Being Equally Yoked

Being Equally Yoked

There is a topic that I have been thinking a lot about lately. It is what it means to be "equally yoked" to the people around you. Especially your spouse. This week in my study of the New Testament I stumbled across a scripture in 2 Corinthians 6:14 that says...

"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?"

This verse is a pretty intense verse with some pretty different interpretations. Paul is the author of this book and he is writing to the saints who are living in Corinth. Is he telling them, and us, to not be friends with those who aren't faithful members? Surely he isn't telling us to drop every one of our non-member friends and live in a shelters lds community where we will never be around those who are "equally yoked" in the gospel with us. 

There is a talk, given by President Spencer W. Kimball which he actually gave at Rick's college that helped me to better understand this scripture and what it meant. (I'll put a link to his talk at the bottom of this blog post.) President Kimball shared, "Perhaps Paul wanted them to see that religious differences are fundamental differences". I am inclined to agree with the prophet of the Lord.
I think paul wanted the people of Corinth to understand that when we join God's army, his church and become one of his people we are become different from those around us. Another quote from his talk reads, "The law of Moses forbade the yoking of an ox and an ass together so that the weaker animal would not hold the stronger one back and the stronger animal would not inflict pain or discomfort on the weaker one". Perhaps Paul was worried that his faithful members would be held back by non-believers.

In many ways I completely agree with Paul. I grew up in Madison Wisconsin, an area that is not very religious in general, but more specifically does not have many LDS members. If you do not count my siblings, there were only 2 other members of my same faith at my high school. My friend-group in high school didn't even include any members of my same faith. There were times when this did drag me down to do things I shouldn't have. On some occasions I would even not be invited to certain parties or hang-outs because everyone knew what my standards were and they were different then some of my friends. I get what Paul was saying. Light and darkness are different. Righteousness and unrighteousness are different. When you are a member of Christ's church and accept him, you become different.

Being equally yoked also has to do with who we pick as our partners in marriage for the rest of our lives. I want to be a Marriage Therapist some day, so of course this topic is important to me. I have a feeling that I will talk to so many couples whose marriage is suffering because they are not on the same page, or in other words, they are un-equally yoked. Its sad to think that I will form a whole career around that idea, because if their are not couples fighting then there would not be a need for marriage therapy.

I personally believe that being equally yoked with your spouse means believing in the same religion. When we follow Christ, our religion, it dictates how we act, what we do, and who we are. When you are not on the same page about this with a spouse, it can be heartbreaking. Especially in our church.
President Kimball shares this tragedy in these words, "Over the years many times women have come to me in tears. How they would love to train their children in the Church, in the gospel of Jesus Christ! But they were unable to do so. How they would like to accept positions of responsibility in the Church! How they would like to pay their tithing! How they would love to go to the temple and do the work for the dead, to do work for themselves, to be sealed for eternity, and to have their own flesh and blood, their children, sealed to them for eternity!"

I am not here to condemn those who are married to someone of a different faith then them. I am simply writing this blog because from my viewpoint, being equally yoked is important in marriage.
I am grateful for Paul's writings in 2nd Corinthians about being equally yoked. I am grateful that I have the most wonderful wife who fully understand the gospel and allows me to practice my beliefs. Finally I am so grateful that because we are equally yoked we were married in the temple and can be together for eternity.

I plead with you that if you want to learn more you read the talk linked below and that you become equally yoked with those surrounding you in your life.


Link to President Kimball's talk: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1979/10/the-importance-of-celestial-marriage?lang=eng&para=p13%2Cp15%2Cp17%2Cp19#p13

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Using Statistics: What Factors Impact Gun Use?

Image
      Imagine a word where each action could be quantified in numerical form. Where numbers could be used to better understand every relationship and why certain things in life happen more often than others. The beauty of statistics is that this is the case. Once data is accurately collected, it can be utilized to learn about why events happen or occur.  Data Collected: Gun Use     The data that was collected for this example was gun use, as well as certain identifiers such as race and marital status. Using R Studio, these numerical representations were utilized to discover how which populations used guns most often, as well as which used guns least often. Although the labels may be difficult to read, look at the graphs below and try to discover which demographics answered yes to using guns most often.  Note: from left to right the labels read Mexican American, Other Hispanic, Non-Hispanic White, Non-Hispanic Black, Non-Hispanic Asian, Other Races: Multi Racial Note: the labels read (F
Read more

The Origin of True Authority

The Origin of True Authority This week in my studies I came across a scripture that got my mind thinking. The scripture was in the Book of Mark, chapter 1, verse 21 & 22, and it reads... " And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.  And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes."  To set the stage, Mark is telling about some of the things that Christ did in his ministry, and he tells this right after saying how Christ called his apostles one by one. These scriptures stood out to me because they outline the distinct difference that people were able to see between the scribes and the Lord, Jesus Christ. In two ways he was different, in his "astonishing" knowledge of the doctrine and in his authority.  Christ's knowledge of the doctrine came from study and prayer. He was the Son of God, but he grew up learning, as th
Read more

Rent to Buy Marriages

"Rent to Buy" Marriages Renting in America is common when it comes to objects, like a suit for a wedding, a truck when you move houses, or even a movie to entertain your family for a night, but have you ever thought of marriage as something you would want to rent before you bought?  Today we see many people convinced that the best way to prepare for marriage is to take their future spouse for a "test drive" before they purchase. The phenomenon I am referring to is called cohabitation. It involves two unmarried individuals who are in a relationship living together prior to being married. These cohabiting relationships often operate by certain rules, like living together and having sexual intercourse, but not combining finances or becoming fully dependent on one another. The goal in these relationships is to enjoy the benefits of living together without having to be committed fully to the other person. Although this model of "trying before you buy"
Read more