Parables formed a significant part of Jesus’ teaching ministry during his mortal life. And on the surface, parables appear to be simple stories, drawn from the flow of ordinary life in ancient Palestine, but if we are to understand more fully the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is essential that we understand the principles the Savior taught in his parables.

Authors Jay A. Parry and Donald W. Parry have selected thirty of Jesus’ parables for close examination. Drawing upon latter-day scriptures and the teachings of modern prophets and apostles, as well as insights from other biblical scholars, the authors provide helpful commentaries about the content and layers of meaning to be drawn from these well-loved stories. With each parable they also include and insightful discussion on how we can apply the parable’s teaching to ourselves.

What becomes apparent is that a casual reading of the parable is not sufficient to discover the deeper meanings embedded in them. “Just as parables conceal truth from the spiritually unprepared, parables also disclose truth to those who are spiritually able to receive it,” the authors point out, as they invite us to prayerfully study the Savior’s own declaration of how it is that we find “that which bringeth joy, that which bringeth life eternal” (D&C 42:61).