D&C 86: Wheat and Tares and the Heirs of the Priesthood

I pulled a weed out of my garden bed last spring and took half the tomato plant with it. The roots were tangled. I could not tell where one ended and the other began until it was too late. The tomato survived, but it was set back a good two weeks.

I thought about that moment when I read D&C 86. The Lord is explaining the parable of the wheat and the tares, and he gives a specific warning. Do not pluck up the tares while the blade is tender. You might destroy the wheat.

Meaning of the Wheat and the Tares in D&C 86

The Lord lays out the symbols plainly: the field is the world, the sowers are the apostles of the early church, and the enemy who sowed the tares is the great persecutor, the apostate, Babylon itself. The tares are the false doctrines and worldly influences that choked the wheat and drove the church into the wilderness.

What stands out to me is that the Lord does not say the tares will not be dealt with. He says they will be, but the timing matters. The blade is still springing up and the faith of the Saints is tender. Pulling too hard and too fast would do more damage than good.

I have seen this in my own life. There are things I wanted to fix immediately: relationships, habits, situations that seemed obvious from where I was standing. And every time I tried to force the issue, I made it worse. The roots were deeper than I thought.

Why Does God Wait to Gather the Wheat From the Tares

Verse 7 gives the answer. The angels are told to wait until the harvest. The wheat will be gathered first and bound in bundles. Then the tares will be burned.

For the tares are the tares of the earth; and let the angels separate them from the just; and let them be bound in bundles for the fire, and thus shall the tares be burned.

The waiting is strategy. The Lord knows what the wheat needs to survive. He knows that an early harvest would pull up the good with the bad. So he waits. He can tell the difference, and he will not lose what is his.

I think about this when I am tempted to judge someone else's growth. I cannot see what their roots look like or what season they are in. The Lord does. He can afford to wait.

Who Are the Lawful Heirs of the Priesthood in D&C 86

The second half of the section shifts focus. The Lord addresses those with whom the priesthood has continued through their lineage. He calls them lawful heirs according to the flesh.

Therefore, blessed are ye, for the promise is sure, and the blessing shall be given; and the blessing shall be given unto those who are lawful heirs, according to the flesh, and have been hid from the world with Christ in God.

That phrase stops me. Hid from the world with Christ in God. The priesthood was not lost but preserved, kept safe, waiting for the proper moment to be revealed.

I think about the way certain things survive in a workshop. A piece of walnut that sits on a shelf for years, waiting for the perfect project. A tool that gets passed down because it still works better than anything new. The priesthood was like that. It was held in trust by people who carried it faithfully even when they did not fully understand what they were carrying.

I read D&C 85 a few days ago and it is about the same period. That section covers record keeping and consecration, including the one mighty and strong. The Saints were learning what it meant to be a gathered people. This section tells them why their gathering matters. They are the heirs, and the restoration depends on them.

How D&C 86 Explains the Great Apostasy

The section describes the apostasy without using the word. The enemy sowed tares and the wheat was choked, driving the church into the wilderness. That is the apostasy. It was a slow takeover, not a sudden collapse. False doctrine mixed with true until you could not tell them apart.

The restoration is the blade springing up again, the wheat coming back. The Lord is not starting over. He is uncovering what was always there.

I find that encouraging. The apostasy was real but not permanent. The tares had their season, and the wheat has its season too.

What Does It Mean to Be a Light Unto the Gentiles

Verse 11 gives the mandate. The heirs of the priesthood are called to be a light unto the Gentiles and a savior unto the people of Israel. The priesthood is not a privilege to sit on. It is a tool. A light is not for the person holding it. It is for everyone who needs to see.

I think about that when I am in my shop building something for someone else. The work is not about me. It is about what the piece becomes in someone else's hands. The priesthood works the same way. It is given so that others can be blessed.

I read D&C 84: The Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood Explained a while back and it talks about the oath and covenant. This section is the other side of that coin. D&C 84 is about the promise. D&C 86 is about the people who carry it.

Frequently Asked Questions

In D&C 86, what do the wheat and the tares represent

The wheat represents the true believers and the gathered children of God, while the tares represent the apostate and the worldly influences of Babylon that seek to choke out the true gospel. The parable shows how both will grow together until the final harvest.

What does it mean that the priesthood was hid from the world in verse 9

It means that during the Great Apostasy, God preserved the priesthood's authority and lineage in a way the world could not see. The keys were kept safe so they could be restored in the fullness of time.

Why is it dangerous to pluck up the tares too early

The Lord explains that the faith of the believers is still tender. An aggressive attempt to remove all evil or unbelief at once might destroy the true believers along with the tares. Patience is not weakness. It is wisdom.

Who are the lawful heirs of the priesthood in D&C 86

They are those through whom the priesthood has continued by lineage. The Lord calls them lawful heirs according to the flesh. They have been preserved through generations so that the priesthood could be restored in its proper order.

I still think about that tomato plant sometimes. It grew back and produced fruit, and I learned something from pulling too early. The Lord knows what he is doing with the field. I am learning to trust his timing.

— D.