“It is very often the sins of omission that keep us from spiritual wholeness because we still lack certain things. Remember the rich, righteous young man who came to Jesus asking, ‘Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?’ …
“A customized commandment thus came for that man [see Matthew 19:21–22]. It was something he needed to do, not something he needed to stop doing, that kept him from wholeness” (“The Pathway of Discipleship” [Brigham Young University fireside, Jan. 4, 1998], 4, speeches.byu.edu).
“We might well ask, ‘Isn’t it enough to keep the commandments? What more is expected of us than to be true and faithful to every trust? Is there more than the law of obedience?’
“In the case of our rich young friend there was more. He was expected to live the law of consecration, to sacrifice his earthly possessions. …
“As you know, the young man went away sorrowful. … And we are left to wonder what intimacies [closeness] he might have shared with the Son of God, what fellowship he might have enjoyed with the apostles, what revelations and visions he might have received, if he had been able to live the law of a celestial kingdom” (“Obedience, Consecration, and Sacrifice,” Ensign, May 1975, 51).
“Some have asserted that the eye of the needle was a small door in the Jerusalem city wall, requiring a camel to be stripped of its load in order to enter. There is no evidence that such a door ever existed. Others have proposed that altering one letter in the Greek text would change the scripture to mean that a rope, not a camel, would have to pass through the eye of a needle. However, when Jesus Christ referred to a camel passing through the eye of a needle, it was likely an example of hyperbole, an intentional exaggeration to teach ‘that a rich man shall hardly [with difficulty] enter into the kingdom of heaven’ (Matthew 19:23). The Joseph Smith Translation adds, ‘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 suchall these things are possible’ (Joseph Smith Translation, Mark 10:26 [in Mark 10:27, footnote a])” (New Testament Student Manual [Church Educational System manual, 2014], 63).
“Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained that the phrase ‘drink of the cup’ was ‘a metaphorical expression meaning, “To do the things which my lot in life requires of me.”’ He explained that the phrase ‘be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with’ means ‘to follow my course, suffer persecution, be rejected of men, and finally be slain for the truth’s sake’ (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary,1:566). By asking the questions, ‘Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?’ (Mark 10:38), the Savior refocused the attention of James and John on carrying out the Father’s will, rather than on receiving glory and honor” (New Testament Student Manual [Church Educational System manual, 2014], 126).
“That man [or woman] is greatest and most blessed and joyful whose life most closely approaches the pattern of the Christ. This has nothing to do with earthly wealth, power, or prestige. The only true test of greatness, blessedness, joyfulness is how close a life can come to being like the Master, Jesus Christ” (“Jesus Christ: Gifts and Expectations,” Ensign, Dec. 1988, 2).