May 13–19
Matthew 19–20; Mark 10; Luke 18
“What Lack I Yet?”
Matthew 19:1–9; Mark 10:1–12
Marriage:
Richard G Scott
For the greatest happiness and productivity in life, both
husband and wife are needed. Their combined efforts interlock and are complementary.
Each has individual traits that best fit the role the Lord has defined for
happiness as a man or woman. When used as the Lord intends, those capacities
allow a married couple to think, act, and rejoice as one, to face challenges
together and overcome them as one, as they grow in love and understanding.
“Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy.”
Richard G Scott
A most effective, diabolical approach of Satan is to demean
the role of wife and mother in the home. This is an attack at the very heart of
God’s plan to foster love between hus-band and wife and to nurture children in
an atmosphere of understanding. “Finding Peace, Happiness, and Joy.”
Gordon B Hinckley
Happiness in marriage involves a willingness to overlook
weakness and mistakes. “Stand a Little Taller”
L Tom Perry
"The joining together of a man and a woman to be
legally and lawfully wed not only is preparation for future generations to
inherit the earth, but it also brings the greatest joy and satisfaction that
can be found in this mortal experience. This is especially true when the powers
of the priesthood proclaim a marriage to be for time and for all eternity.
Children born to such marriages have a security that is found nowhere
else." Becoming Goodly Parents , October 2012 General Conference
Henry B. Eyring,
The Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, said of those who
would be part of His Church: “Be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine”
(D&C 38:27). And at the creation of man and woman, unity for them in
marriage was not given as hope, it was a command! “There-fore shall a man leave
his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be
one flesh” (Gen. 2:24). Our Heavenly Father wants our hearts to be knit
togeth-er. That union in love is not simply an ideal. It is a necessity. “That
We May Be One,” Ensign, May 1998, 66
Henry B. Eyring,
The requirement that we be one is not for this life alone.
It is to be without end. The first marriage was performed by God in the garden
when Adam and Eve were immortal. He placed in men and women from the beginning
a desire to be joined together as man and wife forever to dwell in families in
a perfect, righteous union. He placed in His chil-dren a desire to live at
peace with all those around them.
“That We May Be One,”
Ensign, May 1998, 66
Russell M. NelsonThe word “sealed” also indicates that God is putting His seal or stamp of approval upon the ordinance in which you will participate. The term “celestial marriage” is also appropriate to describe what occurs in the sealing ordinance. That is because the two words together constitute a title which describes not only the joining of a man and a woman together in marriage but also all of the other elements of the sealing ordinance….
Marriage—especially temple marriage—and family ties involve covenant relationships. They cannot be regarded casually… An enduring marriage results when both husband and wife regard their union as one of the two most important commitments they will ever make. , “Endure and Be Lifted Up,” Ensign, May 1997, 71–72
Bruce C. Hafen,
Covenant marriage requires a total leap of faith: they must
keep their covenants with-out knowing what risks that may require of them. They
must surrender unconditionally, obeying God and sacrificing for each other.
other. “Covenant Marriage,” Ensign, Nov.
1996, 26
Gordon B. Hinckley
"I know of no single practice that will have a more
salutary effect upon your lives than the practice of kneeling together as you
begin and close each day. Somehow the little storms that seem to afflict every
marriage are dissipated when, kneeling before the Lord, you thank him for one
another, in the presence of one another, and then together invoke his blessings
upon your lives, your home, your loved ones, and your dreams. "God then will be your partner, and your daily conversations with him will bring peace into your hearts and a joy into your lives that can come from no other source. Your companionship will sweeten through the years; your love will strengthen. Your appreciation for one another will grow.
"Your children will know the security of a home where dwells the Spirit of the Lord. You will gather them together in that home, as the Church has counseled, and teach them in love. They will know parents who respect one another, and a spirit of respect will grow in their hearts. They will experience the security of the kind word softly spoken, and the tempests of their own lives will be stilled. They will know a father and mother who, living honestly with God, live honestly also with one another and with their fellowmen. They will grow up with a sense of appreciation, having heard their parents in prayer ex-press gratitude for blessings great and small. They will mature with faith in the living God.
"The destroying angel of domestic bitterness will pass you by and you will know peace and love throughout your lives which may be extended into all eternity. I could wish for you no greater blessing."
