What Lack I Yet? Turning Goals into Growth

By Anne Maxson

The beginning of a new year is often a time of goal-setting and making efforts to improve ourselves in one way or another. In his talk, “What Lack I Yet?” from the October 2015 General Conference, Elder Larry R. Lawrence provides valuable insights into how to find spiritual support and guidance in setting goals. 

He shares about how if we are humble, teachable, and seek the guidance of the Holy Ghost, we will be guided in ways to improve ourselves and continue to progress. As we are open to correction and counsel, the Holy Ghost can direct us in a way that no one else can. We can come to truly know what God wants for us. Furthermore, we can trust the advice and guidance we receive is personalized and is not biased by what we may want to hear.

Elder Lawrence gives some examples of the types of guidance we may receive - some simple like “clean your room” and others more complicated and requiring more spiritual effort. 

In a follow-up talk entitled “Why Not Ask?” from a June 2017 BYU Idaho Devotional, Elder Lawrence discusses ways to receive inspiration and help in achieving those goals that may seem a bit more daunting. 

In that talk, Elder Lawrence states, “After we have asked the Lord ‘What lack I yet?’ and after we have received an answer from the Spirit, then we will know for sure what we need to improve. Then we can come boldly before the throne of God and ask for the gift that would help us overcome our weakness. In this way, our weaknesses will truly become our strengths…God is waiting to hear from you. So why not ask? He still expects you to do your part, but He also wants you to use your heavenly resources.” 

So - why do we have to ask what we need and then ask for help in achieving it? Why can’t we just be “blessed” with all those things easily? It is because it is a matter of becoming, not just learning and asking. 

In his talk “The Challenge to Become” from the October 2000 General Conference, President Dallin H. Oaks stated, “This process requires far more than acquiring knowledge. It is not even enough for us to be convinced of the gospel; we must act and think so that we are converted by it. In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something.” (Emphasis in original)

The opening hymn at President Jeffrey R. Holland’s funeral was “I Stand All Amazed.” As I considered the Christ-like attributes of mercy, love, and devotion, I couldn’t help but think of President Holland and his personal, yet public, journey to become like the Savior. After a significant illness in 2023, he shared the following in his April 2024 General Conference address, “I received…an admonition to return to my ministry with more urgency, more consecration, more focus on the Savior, more faith in His word.” 

Watching his fervent and increased dedication to testifying of Christ since that time, helped me to see how one should respond when feeling that push to become. I am forever grateful for his inspiring example of aligning his life with the Lord’s will as a dedicated disciple of Christ. 

As we contemplate our goals for this year, consider this insight from President Oaks: “We are challenged to move through a process of conversion toward that status and condition called eternal life. This is achieved not just by doing what is right, but by doing it for the right reason—for the pure love of Christ.” 

I invite you to ponder how making the pure love of Christ the “why” behind your goals can guide you as you ask the Lord, “What lack I yet?”