Blogging Through the Book of Mormon

6:1-2 - Continuing with the behavioral code that he wants Timothy to teach his people, Paul now broaches a tough subject, that of slaves and their masters. Paul wants all those who are Christians and slaves or “servants,” to “count their own masters worthy of all honour.” He says that this is so that “the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed.” There’s a couple of reasons why this might be the pathway that Paul wants servants and slaves to take. First off, a discontented person is not pleasant to be around, regardless of what they do for a living. If a servant can be content in their place then that sets an example to others who think to themselves, “if that person who is in bondage can be happy, then whatever he has can make me happy to.” In that sense, this could be a missionary tactic. The other reason for this counsel is that people who are unhappy or negative have a harder time having the Holy Ghost influence their lives. Ultimately, Paul wants servants to be ok with thei...

5:1-8 - Continuing in his instruction of Timothy on how to properly govern the congregation he’s been assigned, Paul counsels Timothy to treat “elders” like a father, and young men as brethren, “elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters.” We know that Timothy is young and while Paul doesn’t want him to focus on that as a shortcoming, he’s also giving him practical advice in how to treat people so they can come to respect his authority. He continues, “honour widows that are widows indeed.” The description of “widows indeed” is interesting because really there’s only one definition of widow and that is of a woman whose husband has died. I can’t really think of very many circumstances in which a woman is a widow, but not really. The article on this chapter from gospeldoctrine.com says, “Paul distinguishes widows who are ‘widows indeed’ meaning that after the loss of their husband, they have turned unto the Lord for emotional and spiritual support.” So the “indeed” part might be ref...

4:6-9 - If Timothy teaches “the brethren” these things, he will be a “good minister of Jesus Christ.” Paul counsels him to “nourish up in the words of faith and of good doctrine” instead of relying on “profane and old wives’ fables.” This is kind of a comparison of the gospel truth and traditions that aren’t rooted in it. Interestingly, Paul continues, kind of in the same vein of meat eating and getting married, saying, “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things.” This statement is interesting for a couple of different reasons. First, Paul just talked about eating meat and getting married to counteract those who are saying “deny yourself all physical gratification,” which might imply “physical gratification is ok.” But then he takes the opposite approach when it comes to exercising your body. Both of these perspectives seem to endorse moderation in all things, but you can’t commit adultery in moderation, you can’t steal in moderation. There are c...

4:1-5 - The word "controversy" used in verse 1 of chapter 3, might hint that through the disputations among Christians throughout the centuries, "that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith." There are two specific beliefs Paul notes that will be hallmarks of those who don't accept the gospel. The first is that they are "forbidding to marry." This can go to two different extremes, first is that people aren't open to any kind of companionship and opt for abstinence and the other end are those who do seek companionship and refuse to marry their sexual partners. For those who choose celibacy, the righteousness of that choice really comes down to their motivation. The IM says, "In Paul's day, extreme asceticism- the practice of abstaining from physical pleasures in an effort to overcome desires of the flesh- was a threat to the Church. Although Paul did not expound on the doctrine of marriage in this particular passage, other v...

2:1-5 - After instructing Timothy on what to teach the women of his congregation how to act, Paul continues by talking about what the members in church leadership should be focusing on, beginning with Bishops. He says that bishops should be “blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, give to hospitality, apt to teach.” So a man that would be a bishop should be mild mannered and committed to the cause, but also friendly so as to be considered “hospitable.” He should be welcoming and a good teacher. Paul continues, “not given to win, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous.” It seems like his first part talks about the passive characteristics of a bishop but these are more active characteristics to avoid. The word “wine” is cross-referenced with the word of wisdom, which I assume means drunkard. I mean, I know that there are people who can drink alcohol socially and not have problems with having alcohol in their lives, ...

2:9-10 - When Paul uses the word “men” in verse 8 to instruct the congregation to pray, I thought that it was just the all encompassing “man” meaning all people, and it still might mean that, but in verse 9 Paul starts addressing women specifically. Now what he says sounds pretty misogynistic, but I read something yesterday that was pretty interesting. When Paul wrote these letters, he was writing them to a specific person concerning a specific community at a specific time in the world’s history. The question was, when Paul wrote these letters, did he think that they were still going to be around 2,000 years later and regarded as scripture? My guess is that he did not expect his words to endure this long. If he had known that they would and that his teachings specifically would be used to oppress women throughout Christianity, would he have done anything differently. In other words, if Paul knew that he was writing not just to Timothy, but to the vast swaths of Christendom for the next...

2:1-3 - By showing that he himself was a great sinner, even ignorantly, Paul was able to give an example of the grace of God working in his own life. Because Timothy is in an authoritative position, and because some of the members of his congregation had to be recently excommunicated, Paul urges Timothy to "prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men." This "all men" includes not only those in his own stewardship, but also "for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we made lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." I guess this is another hard concept for me because again, people are going to do what they are going to do and God's will is going to work in whatever way he has planned. I personally have found more peace in just "accepting" whatever comes, than praying for things and people, etc. I find that praying for something for me just causes anxiety about it because I'm always waiting...

1:12-14 - The "law," as Paul puts it, or the law of Moses, was made for those who aren't at the stage of their spiritual progression where they can regulate their own behaviors yet. And maybe as an example of the law as rehabilitative instead of punitive , Paul notes that he himself was "a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious," to the cause of the gospel. But Paul "obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief." I think the question here comes down to "how much does the person really know and believe?" If the gospel was laid out in front of every single person, individually and thoroughly, in a way only they completely understood while at the same time giving them full knowledge and feeling of Christ's love for them and the plan of salvation, then 99.9% of people would accept the gospel. They already did in the premortal world. But after passing through the veil into this life, the gospel isn't given to us in this way...

1:5-6 - The topics of genealogy and Jewish fables weren’t the only things leading people astray but other teachings that seem more benign. I think that I get into trouble with this concept as well because I’ll learn something that I think is so interesting but when I talk about it, other people either aren’t interested or I get the feeling that while I enjoy this tidbit, it is not testimony strengthening to others. The IM quotes Elder Bruce R. McConkie as teaching, “In God’s Church, the only approved doctrine is God’s doctrine. The Church is not a debating society; it is not searching for a system of salvation; it is not a forum for social or political philosophies. It is, rather, the Lord’s kingdom with a commission to teach his truths for the salvation of men.” I think that sometimes I get tied up in the whole fringes of the gospel and lose focus on the pure gospel. Just because I think it’s interesting and I want to talk about some of this stuff. But I need to keep in mind that ever...

1:1 - With Timothy left in Ephesus to manage the Church there, Paul is sending him some counsel about how to run the affairs of it. Some of this is specific to Timothy's time, some of it is specific to church leadership, but we can find it profitable for ourselves as well. Paul starts the letter by introducing himself as "an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Savior, and Lord Jesus Christ." This might be to give some clarity to those who question him authority in the church. This verse is so focused on the Savior that I find it very refreshing because he concludes it as "Jesus Christ, which is our hope." I've been thinking a lot about the apostles martyrdom and living for a purpose vs. just surviving. The conclusion that I've come to is that looking to Christ and his will in all of our endeavors makes the biggest difference in so many lives, mine for sure. So it's like Christ is not only our "hope" like Paul says here, bu...