("Except the
Lord Build the House ," Ensign,
June 1971, p. 72)
My Thoughts
This is an interesting question for me since my first
marriage, although in the temple, ended after 12 years in divorce. No one great
thing caused it. No sin by either party, we just grew apart and she asked for a
divorce.There is blame on both sides and in looking back I can see many little signs or things we both could have done differently, yet I am not sorry I went through it. I am happily married now for over 21 years, have an 11 year old that completes our family. It is interesting to think that if I had stayed married my kids would not have met their spouses and had the kids they do now.
"Legal justification for divorce today varies from almost the mere whim of the parties on the one hand to adultery on the other, depending upon the laws of the state or nation involved. This same divergence of opinion existed among the Jews, and Jesus was being asked to decide one of the burning issues of the day.
"Among the questions of the day fiercely debated between the great rival schools of Hillel and Shammai, no one was more so than that of divorce. The school of Hillel contended that a man had a right to divorce his wife for any cause he might assign, if it were no more than his having ceased to love her, or his having seen one he liked better, or her having cooked a dinner badly. The school of Schammai, on the contrary, held that divorce could be issued only for the crime of adultery, and offences against chastity. If it were possible to get Jesus to pronounce in favor of either school, the hostility of the other would be roused, and, hence, it seemed a favorable chance for compromising him.' (Geikie, vol. 2, pp. 347-348, cited, Talmage, p. 484.)" (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 1: 547.)
Ezra Taft Benson
"Marriage, the home, and family are more than mere
social institutions. They are divine, not man-made. God ordained marriage from
the very beginning. In the record of that first marriage recorded in Genesis,
the Lord makes four significant pronouncements: first, that it is not good for
man to be alone; second, that woman was created to be a helpmeet for man;
third, that they twain should be one flesh; and fourth, that man should leave
father and mother and cleave unto his wife. (See Genesis 2:18, 24.)"Later, as though to reinforce the earlier statement, the Lord said: 'What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder' (Matthew 19:6). He also said, 'Thou shalt love thy wife with all thy heart, and shalt cleave unto her and none else' (D&C 42:22).
"This first marriage, instituted by God, was between two immortal beings. Marriage was thus intended to be eternal." (The Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, 534.)
"It is destructive to the feeling essential for a happy marriage for either party to say to the other marriage partner, 'I don't need you.' This is particularly so because the counsel of the Savior was and is to become one flesh: 'For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh
'Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh.' (Matt. 19:5-6.) It is far more difficult to be of one heart and mind than to be physically one. This unity of heart and mind is manifest in sincere expressions of 'I appreciate you' and 'I am proud of you.' Such domestic harmony results from forgiving and forgetting, essential elements of a maturing marriage relationship. Someone has said that we should keep our eyes wide open before marriage and half shut afterward. (Magdeleine Scudery, as cited in The International Dictionary of Thoughts, Chicago: J. G. Ferguson Publishing Co., 1969, p. 472.) True charity ought to begin in marriage, for it is a relationship that must be rebuilt every day." (Teachings of James E. Faust, 366.)
"And yet, there are members of the Church who fail to comprehend this and after they are married for time and all eternity, become members of the Church of the Firstborn, receiving the promise of the fulness of the Father's kingdom, they permit things to come into their lives that bring friction and separate them. And they forget that they have made a covenant for time and all eternity with each other; and not only that, but they have made a covenant with their Father in heaven; and I want to say to you, my brethren and sisters, it isn't an easy thing to break a covenant that we make with our Father in heaven. And that is what they do." (Conference Report, April 1949, Third Day-Morning Meeting 135.)
Joseph Fielding Smith
"Marriage is to be eternal, just as the Lord declares
here in the words that I have read, and when a man and a woman go to the house
of the Lord and are married for time and for all eternity, they take upon them
certain covenants that they will be true and faithful in that union. Those
covenants are made in the presence of God and angels at the altar in the temple
of the Lord. How, then, can a man and a woman with the love of God in their
hearts ever turn away from the solemn covenants that they make that they will
be true and faithful all the days of their lives in mortality and that their
faithfulness will continue after death? That is the covenant that they
make." (Conference Report, April 1961, Second Day-Morning Meeting 50.)
