‘Marriage for Eternity,’ Eternal Marriage Student Manual, (2003), p 173; “It is the normal thing to marry. It was arranged by God in the beginning. One is not wholly normal who does not want to be married. Remember: “Neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.” [1 Corinthians 11:11]
No one can reject this covenant (of celestial marriage) and reach the eternal kingdom of God. ” – Spencer W. Kimball
You can also read this online in a non-PDF format here.
1 Cor 7:24; “Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.”
The LDS reference we’ve posted today is from a student manual used by the Church in their educational systems, both at the university level and seminaries.
The problem in their interpretation of 1 Cor 11:11 is apparent when you read Paul’s letter in context. Once again they’ve arbitrarily plucked a scripture from the middle of the Bible to benefit their agenda.
In his exhortation to believers in Corinth, the Apostle Paul reminded the young church of their equal status in the body. The Father has assigned each person with a role to fulfill and one of the subject matters in these roles was head coverings.
Without getting into a deep theological exegesis on this, suffice it to say using 1 Cor 11:11 to argue marriage is mandatory for salvation is like trying to prove the world is flat. Neither is true, nor does it make sense.
Furthermore and isn’t there always a furthermore in these things? Since when is it abnormal to be single and never marry?
My husband Kirk had an aunt who lived 80+ years perfectly happy living a single life. She filled her days with a challenging career she enjoyed, she was active in her church and surrounded herself with family and friends. And no, she wasn’t a Catholic nun – in fact she was Lutheran.
The sad part about this isn’t just that the LDS teaching is wrong, they’re teaching this to young people. Imagine the pressure that’s put upon the kids that listen to this stuff…
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