D&C 86

Section Overview

What happens in D&C 86

Received December 6, 1832, in Kirtland, Ohio. This revelation provides an inspired interpretation of the parable of the wheat and the tares from Matthew 13. It identifies the sowers, the field, and the timing of the harvest, and declares that faithful priesthood holders are lawful heirs of the priesthood through the lineage of Abraham.

Scripture

The Parable Explained: Apostles and Apostasy

Study note

The apostles sowed the good seed (the gospel). After they fell asleep (were killed), the great apostasy occurred as Satan sowed tares. The tares have choked the wheat through the centuries.

1 Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servants, concerning the parable of the wheat and of the tares:

2 Behold, verily I say, the field was the world, and the apostles were the sowers of the seed;

3 And after they have fallen asleep the great persecutor of the church, the apostate, the whore, even Babylon, that maketh all nations to drink of her cup, in whose hearts the enemy, even Satan, sitteth to reign—behold he soweth the tares; wherefore, the tares choke the wheat and drive the church into the wilderness.

4 But behold, in the last days, even now while the Lord is beginning to bring forth the word, and the blade is springing up and is yet tender—

5 Behold, verily I say unto you, the angels are crying unto the Lord day and night, who are ready and waiting to be sent forth to reap down the fields;

6 But the Lord saith unto them, pluck not up the tares while the blade is yet tender (for verily your faith is weak), lest you destroy the wheat also.

7 Therefore, let the wheat and the tares grow together until the harvest is fully ripe; then ye shall first gather out the wheat from among the tares, and after the gathering of the wheat, behold and lo, the tares are bound in bundles, and the field remaineth to be burned.

Priesthood Heirs Through Abraham

Study note

Latter-day priesthood holders are identified as lawful heirs of the covenant made with Abraham. They have been hidden from the world but will be gathered in the last days to bind the tares for burning.

8 Therefore, thus saith the Lord unto you, with whom the priesthood hath continued through the lineage of your fathers—

9 For ye are lawful heirs, according to the flesh, and have been hid from the world with Christ in God—

10 Therefore your life and the priesthood have remained, and must needs remain through you and your lineage until the restoration of all things spoken by the mouths of all the holy prophets since the world began.

11 Therefore, blessed are ye if ye continue in my goodness, a light unto the Gentiles, and through this priesthood, a savior unto my people Israel. The Lord hath said it. Amen.

Key Themes

Themes in D&C 86

Parable of the wheat and tares interpretedThe Great Apostasy explained through parablePriesthood holders as heirs of Abraham's covenantThe Restoration as the gathering before the harvestBinding the tares before the final judgment

Scripture Connections

How this section connects to Christ

D&C 86 1-7 Matthew 13:24-30

This revelation provides the definitive interpretation of Jesus' parable of the wheat and tares, identifying the apostles as the sowers and the apostasy as the tares choking the wheat.

D&C 86 8-11 Galatians 3:29

The identification of priesthood holders as heirs of Abraham echoes Paul's teaching that those who belong to Christ are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise.

D&C 86 8-10 Romans 11:1-5

The remnant of priesthood holders preserved through the apostasy parallels Paul's teaching about God preserving a remnant of Israel by grace through even the darkest periods.

Apply This Today

Living D&C 86

The parable of the wheat and tares, as explained here, gives us a sweeping view of history from Christ's ministry through the apostasy to the Restoration. We live in the time of the harvest, when the wheat is finally being gathered and the tares are being bundled. This perspective helps us understand why the world seems increasingly divided between light and darkness—it is the natural result of the harvest separating what has grown together for centuries. As heirs of Abraham's covenant, we carry a sacred responsibility to help gather the wheat and stand firm as the harvest unfolds.

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