HERE is a link to the lesson on churchofjesuschrist.org
(I’m so sorry I forgot to publish this here. I really was out Monday. I just forgot it doesn’t automatically publish here. It’s a good one if you missed it.)
“What Lack I Yet?”
If you had the opportunity to ask the Savior a question, what would it be? When a certain rich young man met the Savior for the first time, he asked, “What good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16). The Savior’s response showed both appreciation for the good things the young man had already done and loving encouragement to do more. When we ponder the possibility of eternal life, we may similarly wonder if there’s more we should be doing. When we ask, in our own way, “What lack I yet?” (Matthew 19:20), the Lord can give us answers that are just as personal as His response to the rich young man. Whatever the Lord asks us to do, acting on His answer will always require that we trust Him more than our own righteousness (see Luke 18:9–14) and that we “receive the kingdom of God as a little child” (Luke 18:17; see also 3 Nephi 9:22).
This episode deals with marriage, divorce, the story of the rich man asking the Savior what he lacked and the parable of the laborers in the vineyard.
I started by noting the Lord’s views on marriage as referenced in Mark 19:1-9. He said that we should cleave to our spouse and I made the point that it was the cleave that meant stick together and not the cleave that meant chop in two. That is an important clarification. I also read part of the chapter “Marriage” in the gospel topics.
Then I referred to the talk called “Divorce,” by Dallin H. Oaks. He said, “A marriage, like a human life, is a precious, living thing. If our bodies are sick, we seek to heal them. We do not give up. While there is any prospect of life, we seek healing again and again. The same should be true of our marriages, and if we seek Him, the Lord will help us and heal us.”
I made the comparison of our relationships to flesh-eating bacteria and listed the 5 things you should know about that life-threatening condition.
I then referenced my original thoughts on the rich man in Matthew 19 back in Episode 1, Min 8:30-13. No need to repeat myself, ha ha. I also included this quote from a talk about the rich man called, “What Lack I Yet? By Elder Larry R. Lawrence. “Humbly ask the Lord the following question: “What is keeping me from progressing?” In other words: “What lack I yet?” Then wait quietly for a response. If you are sincere, the answer will soon become clear. It will be revelation intended just for you….” “The Spirit can show us our weaknesses, but He is also able to show us our strengths. Sometimes we need to ask what we are doing right so that the Lord can lift and encourage us. When we read our patriarchal blessings, we are reminded that our Heavenly Father knows our divine potential. He rejoices every time we take a step forward. To Him, our direction is ever more important than our speed.” I really liked that. Let’s just start heading in the right direction!
Lastly, I read the parable of the laborers in the vineyard and referenced a talk by the same name from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. Once again, we were warned to avoid envy and being jealous of the good fortunes of others. Elder Holland says, “We are not in a race against each other to see who is the wealthiest or the most talented or the most beautiful or even the most blessed. The race we are really in is the race against sin…” He said that in another talk last week! I guess we need to keep hearing it.