Rich Young Man


mikbone
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Mark 10: 17-27

Does anyone else interpret the rich young man as being FoS?

I have been around the block and usually assume that people are motivated primarily by self interest as opposed to altruism.

So when I read this story about the young man, I don’t have any empathy for his situation.

I see straight through his BS.

First off, he publicly makes a huge scene by running & kneeling in front of the Lord and asks what he can do for eternal life.  Who does this???  Reminds me of classmates who would ask a question in class just to brown nose the professor.

Christ then tells the idiot that he knows the commandments and then repeats 7 commandments.  Most likely because the young man was having issues with these commandments...

The young man then states that he has kept these commandments from his youth.   We know this is a lie!  No one keeps all the commandments.  There was only one man / God that kept all the commandments.

What happens next is precious.  Jesus knows the heart of this young man.  And He makes the request that he sell all he has and follow him (because he knows that he had no intention of making any real sacrifice).  This publicly shames the young man, and he turns away grieving.  Serves him right.

Prove me wrong.

 

 

 

 

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46 minutes ago, mikbone said:

Mark 10: 17-27

Does anyone else interpret the rich young man as being FoS?

I have been around the block and usually assume that people are motivated primarily by self interest as opposed to altruism.

So when I read this story about the young man, I don’t have any empathy for his situation.

I see straight through his BS.

First off, he publicly makes a huge scene by running & kneeling in front of the Lord and asks what he can do for eternal life.  Who does this???  Reminds me of classmates who would ask a question in class just to brown nose the professor.

Christ then tells the idiot that he knows the commandments and then repeats 7 commandments.  Most likely because the young man was having issues with these commandments...

The young man then states that he has kept these commandments from his youth.   We know this is a lie!  No one keeps all the commandments.  There was only one man / God that kept all the commandments.

What happens next is precious.  Jesus knows the heart of this young man.  And He makes the request that he sell all he has and follow him (because he knows that he had no intention of making any real sacrifice).  This publicly shames the young man, and he turns away grieving.  Serves him right.

Prove me wrong.

 

 

 

 

I don’t know that I’d be quite that harsh on the young man.  But there does seem to be a certain amount of myopia involved; this kid thinks he can earn his salvation without the help of a mediator, if only some trustworthy rabbi will come along and tell him exactly what to do.  The commandments he says he keeps are commandments 5-9–the parts of the Decalogue that deal with loving others—and I’m OK taking him more or less at face value.  But there’s a huge blind spot in his obedience, for he says nothing about his observance of the first four commandments—the ones that focus on the individual’s relationship with God Himself. So Christ answers in-kind:  You want stuff to do?  Fine, I’ll give you stuff to do . . .  more and more and more, until it breaks you; and then maybe you’ll stop to think about whether you might benefit from a Savior.  

Christ’s additional remarks as recorded in the extended narrative of Matthew 19-20 reinforce this theme—you can’t do everything alone, and if you just go through life in a hollow attempt to dot i’s and cross t’s, eventually you will break as this young man broke when Christ told him what perfect legalistic obedience actually required; and our eternal reward has less to do with what we accomplished than with whether or not we ultimately came into communion with the Supreme Lawgiver.

Edited by Just_A_Guy
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1 hour ago, mikbone said:

Mark 10: 17-27

Does anyone else interpret the rich young man as being FoS?

I have been around the block and usually assume that people are motivated primarily by self interest as opposed to altruism.

So when I read this story about the young man, I don’t have any empathy for his situation.

I see straight through his BS.

First off, he publicly makes a huge scene by running & kneeling in front of the Lord and asks what he can do for eternal life.  Who does this???  Reminds me of classmates who would ask a question in class just to brown nose the professor.

Christ then tells the idiot that he knows the commandments and then repeats 7 commandments.  Most likely because the young man was having issues with these commandments...

The young man then states that he has kept these commandments from his youth.   We know this is a lie!  No one keeps all the commandments.  There was only one man / God that kept all the commandments.

What happens next is precious.  Jesus knows the heart of this young man.  And He makes the request that he sell all he has and follow him (because he knows that he had no intention of making any real sacrifice).  This publicly shames the young man, and he turns away grieving.  Serves him right.

Prove me wrong.

 

 

 

 

Prove you wrong? I don’t know that I can. But part of me wonders what lesson can be learned from this event if your interpretation is correct. Maybe just satisfy the readers need for “justice”.

