Lessons on the Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ and His Apostles
Lesson No. Nineteen
On Marriage, Riches, and God’s Goodness
On Marriage – Matthew 19:3-12
The importance of marriage and family – At the time of Christ, as it is today, there were many opposing beliefs and much confusion about marriage. This led to the Pharisees trying to entrap Jesus by asking Him questions about marriage and divorce. Jesus’ response, as recorded in Matthew 19:3-12, “are fragmentary and incomplete. They can only be understood when considered in connection with the law of celestial marriage as such has been revealed anew in modern times” (Bruce R. McConkie, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary I, p. 546).
The Lord calls living prophets to guide His Church. They also clarify the scriptures as necessary. Knowing this leads to an important principle – The practice of the Church constitutes the interpretation of the scriptures. Our belief about marriage and family is an example of this.
The importance of marriage and family is set forth in The Family – A Proclamation to the World. This Proclamation begins: “We the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.”
Celestial marriage was the crowning blessing of creation – The law of celestial marriage, as restored in our dispensation, teaches that marriage was the crowning blessing of creation. After God created Adam and Eve, He married them for eternity in the crowning priesthood ordinance of the Gospel. Following this pattern, a man and a woman are to marry for eternity and to “cleave” unto each other, “and they shall be one flesh” (Moses 3:24).
Elder Jeffrey Holland said: “From the Garden of Eden onward, marriage was intended to mean the complete merger of a man and woman – their hearts, hopes, lives, love, family, future, everything. Adam said of Eve that she was bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh…. This is a union of such completeness that we use the word seal to convey its eternal promise. The Prophet Joseph Smith once said we perhaps could render such a sacred bond as being ‘welded’ one to another.”
Satan greatest attack is on traditional marriage – “The perfect and beautiful union of Adam and Eve excited the envy and jealousy of the Evil One, who made it his prime objective to break it up” (Hugh Nibley, Old Testament and Related Studies, 88).
“Satan has never stopped trying to put men and women at odds and keep them there. This battle, which seems so very modern, is really as old as the earth itself. In this final dispensation of the fullness of times, Satan has mustered all his forces to drive a wedge between men and women. He desires to cause man and woman to see one another not as empowering partners but as individuals of unequal worth or even as competitors” (Beverly Campbell, Eve and the Choice Made in Eden, 164).
On Riches – Mark 10:17-27
We must trust in God and not in riches – Jesus was asked a question by a rich young man: “Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?...Then Jesus beholding him, loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions” (Mark 10:18, 21).
In the dialog that followed His disciples asked Jesus “Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them said, With men that trust in riches it is impossible, but not impossible with men who trust in God and leave all for my sake, for with such all these things are possible” (JST Mark 10:26-27).
Riches amplify either for good or for evil – People develop characteristics, desires, and attitudes. Some become more selfish, others become less selfish. Some want to give; others want to take. Wealth amplifies our fundamental character If a person’s desire is to do good and bless the lives of others, wealth gives them a great opportunity to do this. If a person is basically selfish and materialistic, wealth amplifies those tendencies by giving them a greater opportunity to spend and hoard in a selfish ways.
On God’s Goodness – Matthew 20:1-16
The Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard – In the parable of the laborers in the vineyard teaches of God’s goodness. In this parable the Lord taught the issue is not whether we have labored in the vineyard of the Lord for one hour at the end of the day or for twelve hours through the heat of the day. All who are laboring when evening comes will receive the same reward of eternal life. However, life is more joyful and productive the sooner we begin living the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Another beautiful doctrine of the gospel which speaks to God’s goodness teaches that those who are on the path when they die will never leave it. Elder Bruce R McConkie, referring to Alma 34:34 wrote: “If we are in the course of our duty when this life is over, we will continue in that course in eternity. That same spirit that possesses our bodies at the time we depart from this mortal life will have power to possess our bodies in the eternal world. If we go out of this life loving the Lord, desiring righteousness, and seeking to acquire the attributes of godliness, we will have that same spirit in the eternal world, and we will then continue to advance and progress until the time comes when we will possess, receive, and inherit all things.”
On another occasion Elder McConkie explained further: “Everyone in the Church who is on the straight and narrow path, who is striving and struggling and desiring to do what is right, though is far from perfect in this life; if he passes out of this life while he’s on the straight and narrow, he’s going to go on to eternal reward in his Father’s kingdom…. The way it operates is this: you get on the path that’s named the ‘straight and narrow.’ You do it by entering the gate of repentance and baptism. The straight and narrow path leads from the gate of repentance and baptism, a very great distance, to a reward that’s called eternal life. If you’re on that path and pressing forward, and you die, you’ll never get off the path. There is no such thing as falling off the straight and narrow path in the life to come, and the reason is that this life is the time that is given to men to prepare for eternity.”