Show Notes for Episode 22 of the Teach Me to Walk in the Light Podcast. Learn who it is you should separate yourself from and why, along with an FHE suggestion, teaching tip on using resources, and more Would You Rather Scripture Style questions you are going to love! This episode goes along with the Come, Follow Me – for Individuals and Families for the week of September 9-15.
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**This Episode goes along with the Come, Follow Me – For Individuals and Families for the week of September 9-15, 2019.
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PERSONAL STUDY [1:55]
1.For images of Opposites, Click HERE
2. 2 Corinthians 6: 14 -18
3. How can I be a good example or a good member missionary if I separate myself from the unrighteous? How is that Christlike? Isn’t that kind of rude? My answer to you is, not if it jeopardizes your spiritual well-being.
4. To explain, I want to discuss three types of people, I believe, that could fall into the category of the unrighteous that we should separate ourselves from. One, there are those that persecute the innocent and good people of the world; Second, certain friends and family; and Third, unbelievers that we willingly choose to yoke ourselves to.
5. Those that persecute the innocent and good people of the world. These are those that are just plain evil. They are the ones we hear about on a regular basis on the news. Every time we hear of shootings, bombings, brutal murders or abuse. 99% of the time, these crimes are committed because of the hatred in their hearts. They have little to no light of Christ left in them.
These crimes are done by people who started out thinking I’d never do that. But then they yoke themselves to people or groups whose teachings oppose those accepted by the church and before they know it, they’ve gotten in way over their head. They’ve exposed themselves to so much evil and their actions reflect it, and the light of Christ can no longer be with them. They end up having so much hatred in their hearts that they then commit crimes that at one time they never thought they would.
There are also those people and groups that join together out of revenge for those who commit evil acts. They get so upset with them that they then try to get revenge or have them pay for what they have done.
Even though we have not yoked ourselves to these types of unbelievers, we still much choose how we will react. How we will treat these kinds of unbelievers when we come in contact with them and how we will feel about them in our hearts.
6. In a discourse given by President Joseph F. Smith, he talks about how he loves his enemies and those who have trespassed against him and how we should too.
“I do not love them so that I would take them into my bosom, or invite them to associate with my family, or that I would give my daughters to their embraces, nor my sons to their counsels. I do not love them so well that I would invite them to the councils of the Priesthood, and the ordinances of the House of God, to scoff and jeer at sacred things which they do not understand…but I love them so much that I would not hurt them, I would do them good, I would tell the truth about them, I would benefit them if it was in my power, and I would keep them to the utmost of my ability from doing harm to themselves and to their neighbors. I love them that much; but I do not love them with that affection with which I love my wife, my brother, my sister or my friend. There is a difference between the love we should bear towards our enemies and that we should bear towards our friends.
…we do not love to associate with our enemies, and I do not think the Lord requires us to do it…
We should keep ourselves aloof from the wicked; the dividing line should be distinctly drawn between God and Belial, between Christ and the world, between truth and error, and between right and wrong. We ought to cleave to the right, to the good, to the truth, and forsake the evil… What affinity can we have for them? Let them alone, let them go their own way. Help them to all the happiness that it is possible for them to obtain in this world; for it will be all that they will ever get, unless they repent of their sins, and forsake their wicked ways.”
7. The next type of unrighteous people that I believe Paul could be referring to when it comes to not being unequally yoked, is certain friends and sometimes even family members.
8. Social Media Posts from Hank Smith:
HANK: We are supposed to be our brother’s keeper, but we are not required to be our brother’s doormat.
HANK: Being Christlike means being tolerant & forgiving. However, Jesus had boundaries. When Nazareth tried to kill Him, He never returned. He told Peter when he had crossed a line. He called out leaders for hypocrisy. He refused to speak to Herod. Clear boundaries are Christlike.
HANK: …You can forgive someone and move on without them in your life. You can say, “I forgive you. I hope you are happy. I wish you the best. Goodbye.” To think you have to return to a potentially cruel and painful relationship in order to forgive is simply not true. Some relationships need to be severed in order for everyone involved to move forward and heal. The trauma of betrayal can be too overwhelming to be able to be in close proximity to the betrayer. This doesn’t mean you haven’t forgiven, it means you are trying to keep yourself emotionally, physically, and spiritually healthy for those you love.