James A. Cullimore
Marriage is a sacred relationship entered into primarily for
the rearing of a family, in fulfillment of the commandments of the Lord.Marriage with children, and the beautiful family relationship which can come of it, is the fulfillment of life. If things were as they should be, we would see a mother and father in a home having been married in the temple for time and eternity. The father honoring his priesthood, presiding in his home in righteousness. Father and mother loving each other and their children. Children loving and respecting each other and mother and father. All actively engaged in their church responsibilities. The Lord intended that marriage performed for eternity in the temple should endure forever. This was his plan. President Joseph Fielding Smith has said: "Marriage, as understood by Latter-day Saints, is a covenant ordained to be everlasting. It is the foundation for eternal exaltation, for without it there could be no eternal progress in the kingdom of God." (Doctrines of Salvation [Bookcraft, 1967], vol. 2, p. 58.)
"What therefore God hath joined together, let not man
put asunder." (Mark 10:9.) It is evident from the scriptures that marriage
performed in the Lord's way should not be dissolved.
It is sad, indeed, to see how lightly some take their
marriage vows. There is great concern among the Brethren as to the increasing
number of divorces in the Church today.Even though the divorce rate among members of the Church is considerably less than the national rate, and the rate of divorce among those married in the temple is less than with those married civilly, yet the rate is alarmingly high.
Divorce is usually the result of one or both not living the gospel. I suppose this is the same reason divorce was finally permitted in the time of Moses, as referred to by the Savior as he answered the Pharisees, when he said: "Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so." (Matt. 19:8.) And so in our day members do not abide by the law of the gospel in its fullness, and, as in the day of Moses, divorce is permitted, when deemed necessary, although it was never intended to be.
If, in marriage, both parties would make gospel standards and principles the basis of their marriage, few problems would arise they could not handle. When one or the other or both begin to compromise gospel standards, problems follow. Marriage is a sacred relationship, and good members of the Church would know that it is entered into primarily for the rearing of a family. ("Marriage Is Intended to Be Forever," Ensign, June 1971, 93)
The rich young man had lived the law and the gospel. He only failed to forsake his riches as the Master instructed him. I do not think this is a call for everyone to give all their money to the poor. But a call to make sure our hearts are in the right place. Much like with the sermon on the mount people could physically and outwardly live all the law of Moses yet their hearts not be directed to God.
What Others Have Said
Neal A. Maxwell
"We too may shrink from such confronting moments, but they will come, and what we lack will be made plainly and painfully clear. We will not be able to say we were not shown and reminded repeatedly." (Even As I Am, 19.)
Elder Milton R. Hunter
"As I have meditated on this incident, I have seen in
my mind's eye Jesus also standing there sorrowing, because the rich young man
chose worldly possessions instead of eternal life. Jesus knew that this was the
parting of the way between him and that rich young man. The young Jewish ruler
loved the things of this world more than he loved treasures in heaven,
including eternal life."You will observe that the young man possessed most of the things commonly considered as requisite for success: He was trained in a good home, He held a position of importance. He possessed wealth. But he himself recognized that there was still something lacking if he was to attain eternal life. Doubtless he knew that eternal life was perhaps more important than the things he possessed, and yet he was not willing to pay the price for it." (December 15, 1964, BYU Speeches of the Year, 1964, p. 6.)
Joseph Smith
"A religion that does not require the sacrifice of all
things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary [to lead] unto
life and salvation; for, from the first existence of man, the faith necessary
unto the enjoyment of life and salvation never could be obtained without the
sacrifice of all earthly things. It was through this sacrifice, and this only,
that God has ordained that men should enjoy eternal life; and it is through the
medium of the sacrifice of all earthly things that men do actually know that
they are doing the things that are well pleasing in the sight of God...Under
these circumstances, then, he can obtain the faith necessary for him to lay
hold on eternal life." (Lectures on Faith, 58)
Joseph B. Wirthlin
"...'the man went away sorrowing, for he loved his
possessions.' (See Matthew 19:16-22.) How many of us would pass this test?"Many of us have made sacred covenants to live the laws of sacrifice and consecration. But when the Lord blesses us with riches and affluence, we may give little thought to how we should use these blessings to help build up his church.
"The scriptures are full of warnings against worldliness and pride because they too can lead us off course. The Lord explained to the Prophet Joseph Smith that many people veer from the path 'because their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world.' (D&C 121:35.)" (Finding Peace in Our Lives, 198.)
Neal A. Maxwell
"I do not apologize for trying to speak about one of
what Paul called 'the deep things of God,' (1 Cor. 2:10), only for my inability
to go deeply enough."While we see this quality in the quiet but spiritually luxuriant lives of the genuine, spiritual heroes and heroines about us, the lack of it keeps so many of us straggling in the foothills and off the peaks in the adventure of full discipleship. I refer to our hesitancy and our holding back in submitting fully to the Lord and His purposes for us.