I like to think that he truly was righteous and was honestly seeking to know what more he ought to do. And secondly, I like to think that he did give away his riches, the account says that he only left upset, but says nothing about his ultimate decision. I chose to believe this because it is symbolic of what we all go through. We all feel like we are doing well, but always have one step we need to take that we don’t want to. It feels more motivating to think that the rich young ruler succeeded in his endeavor to give away his riches. Maybe I can too :)

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Elder S Mark Palmer in his April 2017 GC talk said “We don’t know what happened to the rich young man after he went away sorrowful, but I am confident Jesus still loved him perfectly even if he chose the easier path. Perhaps later in life, as he found his great possessions hollow, he remembered and acted on the singular experience of His Lord beholding him, loving him, and inviting him to follow Him.”

I would invite you to read his talk, it’s fantastic.

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2017/04/then-jesus-beholding-him-loved-him?lang=eng&country=b

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If Acts is to be believed, this matter of giving all you had to the church became a matter that was typical of many of those who entered the church.  This Young man was told this, but it seems that later, this was actually something that was done by members.

Furthermore, it may also imply that this had already been done by the apostles to a degree, if not completely.

Edited by JohnsonJones
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4 hours ago, Fether said:

And secondly, I like to think that he did give away his riches, the account says that he only left upset, but says nothing about his ultimate decision.

Exactly - it doesn't. "That young man is now in hell!!!" is probably the most unsubstantiated statement ever made from the pulpet.

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Guest LiterateParakeet

I don't see it that way at all.  I think that young man could represent any of us and our "pet sins" that we aren't ready to part with yet.  So I have compassion for him, as I hope compassion will be extended to me!  :)   

My favorite part of this story is the "what lack I yet?"  Once when we discussed this in Relief Society, I felt inspired to ask the Lord that question.  The answer surprised me and changed my life.   Later, there was a wonderful talk on this in General Conference...

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/what-lack-i-yet?lang=eng

Have you tried this?  And if you haven't, how are you different than that young man?  He asked...he just wasn't ready for the answer.  May we all ask, and be ready to hear the response. 

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Guest Scott
10 hours ago, mikbone said:

Christ then tells the idiot that he knows the commandments and then repeats 7 commandments.  Most likely because the young man was having issues with these commandments...

The young man then states that he has kept these commandments from his youth.   We know this is a lie!  No one keeps all the commandments.  There was only one man / God that kept all the commandments.

Here are the seven commandments listed:

Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.

How do you know he was lying about observing these commandments since he was a youth?  He didn't claim to be perfect.

Jesus himself aknowledged that the man observed these commandments in the next verse:

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.

Jesus said that there was one thing that the young man lacked.  Why do you think Jesus was wrong?  

Jesus then goes on explaining how hard it is to get into heaven when your heart is set on riches.   Not once did he accuse the young man of not telling the truth or say that he lacked anything else.   It seems that you missed the entire point of the story.  
 

Quote

What happens next is precious.  Jesus knows the heart of this young man.  And He makes the request that he sell all he has and follow him (because he knows that he had no intention of making any real sacrifice).  This publicly shames the young man, and he turns away grieving.  Serves him right.

I wonder how many people in the Church today would sell everything they have and give it to the poor if they were asked?    

Edited by Scott
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10 hours ago, mikbone said:

Does anyone else interpret the rich young man as being FoS?

I have been around the block and usually assume that people are motivated primarily by self interest as opposed to altruism.

So when I read this story about the young man, I don’t have any empathy for his situation.

I see straight through his BS.

Gotta admit. I'm struggling to see the Friends of Scouting and Boy Scouts connection here.

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19 minutes ago, mordorbund said:

Gotta admit. I'm struggling to see the Friends of Scouting and Boy Scouts connection here.

Both the rich young man and the BSOA are cautionary tales against placing your desires ahead of righteousness.  (Kind of a stretch, but hey, whatever.)

Edited by NeuroTypical
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1 hour ago, mordorbund said:

Gotta admit. I'm struggling to see the Friends of Scouting and Boy Scouts connection here.

Actually, that's what I thought. I still haven't figured out what FoS means in mikbone's context.

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20 minutes ago, Vort said:

Actually, that's what I thought. I still haven't figured out what FoS means in mikbone's context.

Full of sh*@ is what he meant, his post comes off as very angry and judgmental. not something I would have expected on a forum for latter day saints.

