These farmers understand that the next step is nourishing the tender shoot “with great care.” It requires adequate water so that it will root firmly, protection against being bruised or broken by careless handling, and protection from animals that might eat it. So we, too, nourish our incipient faith so that it will take firm root and eventually bring forth fruit.
How is this done? Douglas E. Brinley, writing in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism, has this description:
Faith may be nurtured and renewed through scripture study, prayer, and works consistent with the commandments of the gospel. Because those who act on faith, repent, and are baptized receive a remission of sins, they have reason to hope for eternal life (Moro. 7:41). With this hope, their faith in Jesus Christ further inspires individuals to minister to each other in charity, even as Christ would have done (Moro. 7:44), for the “end of the commandment is charity out of… faith unfeigned” (1 Tim. 1:5). “Charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever” (Moro. 7:47). Thus, faith, or “steadfastness in Christ,” enables people to endure to the end, continuing in faith and charity (2 Ne. 31:20, 1 Tim. 2:15, D&C 20:29). True faith is enduring and leads to an assurance that one’s efforts have not gone unnoticed and that God is pleased with one’s attitude and effort to implement the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ in one’s personal life.
In the gospel, developing faith requires continuing action. We attend meetings, we continue to meet with missionaries, we continue to learn and to place ourselves in a position where we might learn. While some seeds may grow without much tending, the good farmer will intervene to nourish the seed. The story of faith is always a story of action, of movement along the continuum.