Come Follow Me - What Lack I Yet?

I taught Sunday School today. I covered two lessons from the "Come Follow Me" manual, reviewing the Individuals and Families manual as well as the Sunday School manual. This is the second of of the two lessons. The quotes for the first one and the story about Chris the lost sheep are in previous posts, as linked. I of course did not have time to read all of these quotes with the class, nor do I expect to, but I had them ready should I feel guided to head that direction with the lesson. These are all quotes that came to me as a result of my study and preparation, or more frequently, as inspiration - talks that came to my mind as I read and studied certain scripture passages. Since they are not specifically referenced in either manual as most came as a result of further study, I want to share them here. The bolded sections are the topics under which the lesson and quote was or would have been shared.

MARRIAGE BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN IS ORDAINED OF GOD

In fact, each marriage starts with two built-in handicaps. It involves two imperfect people. Happiness can come to them only through their earnest effort. Just as harmony comes from an orchestra only when its members make a concerted effort, so harmony in marriage also requires a concerted effort. That effort will succeed if each partner will minimize personal demands and maximize actions of loving selflessness.

-- “Celestial Marriage” October 2008, Russell M. Nelson

The kind of marriage required for exaltation—eternal in duration and godlike in quality—does not contemplate divorce. In the temples of the Lord, couples are married for all eternity. But some marriages do not progress toward that ideal. Because “of the hardness of [our] hearts,” the Lord does not currently enforce the consequences of the celestial standard. He permits divorced persons to marry again without the stain of immorality specified in the higher law.
-- April 2007, “Divorce,” Dallin H. Oaks

“Because you do not happen to be married does not make you essentially different from others. All of us are very much alike in appearance and emotional responses, in our capacity to think, to reason, to be miserable, to be happy, to love and be loved. “You are just as important as any others in the scheme of our Father in Heaven, and under His mercy no blessing to which you otherwise might be entitled will forever be withheld from you. You are precious and important to Him. You are precious and important to the Church. You are precious and important to all of us”
-- “To Single Adults,”  President Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign, June 1989, 72

Our Heavenly Father declared, “This is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”²⁰ The Atonement of His Beloved Son enabled both of these objectives to be realized. Because of the Atonement, immortality—or resurrection from the dead—became a reality for all.²¹ And because of the Atonement, eternal life—which is living forever in God’s presence, the “greatest of all the gifts of God”²²—became a possibility. To qualify for eternal life, we must make an eternal and everlasting covenant with our Heavenly Father.²³ This means that a temple marriage is not only between husband and wife; it embraces a partnership with God.²⁴
-- ““Celestial Marriage” October 2008, Russell M. Nelson

ETERNAL LIFE IS AVAILABLE TO ALL - NO MATTER HOW EARLY OR LATE WE ACCEPT THE GOSPEL

Brothers and sisters, there are going to be times in our lives when someone else gets an unexpected blessing or receives some special recognition. May I plead with us not to be hurt—and certainly not to feel envious—when good fortune comes to another person? We are not diminished when someone else is added upon. 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, and surely envy is one of the most universal of those. Furthermore, envy is a mistake that just keeps on giving. Obviously we suffer a little when some misfortune befalls us, but envy requires us to suffer all good fortune that befalls everyone we know!
- Elder Jeffrey R. Holland,  “The Laborers in the Vineyard” April 2012

Two years ago, the Lord touched my dear mother’s heart, which helped her decide to receive the ordinance of baptism. I had waited for that day to take place for almost 35 years. In order for her to make that decision, many members of the Church truly ministered to her as Christ would. One Sunday, she felt she should go to church. She followed the prompting. …  she was very impressed with the boy’s innocent act of kindness, which he had learned in his home and at church. It was a tender moment for her. She had a strong impression that God was inviting her to come and follow the Savior. She felt she should be baptized.
-- Elder Takashi Wada, “Feasting upon the Words of Christ,” April 2019

As I matured and began to understand the magnificence of Heavenly Father’s plan, I often said to myself, “I don’t want one more Christmas present! I just want to be sealed to my parents.” That longed-for event did not happen until my parents were past 80, and then it did happen. I cannot fully express the joy that I felt that day,³ and each day I feel that joy of their sealing and my being sealed to them.

-- President Russell M. Nelson,  “Revelation for the Church, Revelation for Our Lives,” April 2018

THE SAVIOR WILL GUIDE US CLOSER TO HIM AS WE ASK FOR HIS HELP

•I knew a faithful mother who humbled herself and asked, “What is keeping me from progressing?” In her case, the response from the Spirit came immediately: “Stop complaining.” … Grateful for the prompting to improve, she determined to count her blessings instead of her challenges. Within days, she felt the warm approval of the Spirit.
•A humble young man who couldn’t seem to find the right young woman went to the Lord for help:  This answer came into his mind and heart: “Clean up your language.”

•A single sister bravely asked the question: “What do I need to change?” and the Spirit whispered to her, “Don’t interrupt people when they are talking.” The Holy Ghost really does give customized counsel.

•One returned missionary found himself stressed with a very heavy schedule. He was trying to find time for work, studies, family, and a Church calling. He asked the Lord for counsel: “How can I feel at peace with all that I need to do?” The answer was not what he expected; he received the impression that he should more carefully observe the Sabbath day and keep it holy. He decided to dedicate Sunday to God’s service—to lay aside his school courses on that day and study the gospel instead. This small adjustment brought the peace and balance that he was seeking.

•Years ago I read in a Church magazine the story of a girl who was living away from home and going to college. She was behind in her classes, her social life was not what she had hoped for, and she was generally unhappy. Finally one day she fell to her knees and cried out, “What can I do to improve my life?” The Holy Ghost whispered, “Get up and clean your room.” This prompting came as a complete surprise, but it was just the start she needed. After taking time to organize and put things in order, she felt the Spirit fill her room and lift her heart.

-- Elder Larry R. Lawrence, October 2015, “What Lack I Yet?”

Brothers and sisters, there are going to be times in our lives when someone else gets an unexpected blessing or receives some special recognition. May I plead with us not to be hurt—and certainly not to feel envious—when good fortune comes to another person? We are not diminished when someone else is added upon. 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, and surely envy is one of the most universal of those. Furthermore, envy is a mistake that just keeps on giving. Obviously we suffer a little when some misfortune befalls us, but envy requires us to suffer all good fortune that befalls everyone we know!

- Elder Jeffrey R. Holland,  “The Laborers in the Vineyard” April 2012

THE SAVIOR WILL GUIDE US CLOSER TO HIM AS WE ASK FOR HIS HELP

The message for us is clear: a repenting sinner draws closer to God than does the self-righteous person who condemns that sinner.

- “Our Good Shepherd,” Dale G. Renlund, Ensign or Liahona, May 2017, 31