Hank: Don’t spend time and energy on someone who frequently makes you feel like you are a difficult person to love. If someone continually hurts you or devalues you, it is probably time to show them the door out of your life. The best apology is changed behavior. Enabling abuse is not Christlike.
9. Quote from Elder Holland:
Jesus did not say, “You are not allowed to feel pain or sorrow from the shattering experiences you have had at the hand of another.” Nor did He say, “In order to forgive fully, you have to reenter a toxic relationship or return to an abusive, destructive circumstance.”
10. And lastly, the third type is unbelievers that we willingly choose to yoke ourselves to, by this I’m referring to the footnote 14a in 2 Corinthians chapter 6, it says “interfaith marriage and temporal marriage”
11. From the Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, President Ezra Taft Benson taught the following:
“If someone wants to marry you outside the temple, whom will you strive to please- God or a mortal? If you insist on a temple marriage, you will be pleasing the Lord and blessing the other party. Why? Because that person will either become worthy to go to the temple- which would be a blessing – or will leave – which could also be a blessing – because neither of you should want to be unequally yoked (see 2 Corinthians 6:14).”
12. Quote from LeGrand Richards:
“We met this young lady…she came up here to the ‘Y,’ and I suppose that her parents felt just like all your parents, that it would be the place where she could find a good, faithful Latter-day Saint as a companion. She started keeping company with a young man who had been baptized a member of the Church, but he was not active in the Church. Then he finally got serious and he proposed to her. Do you know what she said? She said, ‘I will never marry a man who does not honor his priesthood and his membership in the Church, I am going to be able to point to my children and say, `You follow your father.` ‘
“Their courtship ended right there. He was not willing to pay the price…My, how you admire a girl who knows what it takes to find happiness in this world.”
13. Let us take Paul’s counsel to heart and be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Following this counsel is not being rude. It is protecting our spiritual well-belling. Like oil and water, there are certain opposites that just don’t mix. Like light and darkness or Christ and Satan, there are some things that just don’t go together. Now that doesn’t mean we cannot love them, for we can. We can still love them and we can treat them with kindness but we don’t have to be yoked together.
FHE [20:46]
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TEACHING TIP [24:30]
When it comes to Come Follow Me – whether it’s for personal, family or for Sunday School – my teaching tip today is…get familiar with all the study helps out there. There are so many. Just on your phone alone, you have The Gospel Library which is a fantastic resource. Have you ever taken a moment and gone through all the many things the gospel library app has to offer besides just looking up a scripture? It has magazines, music, videos, topics – it has a wealth of resources and information. There’s also the Sacred Music app, and the Media app – which are both fantastic. There’s also an app for youth.
Not only that, there are also other resources such as the Come Follow Me manual. Have you ever read the teaching tips that they always include at the bottom of each week? Or there’s so many great scripture study books and commentaries that are available on Amazon or at the Deseret Bookstore.
There’s also a lot of great resources that you can find in Facebook groups. Some of my favorite FB Groups include Come Follow Me 2019 for Individuals and Families – Keeping It Simple, or Come Follow Me for Families by Chicken Scratch or there’s also one by Love Pray Teach or one that’s called Come Follow Me Lessons Teach Learn Share.
With so many great resources out there, there is so much we can learn – it’s amazing. What an enriching experience it can be when you search for more understanding and meaning with all the many different resources available. Thank you for using my podcast as one of your resources.
#taketimeforfamily [26:17]
Would You Rather – Scripture Style from Or So She Says, Click HERE for the link
- Would you rather Be in the stable when Jesus was born…or be in the tomb when Jesus was resurrected?
- Would you rather build a temple or construct an ark?
- Would you rather help create the earth or be able to heal the sick?
- Would you rather eat manna from heaven or take a bite of the fruit from the Tree of Life?
- Would you rather be in the rainstorm that flooded the earth or experience three days of total darkness?
- Would you rather be taught at the feet of Jesus or be visited by an Angel?
Yours Truly,
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