Luke 8-10

Lesson Quotes:
Elder Edward Dube
“Our Savior, Jesus Christ, who sees from the beginning to the end, knew very well the road He would travel to Gethsemane and Golgotha when He proclaimed, ‘No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God’ (Luke 9:62). In the sight of the Lord, it is not so much what we have done or where we have been but much more where we are willing to go” (“Look Ahead and Believe,” Ensign, Nov. 2013, 17).

President Ezra Taft Benson

“When we put God first, all other things fall into their proper place or drop out of our lives. Our love of the Lord will govern the claims for our affection, the demands on our time, the interests we pursue, and the order of our priorities.

Elder Terence M. Vinson

 “My favorite year of rugby was the year after high school. The team of which I was a member was both talented and committed. We were the champion team that year. However, one day we were to play a lowly ranked team, and after the game we all had dates to take to the big, annual college dance. I thought that because this would be an easy game, I should try to protect myself from injury so I would be able to enjoy the dance fully. In that game, we were not as committed in the hard contacts as we might have been, and we lost. To make things worse, I ended the match with a very swollen, fat lip that did not enhance my appearance for my big date. Perhaps I needed to learn something.

A very different experience occurred in a later game in which I was totally committed. At one point I ran with real intent into a contact; immediately I felt some pain in my face. Having been taught by my father that I should never let the opposition know if I was hurt, I continued to play out the game. That night, while trying to eat, I found that I couldn’t bite. The next morning, I went to the hospital, where an X-ray confirmed that my jaw was broken. My mouth was wired shut for the next six weeks.

Lessons were learned from this parable of the fat lip and the broken jaw. Despite my memories of unsatisfied cravings for solid food during the six weeks when I could ingest only liquids, I feel no regrets about my broken jaw because it resulted from my giving my all. But I do have regrets about the fat lip because it symbolized my holding back.

Giving our all doesn’t mean that we will be continually enveloped in blessings or always have success. But it does mean that we will have joy. Joy is not fleeting pleasure or even temporary happiness. Joy is enduring and is founded on our efforts being accepted by the Lord.” (GC Oct. 2019)

President James E. Faust

“A group of religion instructors [were] taking a summer course on the life of the Savior and focusing particularly on the parables. 

“When the final exam time came, … the students arrived at the classroom to find a note that the exam would be given in another building across campus. Moreover, the note said, it must be finished within the two-hour time period that was starting almost at that moment. 

“The students hurried across campus. On the way they passed a little girl crying over a flat tire on her new bike. An old man hobbled painfully toward the library with a cane in one hand, spilling books from a stack he was trying to manage with the other. On a bench by the union building sat a shabbily dressed, bearded man [in obvious distress]. 

“Rushing into the other classroom, the students were met by the professor, who announced they had all flunked the final exam. 

“The only true test of whether they understood the Savior’s life and teaching, he said, was how they treated people in need. 

“Their weeks of study at the feet of a capable professor had taught them a great deal of what Christ had said and done.” In their haste to finish the technicalities of the course, however, they failed to recognize the application represented by the three scenes that had been deliberately staged. They learned the letter but not the spirit. Their neglect of the little girl and the two men showed that the profound message of the course had not entered into their inward parts.” (“Viewpoint: Too Hurried to Serve?” Church News, 1 Oct. 1988, 16; CR April 1988)

Elder Dallin H. Oaks

“As we consider various choices, we should remember that it is not enough that something is good. Other choices are better, and still others are best. … 

“Consider how we use our time in the choices we make in viewing television, playing video games, surfing the Internet, or reading books or magazines. Of course it is good to view wholesome entertainment or to obtain interesting information. But not everything of that sort is worth the portion of our life we give to obtain it. Some things are better, and others are best” (“Good, Better, Best,” 104–5).

Other Awesome Commentary from Luke 8-10:

Quote New Testament Institute Manual:

“Respect for parents was very important in Jewish culture and included the responsibility to provide a proper burial for them when they died. After preparing a body for burial and placing it in a tomb, family members typically returned a year later to place the bones in a stone box called an ossuary, which remained in the tomb as a secondary burial. If the disciple was speaking of his father’s secondary burial, the Savior’s response would seem to communicate that now was the time for the man to serve a mission (see Luke 9:59–60). The man could be at peace about letting his deceased father remain in the tomb with other dead members of the family. It is also possible that the Savior’s response could be understood, “Let the [spiritually] dead bury their [physically] dead.” 

“In either case, the Savior’s words do not mean it is wrong to mourn the loss of a loved one or give proper respect at a funeral. Rather, these words emphasize devotion to the Lord as a disciple’s highest priority.”

President Howard W. Hunter

“To dig a straight furrow [or trench], the plowman needs to keep his eyes on a fixed point ahead of him. That keeps him on a true course. If, however, he happens to look back to see where he has been, his chances of straying are increased. The results are crooked and irregular furrows. … If our energies are focused not behind us but ahead of us—on eternal life and the joy of salvation—we assuredly will obtain it” (“Am I a ‘Living’ Member?” Ensign, May 1987, 17). 

President Howard W. Hunter

“We need to remember that though we make our friends, God has made our neighbors—everywhere. Love should have no boundary. … Christ said, ‘For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?’ (Matthew 5:46)” (“The Lord’s Touchstone,” Ensign, Nov. 1986, 35).

New Testament Seminary Teacher Manual

“Priests and Levites held the Aaronic priesthood and were assigned to serve God and their fellowmen, both in the temple and as teachers and exemplars of God’s law. These priesthood bearers were fully aware of the commandment to “love thy neighbour as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18) and to care for foreigners and travelers (see Leviticus 19:34; 25:35). In contrast, “Samaritans were partly Israelite and partly Gentile. Their religion was a mixture of Jewish and pagan beliefs and practices. … Jews had developed [hatred] for the Samaritans because the Samaritans had apostatized from the Israelite religion” (Guide to the Scriptures, “Samaritans,”). Both Jews and Samaritans typically went out of their way to avoid each other.”

New Testament Seminary Teacher Manual

“Hospitality was very important in Jewish society, and a woman’s honor and reputation depended partly on how well she fulfilled cultural expectations regarding the role of hostess. Because of these social customs, Martha’s complaint that her sister, Mary, had left her to serve alone (see Luke 10:40) would have been seen as justified by many people of the time. But the Savior responded to Martha by commending her sister’s choice: ‘Mary hath chosen that good part’ (Luke 10:42). One of the things the Savior’s response clarified is that there are higher priorities than social customs, even if they are good customs” (New Testament Student Manual [Church Educational System manual, 2014], 160). 

When Martha complained, “Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone” (Luke 10:40), she allowed herself to inaccurately view the Lord as uncaring. If we allow our priorities to become twisted, we may begin to have thoughts or feelings toward the Lord that are spiritually unhealthy. Jesus’s gentle rebuke was designed to help Martha reconsider her priorities and seek the blessings He lovingly desired her to receive.

Elder Dallin H. Oaks

“It was praiseworthy for Martha to be ‘careful and troubled about many things’ (v. 41), but learning the gospel from the Master Teacher was more ‘needful’” (“Good, Better, Best,” Ensign, Nov. 2007, 104).