That Good Part

When Martha was “cumbered about much serving” and asked the Savior for her sister’s help, He responded with these well-known words: “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one things is needeful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:40-42). President Oaks commented on this story in these words: “It was praiseworthy for Martha to be ‘careful and troubled about many things,’ but learning the gospel from the Master Teacher was more ‘needful.’” It is easy to get so caught up in accomplishing the things that need doing each day that we fail to give adequate time on that which is most needful, even learning from the Savior. Sister Carol F. McConkie commented after sharing this story of Mary and Martha, “If we would be holy, we must learn to sit at the feet of the Holy One of Israel and give time to holiness. Do we set aside the phone, the never-ending to-do list, and the cares of worldliness? Prayer, study, and heeding the word of God invite His cleansing and healing love into our souls. Let us take time to be holy, that we may be filled with His sacred and sanctifying Spirit.” The challenge is especially difficult in our day of technology where devices and screens entice us to give more and more of our time to that which is of little worth and ultimately cannot satisfy. I still remember my mission president’s fervent counsel to my companion and me to turn off our phones and other distractions for our scripture study in the morning after we had suggested that the effectiveness of our study was less than desirable. Surely we need to follow that counsel all the more today; we must find a way to give the Lord our full attention for some amount of time each day as we, like Mary, try to sit at His feet and learn.

               The previous quote from President Oaks comes from his well-known talk Good, Better, Best. In addition to encouraging us to be like Mary in learning from the Master Teacher, he also focused his message on how we spend time with our families. He commented, “Some of our most important choices concern family activities. Many breadwinners worry that their occupations leave too little time for their families. There is no easy formula for that contest of priorities. However, I have never known a man who looked back on his working life and said, ‘I just didn’t spend enough time with my job.’” He then told this instructive story for parents on what is most valuable for children: “A friend took his young family on a series of summer vacation trips, including visits to memorable historic sites. At the end of the summer he asked his teenage son which of these good summer activities he enjoyed most. The father learned from the reply, and so did those he told of it. ‘The thing I liked best this summer,’ the boy replied, ‘was the night you and I laid on the lawn and looked at the stars and talked.’” That story is a powerful reminder to me that is it not more extravagant outings that I need with my children but rather engaged one-on-one time at home. I know that I have work to do to focus less each evening on getting something done around the house or accomplishing one more task at work and more on just being with my children and wife. Far too often I have not chosen that better part.   

One of the scriptures that President Oaks quoted in this talk was this one: “Seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom, seek learning even by study and also by faith” (Doctrine and Covenants 109:7). I have thought about this verse over and over throughout my life as I have sought to know what books I should read and listen to with the little time that I have. I have had powerful experiences with great literature such as Les Misérables by Victor Hugo or The Chosen by Chaim Potok and am constantly trying to find other best books like those I can experience. But it struck me as I thought about this message from President Oaks that for me in my stage of life, the very best books I can read after the scriptures are the ones I read to my children. Enjoying The Very Hungry Caterpillar with my three-year-old daughter may be more important for me than reading Charles Dickens to myself, and laughing with the Piggie and Elephant series with my five-year-old son just might have more lasting value for me than studying the great works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky. I hope that I can learn to choose that “good part.”