Blogging Through the Book of Mormon

One tool that I’ve found to be helpful when dissecting the scriptures is to go back and re-read the last part of the previous chapter before moving on to the next one so that I can have some continuity when moving on. The scriptures are divided into chapters and verses for our benefit now, but when they were originally written, I would imagine that they would have been more like a block of text. So when I start a new chapter, looking back at the previous topic helps me a lot. In the case of chapter 11, it helps to consider that Paul was counseling the saints in Corinth to make their decisions based on how it would help or hinder God’s work. Paul tells them, “give none offense” and that he seeks to “please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.” I don’t think that this means that Paul does whatever it takes to make people like him, but like we discussed when he said that he tries to “be all things to all people,” he adapts hi...

The insights that I had into the concept of “temptation” last week were really helpful to me as I thought about it over the weekend. One thought that I had was that one of the reason that Jesus was able to overcome all his temptations and why he is able to overcome ours is because he is secure in his spirituality. Temptation appeals to us in the places that we are spiritually weak, and as we work to strengthen those areas, the temptations fade away as enticements. One particular temptation that Paul knew the Corinthians dealt with, and one that I deal with as well, is addresses in his statement, “flee from idolatry.” The two definitions that I can come up with are worshipping idols, which is more subtle today than it probably was previously, and laziness. I think in this sense, as it is used here, what Paul means is “flee from distraction.” A few verses down from here Paul says, “whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” The article from...

 Comparing ancient Israel to the saints in Corinth in his day, Paul was able to demonstrate to them that all people have struggled between the natural human instinct and God’s laws. But Paul assures them, and us, “there hath no temptation taken you but such as in common to man.” This means that any temptation that we face has been faced by people before, and that really makes you think because there are some crazy people out there into some crazy stuff. The  gospeldoctrine.com  article explains, “one of Satan’s great lies is to tell an individual that his tribulations are greater than any other- that his particular trials are more trying, that his temptations are more tempting, and that his situation is different than anyone else.” I have felt this way, when I was a teenager, I thought that I was so special that I didn’t have to keep the commandments, and it wasn’t until years later than I learned that it was precisely because I was so special that I had to keep them. ...

I’m back almost two weeks later than I had planned because while on vacation I got thrown off a horse and was injured significantly enough that I had to miss a week of work. I feel a little bit better, but I’m still pretty sore and it’s been a very interesting experience where I learned a lot about myself and who I really am deep down. Interestingly, my situation and reaction to being injured helped me gain some insight into what Paul is saying to the Corinthians. Just like Jesus, Paul uses the scriptures to teach lessons to the people. Paul reminds the people “that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea.” Here Paul references when the ancient Israelites left Egypt and crossed the Red Sea on dry ground after it had been separated by Moses. This miracle is prominent in the minds of believers, but the article from  gospeldoctrine.com  says, “some may have forgotten that God very literally led the children of Israel along every step of their journ...