “an honest and good heart,” “keep it,” and “with patience.”
  4. Ask, “Why would honesty be the first quality of good ground?” Follow-up: “Why would good ground still need patience?”
  5. If there’s time, point to Alma 32:41. Alma uses the same image and the same word. The word is nourished “with patience.”

On the screen: 💚 Good ground: an honest and good heart that keeps the word and bears fruit with patience. · Luke 8:15 and Matthew 13:23 · What does Luke add?

4. Talk it over

Rocks and Thorns

6 min

Helps adults recognize what thins or crowds the soil in their own lives, without shame, and what deepens roots.

  1. SAY“All four soils show up in every one of us at different times. Let’s talk honestly about ours, without shame.”
  2. Pick two or three questions. Ask one, wait, then ask its follow-up before you move on.
  3. Share Elder Neil L. Andersen’s words about the roots of our faith from “From general conference” below. If the room is quiet, answer first.
💬 Ask the class
  • Luke 8:14 names three thorns: cares, riches and pleasures. Which one crowds your week most right now? Follow-up: What would clearing a little space look like?
  • The thorny ground never rejects the word. It just brings “no fruit to perfection.” For most adults, why might that be a bigger danger than open rebellion? Follow-up: How do you notice it?
  • What has helped your roots go deeper, so your faith doesn’t rest on someone else’s? Follow-up: What would you tell someone whose testimony feels borrowed right now?
  • A path gets hard because it’s walked on constantly. What wears a path through our hearts? Follow-up: When has the Lord softened yours?
  • Where have you seen ground change, in your own heart or someone else’s? Follow-up: What did the Gardener do?

On the screen: 🌵 What thins our roots, and what crowds out the word? · Matthew 13:20–22 · Luke 8:13–14

5. Testimony

The Lord of the Harvest

3 min

Ends with testimony of Jesus Christ as the patient Sower and a concrete invitation for the week.

  1. SAY“In verse 37, Jesus said, ‘He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man.’”
  2. SAY“He keeps sowing. And He tends the ground.”
  3. Invite one or two people to share briefly. How did the word of God take root in them?
  4. Bear a short testimony. Jesus Christ keeps sowing good seed in each of us. He’s more patient with us than we are with ourselves.
  5. Invite: “This week, name one thorn that’s crowding out the word. Then clear a little space for Him every day.”

On the screen: 🌾 He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man. · Matthew 13:37 · This week: clear one thorn. Make a little room every day.

6. Talk it over

This Year Also

4 minBONUS

Turns from the soil we worry about to the patience of the Gardener who tends it.

  1. SAY“Luke 13 has a fruitless fig tree, and the owner wants it cut down.”
  2. Read Luke 13:6–9 yourself. The Lord is speaking.
  3. SAY“The gardener asks for one more year. And he promises to do the digging himself.”
  4. Ask one or two questions with follow-ups, then close on time.
💬 Ask the class
  • The gardener asks for “this year also.” What does that suggest about how the Savior feels about ground that hasn’t produced yet? Follow-up: Where do you need that patience, for yourself or someone else?
  • The gardener doesn’t just wait. He digs, and feeds the soil. What digging has the Lord done in your life to help you bear fruit? Follow-up: Did it feel like help at the time?
  • Who have you been tempted to give up on? Follow-up: What would “this year also” look like for them?

On the screen: 🌳 “Let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it.” · Luke 13:6–9

Read it together

A Sower Went Forth to Sow

Matthew 13:4–8; Matthew 13:10–13; Matthew 13:19–21; Matthew 13:22–23; Matthew 13:44–46 ↗

Scenes

  1. 🌱 One seed, four kinds of ground

    The crowd is so large that Jesus teaches from a boat. He begins, “Behold, a sower went forth to sow.” That’s Matthew 13, verses 1 to 3. I’ll read verses 4 to 8. Same sower. Same seed. Four kinds of ground.

    💬 Ask: Why do you think Jesus made the seed the same every time? Follow-up: What does that put the focus on?

  2. 👂 “Why speakest thou unto them in parables?”

    In verse 9, Jesus ends, “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” I’ll read verses 10 to 13. Parables reward seekers. Those who come with ears to hear find more. The careless keep only a pleasant story.

    💬 Ask: What helps you come to the scriptures, or a talk, with ears to hear? Follow-up: What makes you tune out?

  3. 🪨 The path and the stony places

    In verses 14 to 18, Jesus quotes Isaiah about dull ears. Then He blesses His disciples’ eyes. I’ll read verses 19 to 21. Notice the stony ground receives the word “with joy.” Yet “hath he not root in himself.”