"This holding back is like leaving Egypt without journeying all the way to the Holy Land, or waiting in Nauvoo for the railroad to come through, or staying permanently at Winter Quarters.
"Though possessed of other fine attributes, we may still lack this one quality. Such was the case with the righteous young man who knelt sincerely at Jesus' feet. Lacking one thing, he went away sorrowing and unsubmissive when a particularized challenge was given. (See Mark 10:21-22; Luke 18:22-23.) Whether it is walking away without looking back from 'great possessions' (Mark 10:22), or from a statusful place in the secular synagogue (see John 12:42-43), or from proud but erroneous attitudes accrued over the years, or merely 'straightway' from fishing nets (Mark 1:18), the test is always the same.
"With honest, individualized introspection, each of us could name what we yet lack-and in my case more than one thing.
"Spiritual submissiveness is so much more than bended knee or bowed head. Alas, insofar as we 'mind the things of the flesh' (Rom. 8:5), we simply cannot have the 'mind of Christ.' (1 Cor. 2:16.)" ("Willing to Submit," Ensign, May 1985, 70)
Neal A. Maxwell
"The portions of the key attributes lacking in each of
us vary from person to person. It is meekness which facilitates working on what
is lacking. For instance, the rich, righteous young man, otherwise clearly a
high achiever, who came to Jesus asking what he might do to have eternal life,
was told, 'One thing thou lackest' (Mark 10:21; see also Luke 18:22). His lack
was not of marketplace acumen or of honesty in business affairs; instead, he
lacked meekness. This, alas, kept him from doing that customized thing which
Jesus asked him to do-sell all that he had, give to the poor, and come follow
Him. The young man lacked consecration." (Henry B. Eyring, ed., On
Becoming a Disciple Scholar [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1995], 14 - 15.)
Jeffrey R. Holland
"There is not a single loophole or curveball or open
trench to fall into for the man or woman who walks the path that Christ walks.
When he says, 'Come, follow me' (Luke 18:22), he means that he knows where the
quicksand is and where the thorns are and the best way to handle the slippery
slope near the summit of our personal mountains. He knows it all, and he knows
the way. He is the way." ("Come unto Me," Ensign, Apr. 1998, 19)
Carlos E. Asay
"Jesus' invitations to his disciples were simply stated
and free of any carrot dangling on the end of a stick. His entreaty was, 'Come,
follow me' (Luke 18:22) or 'Come and see' (John 1:39). He did not offer his followers
a salary, an expense account, or other worldly incentives. All that he offered
his fellow servants were the things that money cannot buy-things referred to as
the riches of eternity." (The Seven M's of Missionary Service: Proclaiming
the Gospel as a Member or Full-time Missionary, chap. 7)
Hugh Nibley
"There was yet one thing-the law of consecration, which
crowns all the others. But the young man could not take that one step because
he was very rich, and for that the Lord turned him away sorrowing: he did not
call him back to suggest easier terms but turned to his disciples and pointed
out to them by this example how hard it is for a rich man to enter heaven-only
a special miracle could do it." (Approaching Zion, edited by Don E. Norton
[Salt Lake City and Provo: Deseret Book Co., Foundation for Ancient Research
and Mormon Studies, 1989], 168 - 170.)
Dallin H. Oaks
"This man's failing was not his possession of riches
but his attitude toward them. As was demonstrated by his apparent failure to
follow the Savior's challenge, he still lacked the attitude toward the things
of this world that is required to 'inherit eternal life.' As the Prophet Joseph
Smith taught in our own day, 'A religion that does not require the sacrifice of
all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life
and salvation' (Lectures on Faith 6:7)." (Pure in Heart [Salt Lake City:
Bookcraft, 1988], 76)
As you read Mark
10:17–22, what evidence do you find of the young man’s faithfulness and
sincerity?
My Thoughts:
See my thoughts above
What Others Have
Said
Neal A. Maxwell"We may say quite sincerely and even somewhat accurately that we are doing reasonably well at commandment keeping. Let us ponder, however, the episode with the young man who told the Savior that he too had kept the commandments from his youth. Jesus then gave him an added and very customized challenge: to go and sell all that he had and give the proceeds to the poor and then 'take up the cross, and follow me.' Doing this, said the Savior to the young man, would take care of the 'one thing thou lackest.' (Mark 10:21.) For some of us, would that it were just one thing! But having a healthy consciousness of that which we yet lack can become an additional test and spur. Though we may have already proved we can play checkers, are we now ready to play chess? Are we willing to let the Lord lead us into further developmental experiences? Or do we shrink back? The things that 'greatly enlarge the soul' have no part with shrinking!" (Notwithstanding My Weakness [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1981], 115.)
