Is it a Good Seed?

If you have some seeds and you want to plant them, and you have had them for awhile, how do you know if the seeds are good? The Internet provides a couple of methods or tests to help you determine whether your seeds are good. One is the water test. Take your seeds and put them in a container of water. Let them sit for about 15 minutes. Then if the seeds sink, they are still viable. If they float, they likely will not sprout. According to the source, this is not the most reliable because you cannot see the seed germinate.

The more reliable test is the germination test.  Take some of your seeds, preferably 10, and place them in a row on top of a damp paper towel. Fold over the paper towel and place in a zip-up plastic bag and seal it. This helps to keep the towel moist and protected. Then put it in a warm location, like a high shelf or on top of the refrigerator, and check the seeds often--once a day--to see if they have started to germinate and/or to check the moisture of the paper towel. If it needs more water, carefully mist the towel to where it is damp, but be careful not to apply too much water. Make sure the location you have chosen is away from exposure to direct sunlight. This can overheat your seeds.  

Your seeds should begin to germinate in several days or up to a couple of weeks, depending on the seed-type. A good rule of thumb is to wait roughly 10 days; however, if you want to give your seeds the best chance, research the germination time of your specific seeds. Once the allotted time has passed, check to see how many have germinated. If you placed 10 seeds on the paper towel, this will be pretty easy to calculate. If less than 5 seeds sprouted, your packet may not have much success when it comes to planting. If more than 5 sprouted, then your seeds still have a lot of vigor left in them.

I use these methods of testing the viability of a seed as an introduction to the most important experiment for you to consider. It will change your life. It is a test to prove the viability of the word of God, by comparing it to a seed and planting it in your heart to see if it will germinate. As with both the water test and the germination test, there are some important instructions, which you must follow. It does not matter that you may not believe in God.

Many people say they do not believe in God. But belief has no bearing on whether there is or is not a God. The question is not what we believe or do not believe. The question is:  Is there a God? Not, do you believe in God?

Man cannot prove either the existence or non-existence of a God. But if there really is a God, He can certainly prove His own existence and much more about himself. How? By communicating with man. In other words if God spoke to men or sent messengers to speak for Him, then His words can prove His existence.

There is a back story, however, that will help to lay the foundation for this experiment.  A man named Alma was speaking to some people upon a hill named Onidah when there came a great multitude unto him. A spokesperson for this multitude told Alma that because of their poverty, they were despised, especially by the leaders of the church to which they belonged. He told Alma that they had been cast out of their synagogues which they had labored to build, and that they had been cast out because they were poor. Now the church that they belonged to was led by a man named Zoram, and they called themselves Zoramites. They met together once a week in their synagogues where they had built a stand which was higher than the height of a person standing. Only one person could stand on it at a time, and those that desired would stand on the top of this stand and stretch their hands towards heaven and cry with a loud voice saying in effect. "Holy God, we believe that you are holy and that you are a spirit.... And we thank you, O God, that we are a chosen and a holy people. Amen."

When Alma had heard from the spokesperson for this multitude, that they had been cast out by the Zoramites because of their poverty, he was glad because he knew that because of their afflictions they had been humbled, and unlike the Zoramites who thought they were chosen, may be prepared to hear the word of God.

The spokesperson asked, what should we do?--for we are cast out of our synagogues and we cannot worship our God. Alma said that because they had asked him what they should do, he taught them concerning faith--that it was not a perfect knowledge.  He said that it is the same with the words he would speak to them. They cannot know at first, if the words he would speak to them were true. He told these people that God had imparted his word by angels unto men and women also, and that the words were written and preserved for the benefit of all who would receive them.

Since these people desired to know what to do, Alma gave them an experiment they could use to test whether the words were true. Alma told them that 

(1) they needed to awake and arouse their faculties--in other words wake up their minds, their eyes, their ears and their feelings. Once they had done so they could then begin the experiment to know if the words he was going to speak to them were true. 

(2) He told them they needed to exercise a particle of faith which, he explained, was just a desire to believe, and then 

(3) he told them to let that desire work in them, so that they could hear just a portion of his words. 

(4) He next told them to compare the word to a seed, 

(5) allow the seed (word) to be planted in your hearts, which means to make it a priority among the desires of your heart, and 

(6) not cast it out because of your unbelief. If they followed these instructions they would know whether the seed was good. 

If the seed was good, 

(7) the seed or the word of God would begin to swell within their breasts, and 

(8) they would feel these swelling or growing motions. He then told them further that if the seed was good 

(9) it would begin to enlarge their souls, 

(10) it would begin to enlighten their understanding, and 

(11) it would begin to be delicious to them.

While this experiment, he told them, would increase their faith, it would still not yet be a perfect knowledge. However, because the seed germinated and sprouted and began to grow, they would have a perfect knowledge that the seed was a good seed.

He then explained to them that they could then be sure that the seed was good because it would begin to germinate. If the seed was not good it would not grow within them and they could cast it out. Once, however, that they knew that the seed was good, they would then know that their knowledge was perfect concerning the seed being a good seed. He said to them that they would know that the word had swelled their souls, that the word had sprouted, their understanding enlightened, and their minds expanded.