    💬 Ask: Why might joy that springs up fast wither just as fast? Follow-up: What do hard times reveal about roots?

  4. 🌿 Thorns that choke, ground that bears

    I’ll read verses 22 and 23. The thorny ground never rejects the word. It’s simply crowded out by “the care of this world.” The seed never changes. The ground does.

    💬 Ask: Good ground bears a hundred, sixty or thirtyfold. Why do you think the Lord counts thirtyfold as good ground too?

  5. 💎 Treasure hid in a field

    In verses 24 to 43, Jesus tells of wheat and tares growing together. A tiny mustard seed. Hidden leaven. And He says, “He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man.” I’ll read verses 44 to 46. Notice, “for joy thereof.”

    💬 Ask: When has a sacrifice for the gospel felt more like joy than loss?

Key verse

Luke 8:15 ↗
“But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”
In plain words: Good ground isn’t a perfect heart; it is an honest one that hears God’s word, holds on to it, and keeps growing, even when the fruit takes time.

More verses

Matthew 13:23 ↗
“But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
In plain words: Good ground hears and understands, and then it produces. Not everyone’s harvest looks the same, and the Lord counts thirtyfold as good ground too.
Luke 8:14 ↗
“And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.”
In plain words: The thorny-ground hearer doesn’t reject the word. Worries, money and pleasures simply crowd it out until nothing ripens.
Luke 13:8 ↗
“And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:”
In plain words: The gardener pleads for one more year for a fruitless tree, and promises to do the work of loosening and feeding the soil himself.
Matthew 13:46 ↗
“Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.”
In plain words: Once the merchant saw what the pearl was worth, giving up everything else felt like a bargain, not a loss.

From general conference

“We realize that as evil increases in the world, our spiritual survival, and the spiritual survival of those we love, will require that we more fully nurture, fortify, and strengthen the roots of our faith in Jesus Christ.”

— Elder Neil L. Andersen, “Drawing Closer to the Savior,” October 2022

Share in Rocks and Thorns, after the class talks about roots.

Read the talk ↗

Songs

  • Come, Follow Me Hymns, no. 116

    A hymn about following the Savior through ordinary days, a good opening for a lesson on what we do with His word. Find it ↗

  • I Need Thee Every Hour Hymns, no. 98

    A quiet hymn of daily dependence, fitting for ground that needs the Gardener’s care. Find it ↗

This week’s invitation

Clear One Thorn

This week, name one thorn that’s crowding out the word. It might be a worry, a habit, a screen or a schedule. Each day, clear a little space from it for prayer and scripture. Notice what starts to grow.

Take it home

In Sunday School we read the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:3–23. The same seed fell on a path, on rocks, among thorns and on good ground. At home, plant a few seeds in a cup together. Read Luke 8:15. Talk about what helps a heart become “honest and good” ground.

📝 After class

What worked? Who needs a check-in this week? Jot it here on a printed copy, or in the app’s private class notes.

Got extra time?

🌾 Let Both Grow Together · 5 min

  1. Sum up Matthew 13:24–26. An enemy sows tares among the wheat. Then read Matthew 13:27–30.
  2. Explain that tares look like wheat until they’re fully grown. Pulling them early would tear up the wheat.
  3. Read Doctrine and Covenants 86:4–7. The Lord applies the parable to the latter days.
  4. Ask, “Why might the Lord let good and evil grow side by side?” Follow-up: “What does that suggest about patience with ourselves and others?”

🍞 Small Beginnings · 4 min

  1. Read Matthew 13:31–33, the mustard seed and the leaven.
  2. Ask, “Both start tiny and hidden. Where have you seen the kingdom grow quietly? Maybe in a family, a ward or one person.”

🤲 Thou Art Loosed · 4 min

  1. Read Luke 13:11–13. A woman bowed over for eighteen years “could in no wise lift up herself.”
  2. Ask, “What bends people over in our ward?” Follow-up: “How can we help the Savior lift them?”

💐 The Women Who Ministered · 4 min

  1. Read Luke 8:1–3. Name the women Luke records. They’re Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Susanna, “and many others.”
  2. Point out that they supported the Savior’s ministry “of their substance,” with their own means.
  3. Ask, “Why do you think Luke took care to record their names?” Follow-up: “How do quiet supporters make the Lord’s work possible today?”

Sources

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version, the Bible used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tap or click a reference to open it in Gospel Library. Start with the official Come, Follow Me manual; these ideas are here to help it come alive.

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