Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Corinthians 7:7-8

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Corinthians 7:7-8
"For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.
I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I."

Was Paul married?

"Paul’s words of counsel—“I would that all men were even as I myself” and “It is good for them if they abide even as I”—have led some to mistakenly believe that Paul was unmarried and promoted the celibate lifestyle as being superior to marriage. However, Paul probably was married or had been at some point. Most scholars acknowledge that Paul was either a member of the Jewish ruling body—the Sanhedrin—or a close associate of the group. To comply with the Sanhedrin’s membership requirements, Paul would have had to be married. Even if Paul was simply a representative of the Sanhedrin, he would have been expected to be in harmony with all accepted Jewish customs and therefore be married. In addition, Paul clearly taught the importance of marriage and family life .
Many of Paul’s instructions in this chapter were likely meant to help Church members understand that marriage was appropriately delayed for full-time missionary service. The Joseph Smith Translation supports this conclusion:
“But I speak unto you who are called unto the ministry. For this I say, brethren, the time that remaineth is but short, that ye shall be sent forth unto the ministry. Even they who have wives, shall be as though they had none; for ye are called and chosen to do the Lord’s work. …
“But I would, brethren, that ye magnify your calling. I would have you without carefulness. For he who is unmarried, careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord; therefore he prevaileth.
“But he who is married, careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife; therefore there is a difference, for he is hindered” (Joseph Smith Translation, 1 Corinthians 7:29, 32–33 [in the Bible appendix])."
(New Testament Student Manual, "Chapter 38:1 Corinthians 1-11")

Day 4193

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Corinthians 6:3

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Corinthians 6:3
"Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?"

How would we ever judge angels? Angels abide with God. I decided to search this out and found it is referring to a righteous man in his resurrected and exalted state.

"The man who passes through this probation, and is faithful, being redeemed from sin by the blood of Christ, through the ordinances of the Gospel, and attains to exaltation in the kingdom of God, is not less but greater than the angels, and if you doubt it read your Bible, for there it is written that the Saints shall “judge angels,” and also they shall “judge the world.” And why? Because the resurrected, righteous man has progressed beyond the pre-existent or disembodied spirits, and has risen above them, having both spirit and body as Christ has, having gained the victory over death and the grave, and having power over sin and Satan, in fact having passed from the condition of the angel to that of a God. He possesses keys of power, dominion and glory that the angel does not possess—and cannot possess without gaining them in the same way that he gained them, which will be by passing through the same ordeals and proving equally faithful. It was so ordained when the morning stars sang together, before the foundations of this earth were laid. Man in his pre-existent condition is not perfect, neither is he in the disembodied estate. There is no perfect estate but that of the risen Redeemer, which is God's estate, and no man can become perfect except he becomes like them. And what are they like? I have shown what Christ is like, and he is like his Father, but I will refer to an undoubted authority to this people, on this point, “The Father has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; the Son also; but the Holy Ghost has not a body of flesh and bones, but is a personage of Spirit. Were it not so, the Holy Ghost could not dwell in us.”  There is not time to refer to the many scriptural passages which might be cited in proof of these important facts, enough already has been referred to, to place the matter beyond a doubt."
(Joseph F. Smith, "Man a Mortal and an Immortal Being, Etc.", JD 23:169)

Day 4192

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Corinthians 5:2

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Corinthians 5:2
"And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you."

A member of the church in Corinth was having sexual relations with his father's wife, which would be his step-mother. It was not acceptable in the church and in society outside of the church too. Paul judged the matter and they were to remove this man from the church. For the members he tells them they are puffed up. The reason for this is they thought they would not be affected by having this man around them. Leaving the man in his open sins would only bring them down morally. They should have mourned and helped him on the road to repentance. This is what Paul started for the man.

"Paul advised the Corinthian Saints “not to company with fornicators”. Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles expounded on this teaching, pointing out that even a good person cannot remain unaffected by unrighteous influences: “Do not company with fornicators—not because you are too good for them but, as C. S. Lewis wrote, because you are not good enough. Remember that bad situations can wear down even good people. Joseph had both good sense and good legs in fleeing from Potiphar’s wife” (“The Stern but Sweet Seventh Commandment,” in Morality [1992], 29).
(New Testament Student Manual, "Chapter 38: 1 Corinthians 1-11")

Day 4191

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Corinthians 4:5

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Corinthians 4:5
"Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God."

We are not to judge others, we cannot always see what the Lord sees. I think there are different types of judgment. One that is very wrong is deciding what type of glory or lack of it the person deserves. Judging them wicked to be case down to hell or outer darkness, that we should never do. Only God can judge that. We cannot take away a person's ability to repent.

I have also found over the years that I cannot judge someone righteous either. I've seen some that were righteous go off on the wrong path. So we do have to be careful to not judge someone righteous, and put them on a pedal stool and accept everything they say. I found I have to be careful especially of those online and what they teach. We are to be careful in this regard. It's not calling the teacher evil, but having wisdom that not everything is always 100% correct that someone says. We need to learn, ponder and pray about what we listen to. How grateful I am for living prophets and the guidance their teachings have set as my standard.

Day 4190