Who Is Good

And there are none that doeth good except those who are ready to receive the fulness of my gospel, which I have sent forth unto this generation. Doctrine & Covenants 35:12

A lawyer once asked Jesus: “Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God” (Matthew 19:16-17). God’s perfection is the standard against which we judge all things. To achieve anything less than the highest standard is to fall short of the divine ideal. And so it is with our response to hearing the fulness of the gospel. Clearly, the Lord is not saying that there are no good people outside The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There are many devoted, God-fearing, Christ-seeking individuals in the world who are striving to live in harmony with the light they possess. But our Heavenly Father cannot be completely satisfied with their standing before him until they have the opportunity to get on the path that leads to the divine ideal. (Robert L. Millet and Lloyd D. Newell. Draw Near Unto Me: Daily Reflections on the Doctrine and Covenants. 93)