Neal A. Maxwell
A customized commandment thus came for that man. It was
something he needed to do, not something he needed to stop doing, that kept him
from wholeness...Yes, the avoidance of wickedness remains ever important, but
the sins of omission also represent a haunting failure. How often, may I ask you,
do we speak about the need for repentance concerning our sins of omission? Or
how often do we make personal confessions of them to God? ("The Pathway of
Discipleship," Ensign, Sept. 1998, 8)
Neal A. Maxwell
The Lord's focus is not on the one thing we do which is
good, but, instead, on the one or more things we still lack in order to have
eternal life. (See Mark 10:21; 2 Pet. 1:9.) To compose a symphony, to win a
battle, or to save a company-each can be a commendable and worthy entry in the
book of life, but these do not fully compensate for breaking the seventh
commandment. In the arithmetic of heaven, several commendables do not cancel
out one inexcusable! ("Answer Me," Ensign, Nov. 1988, 33)
Alvin R. Dyer
"The young man erroneously thought that Jesus referred
to the distribution of his earthly riches only...Actually he was being given
the challenge of service. It is not enough to keep the commandments of
commission only, as Jesus clarified, for if one is to find the real meaning of
a successful life and to understand fully the message of Jesus Christ, there
must be service given unto others." (Conference Report, October 1962,
First Day-Morning Meeting 11.)
John A. Widstoe
"I have the feeling, brethren, that we can't accomplish
this work unless we give our whole selves to it. Half-hearted service will not
suffice. There must be complete surrender to this work if it shall accomplish
the purposes of the Almighty. The old proverb maker said: 'Son, son, give me
thine heart.' Are we giving our hearts to this work that the purposes of the
Lord may be accomplished? That is the question for us in this day. That
surrender, that giving of one's self, must be full of eagerness. We must not
wait to be called to serve. You know what the Lord said to the Prophet Joseph
Smith a long time ago about men who wait to be called. We must be eager in
service. You remember the story from the days of Christ:'And when he [Jesus] was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?' (Mark 10:17.)
"That story is for us today, leaders in Israel. Are we so eager that we run to do the will of God, to help work out his purposes?" (Conference Report, April 1945, Afternoon Meeting 94.)
What can you do to
prepare to ask the Lord what you lack—and to accept His answer?
My Thoughts
This will take a honest and open heart to sincerely ask and
be ready to receive the answer and should not be done lightly. It can have a drastic
change on your life I think.
Matthew 20:1–16
Bruce R. McConkie
"Peter's statement, 'we have forsaken all, and followed
thee,' (Matt 19:27) said after the rich young ruler made his great refusal,
declining as he did to follow Christ, was followed by the question: 'What shall
we have therefore?'...Such is the setting for the present parable. 'To impress
upon them still more fully and deeply that the kingdom of heaven is not a
matter of mercenary calculation or exact equivalent-that there could be no
bargaining with the Heavenly Householder-that...Gentiles might be admitted
before Jews, and Publicans before Pharisees, and young converts before aged
Apostles-He told them the memorable Parable of the Labourers in the Vineyard.
That parable, amid its other lessons, involved the truth that, while all who
serve God should not be defrauded of their just and full and rich reward, there
could be in heaven no murmuring, no envyings, no jealous comparison of
respective merits, no base strugglings for precedency, no miserable disputings
as to who had performed the maximum of service, or who had received the minimum
of grace.' (Farrar, p. 504.)
"...The kingdom of heaven on earth is the Church of
Jesus Christ, which prepares men for an inheritance in the kingdom of heaven
hereafter, which is the celestial kingdom. The householder is God; the hired
laborers are his servants; the vineyard is his kingdom; it is also the house of
Israel and all the inhabitants of the earth to whom his servants are sent. It
was the practice of the day to employ daily laborers in the marketplace. The
agreed compensation, a penny or denarius, was the normal wage for a single
day's service. The great importance of the work is shown by the fact that the
householder himself employed the laborers, not trusting it to a steward."...In its initial application, the parable applied to Peter and the apostles; they bore the burdens of the kingdom during the heat of the day and came off marvelously well. But there were others-Gentiles, heathen, the seed of Cain-all of whom in due course would be called to service in the vineyard of the world. What if some of them, laboring but for an hour, should receive equal or even greater rewards than the first laborers?" (The Mortal Messiah: From Bethlehem to Calvary, 3: 307-310.)
