The Threshing Floor

So what IS the threshing floor? 

A threshing floor is where a farmer would thresh the grain harvest and then winnow it.

Sheaves of grain would be opened up and the stalks spread across the threshing floor. Pairs of donkeys or oxen (or sometimes cattle, or horses) would then be walked round and round, often dragging a heavy threshing board behind them, to tear the ears of grain from the stalks, and loosen the grain itself from the husks.

After this threshing process, the broken stalks and grain were collected and then thrown up into the air with a wooden fork-like tool called a winnowing fan. The chaff would be blown away by the wind; the short torn straw would fall some distance away; while the heavier grain would fall at the winnower's feet. The grain could then be further cleansed by sieving.

"Elder Richard G. Scott said: 'Search for principles. Carefully separate them from the detail used to explain them... It is worth great effort to organize the truth we gather to simple statements of principle'(Ensign, Nov. 1993, 86). 

Learning is not complete until you have applied what you are learning. To apply a doctrine or principle means that with the help of the Holy Ghost you can make a connection between the principles learned and your thoughts and behaviors and then choose to live accordingly.


Understanding a doctrine or principle can change the way you conduct your life. President Boyd K. Packer noted: 'The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior. . . . That is why we stress so forcefully the study of the doctrines of the gospel' (Ensign, Nov. 1986, 17).

Applying gospel truths will help you become more like the Savior. But learning how to identify and understand gospel truths takes practice and effort. These truths can be discovered by asking questions like the following:

• What is the moral or point of the story?

• Why did the writer include this story or scripture?

• Why were these events or teachings preserved in scripture?

• What did the author intend for me to learn?

• What are some of the fundamental truths taught in this passage?

(http://seminary.lds.org/about/teaching-and-learning/doctrines?lang=eng).

Elder Dallin H. Oaks: “To testify is to know and to declare. The gospel challenges us to be “converted,” which requires us to do and to become.” (Ensign, Nov. 2000)