I think God loves farming.
He seems to enjoy working on plants, carefully tending and cultivating to raise up a good crop of delicious fruit. By way of His Prophets, He sure talks about it a lot!
How He loves tending to us, nurturing and growing us into a productive harvest of righteous plenty.
Review these mighty symbols, shown in parabolic illustrations:
Wheat and Tares
"The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."
Matthew 13: 24-30
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Good Olive Branches and Corrupt Branches
"And there began to be the natural fruit again in the vineyard; and the natural branches began to grow and thrive exceedingly; and the wild branches began to be plucked off and to be cast away; and they did keep the root and the top thereof equal, according to the strength thereof.
And thus they labored, with all diligence, according to the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard, even until the bad had been cast away out of the vineyard, and the Lord had preserved unto himself that the trees had become again the natural fruit; and they became like unto one body; and the fruits were equal; and the Lord of the vineyard had preserved unto himself the natural fruit, which was most precious unto him from the beginning."
Jacob 5: 73-74
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What do these symbols represent? To what can these be likened, that we may understand?
The Kingdom of God and Gentile American Culture
For much of our history since the time of the gospel restoration begun in the 19th century, the ways of the world have been largely compatible with gospel standards. Generally speaking, a majority of people have championed righteous living, based upon principles of God's revealed truths. These favorable conditions have made it easy for gospel roots to be intertwined with Gentile ways.
Things are changing more rapidly now, as we can see. The standards maintained by righteous people are increasingly at odds with the culture of the world. We are seeing a hostile Gentile culture ripen as faith in and accountability to God is supplanted by decadent, self-indulgent excess, which has taken its place as the state religion in many societies.
How is this all to be changed in making way for the Kingdom of God to develop and flourish?
I believe we will see a gradual parting of ways, where corruption and wickedness are not all destroyed in a moment. Instead, they will be purged out of our culture as righteous pressures cause them to retreat, falter, decay and die. We may see this as a natural consequence of the appeal of such better ways of living as are offered by the principles upon which God's kingdom will be established.
One example:
If all aspects of our current Gentile consumerist culture were suddenly uprooted, much of the good people would be destroyed along with it.
For hundreds of years, we've been investing large efforts into laying up stores of worldly treasures. While not evil in themselves, these treasures are not the reason for our earthly lives. We are meant to do more than seek wealth. We are made for so much more than to sit and be entertained by something. We are more than consumers. We are God's very children, heirs of magnificent covenants, the ones tasked with blessing all the families of the earth! (Abraham 2: 11)
"But the laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion; for if they labor for money they shall perish."
2 Nephi 26: 31
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In the final phase of God's work, corruption will be removed and destroyed only as quickly as good, fruitful righteous families and other institutions grow in to replace them.
The good and the bad will remain and grow up together, side by side, until the final sorting takes place, where that which is evil will be gathered up to be destroyed, and that which is righteous will be gathered up to be saved.
See also:
Let God Prevail, by Russell M. Nelson
The Culture of Christ, by William K. Jackson
Sustainable Societies, by D. Todd Christofferson