Bruce R. McConkie
"What does it
matter whether a man is a ward teacher, priesthood quorum president, bishop,
stake president, or general authority? It is not where a man serves, but how.
There is as great personal satisfaction through faithful service in one
position as another. And, as Jesus had before explained, the final reward of
exaltation is the same for all who obtain it. It is eternal increase, the
fulness of the kingdom of the Father, all power in heaven and on earth; it is all that the Father
hath." (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 1: 566.)
Dallin H. Oaks
"As we seek to determine whether we have become true
Latter-day Saints-inwardly as well as outwardly-it soon becomes apparent that
the critical element is progress, not longevity. The question is not how much
time we have logged, but how far we have progressed toward perfection. As Elder
Neal A. Maxwell has said, 'Life is not lineal, but experiential, not
chronological, but developmental' (Ensign, December 1986, p. 23). The issue is
not what we have done but what we have become. And what we have become is the
result of more than our actions. It is also the result of our attitudes, our
motives, and our desires. Each of these is an ingredient of the pure heart."Some persons achieve great progress toward perfection with just a few of life's experiences. Others seem to pass through the same experiences again and again and yet remain relatively unchanged by them. The contrast is suggestive of the difference between the status of one person with four years' experience and another person with one year's experience repeated twenty times. The question is not longevity but growth. Growth is not measured by a clock or an odometer but by what has happened in the heart.
"These truths provide an insight into the parable of the laborers in the vineyard (see Matthew 20)...When the day was over, the householder instructed his steward to pay every man the same wage. Those that were hired at the eleventh hour received the same as those who had worked all day. When the all-day workers murmured, complaining that those who had worked but one hour were paid the same as those who had 'borne the burden and heat of the day' (Matthew 20:12), the house-holder reminded them that all had been paid the agreed amount and therefore none had any cause for complaint.
"This parable teaches us that the rewards we will receive in the judgment will not be computed according to the duration of our service. Exaltation, the ultimate reward of the Father, is available to all who qualify. Eternal life is 'the greatest of all the gifts of God' (D&C 14:7). None can receive more than this.
"By reason of their willingness and their loyalty to their master, by the end of the day the laborers hired in the eleventh hour had become as much-had qualified as completely-as those who had served the entire period. The master's rewards were not given for the time served or for any other external measure. His rewards were for the ultimate and comprehensive internal measure-what the workers had become within themselves as a result of their service." (Pure in Heart, 138.)
Dallin H. Oaks
We do not obtain our heavenly reward by punching a
time clock. What is essential is that our labors in the workplace of the Lord
have caused us to become something. For some of us, this requires a longer time
than for others. What is important in the end is what we have become by our labors.
Many who come in the eleventh hour have been refined and prepared by the Lord
in ways other than formal employment in the vineyard. These workers are like
the prepared dry mix to which it is only necessary to "add water"-the
perfecting ordinance of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. With that
addition-even in the eleventh hour-these workers are in the same state of
development and qualified to receive the same reward as those who have labored
long in the vineyard." (The Challenge to Become," Ensign, Nov. 2000,
32)
Neal A. Maxwell
"Since murmuring has been such a challenge throughout
human history, it is significant that meekness is also a cure for murmuring.
Murmuring often consists of reluctant and resentful compliance, but only after
we have grumbled a bit, only after we have made some points we think the Lord
needs to hear, as if He needed to hear them...Meekness, however, feels no
obligation to engage in murmuring. The ironies, the disappointments, and the
injustices are felt by the meek, but the meek individual feels no need to
lecture the Lord. After all, that individual has taken the Lord's yoke upon him
to learn of Him, not the other way around!"Jesus taught parabolically how often people feel unjustly dealt with, even though God has kept His promises to them, merely because He acts redemptively toward others. (Matthew 20:11.) The Lord reproved those who worked in His service for resenting the fact that the same salvational wages would be paid to those who came late. He asked, 'Is thine eye evil, because I am good?' (Matthew 20:15.) We worship a generous God who desires us to be generous like Him." (Meek and Lowly, 61.)
What lessons do you
find for yourself in this passage?
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