Edited by Barrett Maximus
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Guest LiterateParakeet
23 minutes ago, Barrett Maximus said:

Full of sh*@ is what he meant, his post comes off as very angry and judgmental. not something I would have expected on a forum for latter day saints.

Maybe mikbone is just having an off day.  I wouldn't put read too much into one post. 

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Guest LiterateParakeet
2 hours ago, Scott said:

I wonder how many people in the Church today would sell everything they have and give it to the poor if they were asked?    

Good point.  We covenant to do that if asked, but if it were real....I imagine that would be challenging for all of us! 

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2 minutes ago, LiterateParakeet said:

Good point.  We covenant to do that if asked, but if it were real....I imagine that would be challenging for all of us! 

Easy-peasy.  Turn it over to an irrevocable trust, with myself as beneficiary.  Since the assets are no longer in my name, I am now “the poor”; and it’s perfectly acceptable for the trust assets to be used for my own support.  

A shame the young ruler didn’t have a good estate planning lawyer.  A crying shame, I tell you . . . 

Edited by Just_A_Guy
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3 minutes ago, LiterateParakeet said:
2 hours ago, Scott said:

I wonder how many people in the Church today would sell everything they have and give it to the poor if they were asked?    

Good point.  We covenant to do that if asked, but if it were real....I imagine that would be challenging for all of us! 

If I were asked by the Lord or his authorized servant (the prophet, my stake president, my bishop), I honestly think I'd have little problem with doing this. In fact, I've waited my whole life to do exactly this, and in many ways would jump at the chance. Instead, I am left grappling with things like showing kindness to those who are unkind to me, having patience with those who misrepresent what I hold dear, loving the hateful, and so forth. Giving up money is easy, a concrete action. Giving up pridefulness and other sins is hard, much harder than selling or giving away your possessions.

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Guest Scott
34 minutes ago, Vort said:

If I were asked by the Lord or his authorized servant (the prophet, my stake president, my bishop), I honestly think I'd have little problem with doing this.

That's very good of you, and I'm sure a lot of other Church members could do this too, but I don't know how many of them.  Hoefully a lot.

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Giving up money is easy, a concrete action.

The young man was asked to give up more than just money.  He was asked to give up everything.  To me at least, giving away your house, for example, would be harder.  

A few verses down Jesus said the following:

 29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,

30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

Money might be hard to give away, but giving away your house might be harder.   Leaving your family on top of all that would be even harder than that.

I'm not saying that many people couldn't do it, but it would be hard.  People did do just that in the early days of the Church.  

I'd like to think that I would as well, but it would be a struggle.   I guess that's why that story is in the scriptures.       
  

Edited by Scott
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11 minutes ago, Scott said:

Money might be hard to give away, but giving away your house might be harder.

I think of "money" in this context as being synonymous with "possessions". And since we already in effect do exactly this when we receive our endowment—indeed, our reception of the divine endowment depends on us freely giving away (consecrating) to God everything we own or will ever own—it seems a relatively small step to go from sincerely making that promise to following through with it.

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Guest Scott
2 minutes ago, Vort said:

And since we already in effect do exactly this when we receive our endowment—indeed, our reception of the divine endowment depends on us freely giving away (consecrating) to God everything we own or will ever own

Yes, you are 100% correct about this.  

When I look at how much the early Saints struggled with the Law of Concecration, I can only assume that it would be at least as great of a struggle today.

I guess when it comes to the story of the young man in the scriptures, rather than focusing too much on his mistake, we should make sure that we ourselves are prepared to do the same thing that was asked of the young man.  

I am very glad that you yourself would have little problem doing this.  It would however, be a struggle for a lot of people.   It always has been and will be until the end.  That's why it's in the scriptures.  🙂  

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9 minutes ago, Scott said:

I am very glad that you yourself would have little problem doing this.

Yes, well, I think I would have little problem. I think. I guess we're never actually sure until we're in the situation.

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I really don’t think this story has anything to do with rich people giving away their money and followings christ. He did not create a new commandment where as soon as you acquired $1,000,000 you needed to give everything away. Instead he was just reinforcing the 2nd commandment, to have no other god.

Had I been the young man, God may have said “stop playing boardgames and watching marvel movies and devout more time to studying the gospel.”, or if he spoke to my mom (who is a very righteous woman) he may have said “stop focusing so much on eating healthy and working out and devout even more time to me.”

its easy for good things to sometimes outshine the gospel. Money is only one of those good things.

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