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Develop spiritual roots

Some people "seek the fruits without planting," President Spencer W. Kimball said during the October 1978 general conference. "In faith, we plant the seed, and soon we see the miracle of the blossoming. Men have often misunderstood and have reversed the process. They would have the harvest before the planting.

"I believe we find a great lesson in this regard in the parable of the vineyard found in the fifth chapter of Jacob in the Book of Mormon. After laboring long and hard to bring forth much fruit' from his olive trees, but with little success, the lord of the vineyards is discouraged and asks:"But what could I have done more in my vineyard? . . . And it came to pass that the servant said unto his master: Is it not the loftiness of thy vineyard - have not the branches thereof overcome the roots which are good? And because the branches have overcome the roots thereof, behold they grew faster than the strength of the roots, taking strength unto themselves. Behold, I say, is not this the cause that the trees of thy vineyard have become corrupted?' " (Jacob 5:47-48.)

President Kimball said: "It seems that some among us have this same problem; they want bountiful harvests - both spiritual and temporal - without developing the root system that will yield them. There are far too few who are willing to pay the price, in discipline and work, to cultivate hardy roots. Such cultivation should begin in our youth. Little did I know as a boy that daily chores in the garden, feeding the cattle, carrying the water, chopping the wood, mending fences, and all the labor of a small farm was an important part of sending down roots, before being called on to send out branches. I'm so grateful that my parents understood the relationship between roots and branches. Let us each cultivate deep roots, so that we may secure the desired fruits of our . . . labors."

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