Is the seed of faith enough?

For the last several months, I've been reading the New Testament for my scripture study and... oh, actually I think I read this in institute: Alma's perfect comparison of the word of God to a seed. Nurture it and it grows and yields fruit, neglect it and it withers and dies. (Alma 32:28-43)

I've seen Alma's comparison firsthand as I struggle with our little "garden" in our "back yard". Some plants have flourished and some have just died. The lesson Alma teaches strikes a chord in my mind because of the experiences I've had watching plants grow and watching plants die. But what about the time when our children don't plant seeds anymore? I doubt elementary school teachers will have time to plant seeds in class (don't pardon the pun) when there's continual pressure from the State to produce higher-achieving students under lower budgets. The growth process will become a subject taught out of a book rather than from hands-on experience, especially since less school children will ever need that skill to "succeed in the real world." At that point in time, will the seed-faith comparison be sufficient to open one's mind to a deeper level of understanding of faith? I suppose there will always be people who plant seeds since so much of our existence depends on it, but that industry is distancing the practice of planting seeds and the actual consumption of the product (probably to hide the conditions under which produce workers work) and the need or interest in planting one's own seeds is waning in tandem. SO... _{(deep breath)}... the only people left who know about planting are produce workers and farmers-market types who will always remain marginal because it's meant to be a marginal industry. Perhaps those are the ones who will deserve a deepened understanding of the Word, as Christ himself spend most of his time with the downtrodden and "sinners" (publicans who collected tax for the Romans and who were definitely marginalized). This crowd might be more receptive to the Word, as the good soil receives and nourishes the seed.

Phew, that's a lot of blabbing. It's just been on my mind a lot lately. What's the next parable that will knock people off their feet when they hear it? Even Christ's disciples were flabbergasted when he taught the parable of the sower for the first time. "And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?" (Matthew 13:10) What comparison will bring a gospel principle out of the abstract and into practicality? Or, is the time for parables over? Is the dispensation of the fulness of time an era of finding one's own guiding light through scripture study, fasting and prayer? Is the focus leaving what has been taught and moving towards what can be taught on a personal basis under the tutelage of the Spirit? Whatever it is, I hope I'm on the right boat to find it. But I guess hoping isn't enough, huh?


btw, here's some pics of our garden in February, after two days of 70^o weather: