Martha and Mary

Although Martha demonstrated marvelous devotion and faith in the Savior in another setting (see John 11:19–29), here she complained, “Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me” (Luke 10:40). To help Church members learn an important lesson from this episode, Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles once cited a Brigham Young University devotional address by Professor Catherine Corman Parry:

“The Lord did not go into the kitchen and tell Martha to stop cooking and come listen. Apparently he was content to let her serve him however she cared to, until she judged another person’s service. … Martha’s self-importance … occasioned the Lord’s rebuke, not her busyness with the meal."

In Dallin H. Oaks, “‘Judge Not’ and Judging,” Ensign, Aug. 1999, 12–13; emphasis added.