He then asked them "is not this real?" Yes, he says, because the word is light and light is good because it can be discerned and they can know that it is good. Because they had only exercised their faith to plant the seed in order to try the experiment to know if the seed was good, their knowledge was only perfect in that they knew that the word they planted was good. He explained to them that if they nourished the word or continued to receive more of His words, a tree would begin to grow. He told them that when that happens to nourish it with great care that it may get root and bring forth fruit unto them. He promised them that if they nourished it with great care, it would get root and bring forth fruit. If they neglected the tree, however, and took no thought for its nourishment it would not get any root, and when the heat of the sun cometh and scorched it, because it had no root, it would wither and die. This was not because the seed was not good, neither was it because the fruit would not be desirable, but because their ground was barren. 

He explained that the tree is the word of God growing within them and by nourishing the word (which was a seed) and by feasting upon His words, His words would take root in them. He described to them that the fruit was most precious, white above all that is white and pure above all that is pure, and that if they feasted upon this fruit they would never hunger or thirst because it is the fruit of the tree of life.

Because this experiment is personal to those who try it, the fact that others have tried it and know that the seed is good, is not sufficient for someone who has not tried it. Even if thousands tell you that this experiment works and that the seed is good, and I am one who can tell you that I have tried the experiment and it works, it is still not enough for you. You must try for yourself to know if the seed is good. You do not have to rely on what others say or what others believe, or what others may say you must believe. You can know for yourself. You do not have to believe anything that is not true! God can, however, tell you of His existence.

Let's try the experiment using these words spoken by God to Adam.  It is recorded in the Book of Moses that God, by His own voice, spoke to Adam and said: "I am God; I made the world" (Moses 6:51). 

Here are the instructions for conducting the experiment. Remember that this experiment is as scientific as any experiment can be, and as with any experiment, you must follow the instructions.

(1) arouse and awake your faculties--your mind, your heart, your ears, your eyes, your feelings (this can be done by meditation or just focusing on your faculties):

(2) exercise just a particle of faith which is just a desire to believe;

(3) let this desire work in you, so you can hear the words

(4) Compare the words "I am God; I made the world" to a seed;

(5) Allow these words to be planted in your heart or make room in your heart for them;

(6) Don't cast them out because you don't want to believe them.

Now wait for these results to see if the seed is a good seed and germinates:

(1) the seed or the words "I am God; I made the world" will begin to swell within your breast;

(2) you will feel these swelling or growing motions;

(3) these words will begin to enlarge your being and increase your awareness of this earth and the cosmos;

(4) these words will begin to enlighten your understanding; 

(5) these words will begin to be delicious to you.

(6) you will now know for yourself that these words are true, and that there is a God and that He made the world;

(7) you will want to read more of His words and learn how God made the world, and why you are here, whether you existed before this earth and whether there is something for you after you die;

(8) the more of His words you receive the more you will desire to know--your tree is starting to take root;

(9) you will be hungry for more of His words and will seek them out and find all the records that contain His words;

(10) you will feel His love for you, and you will come to know that He is your Heavenly Father and that you also have a Heavenly Mother;

(11) you will desire to serve Him by serving others;

(12) you will learn why Adam and Eve partook of the fruit and of our condition on this earth and what we can do to overcome our condition

(13) you will learn that God allows Satan to be here so that we have a choice between Good and Evil;

(14) you will know that God does have a plan for us to return to Him and to our Heavenly Mother;

(15) you will know that Jesus Christ is our Savior,  and that He came first as Jehovah, then as the mortal Jesus and then as the resurrected Jesus to save us from ourselves and from our sins;

(16) you will know what you need to do to take advantage of Christ's atonement and how you can obtain His mercy.

There is so much more, however, and you will learn and know, worlds without end, eternity, eternal family, and on and on, forever living, loving and learning as we become more like God. 

Doesn't it appeal to you that you do not have to depend on others for this knowledge? Now you have a truth--He is God, and He made the world. The more of His words you receive, the more truth and light you will have. You can use the truth (His words) as the standard by which to compare everything you hear and read. Men's words become important so that we learn the difference between what men have written and what God has revealed, but you will recognize when others communicate His words.

You now have a choice whether to try this experiment, and you will fall into one of these categories. 

(1) You may choose to ignore this experiment for a variety of reasons, one of which is that you don't want to know. 

(2) You may think it is foolish and no matter how many of His words you hear, you will ignore them because your heart is hard or not receptive, which means 'set' on things and activities of the world). 

(3) If you do try, you may hear the word and receive it, even with joy, but others may ridicule you, and the seed will die because your soil is hard and the word/seed cannot take root. Or 

(4) you may hear the word, but because of the cares of the world, the word will be choked and die. Imagine weeds choking the seed. 

Regardless of which one you are, the problem will not be because the seed is not good. Or 

(5) finally, you follow the instructions and complete the experiment by planting the seed in your receptive heart--good soil--and it grows, and you nourish it by receiving more of His words. You will come to know that the fruit is most desirable, and then you partake of the fruit. 

My desire is that you plant this word in your hearts, and as it begins to swell even so nourish it by your faith and by receiving more of His words. And if you do, it will become a tree, springing up in you unto everlasting life. What is the best book to start with?

Get your own digital copy of the Book of Mormon here and begin to search for more of the word of God.