"Be Perfectly Joined Together"
August 21–27
FAIR Faithful Resources for Come, Follow Me 2023 August 21–27 1 Corinthians 1–7 “Be Perfectly Joined Together” Find answers to difficult questions to help you in your learning and teaching. Here is a collection of reliable resources to supplement your study of 1 Corinthians 1–7 . FAIR Resources link to relevant questions which have been answered on the FAIR website. Under Church Resources you’ll find links to the different Come, Follow Me manuals, as well as other helpful links as applicable. Other Resources link to resources outside of FAIR that are trustworthy and helpful.
Main points to ponder
As we read Paul’s message of unity to the Corinthian Saints, the lesson invites us to consider the following sources as we think of a relationship that could benefit from more unity in our own lives:
- 1 Corinthians 1:10–17; 3:1–11
- Mosiah 18:21
- 4 Nephi 1:15–17
- Doctrine and Covenants 38:23–27
- Doctrine and Covenants 105:1–5
- Gospel Topics, “Unity”
What insights can you gain about how to develop greater unity with others?
Faithful Resources on the FAIR website:
- Agency vs. Predestination
- Willing to Be Weak
- Is God Only a Spirit?
- FAIR Questions 2: Recognizing the Voice of the Spirit
- Do Latter-day Saints Believe Jesus and Satan Are Brothers?
- By Grace Alone? – FAIR
- “I Have Said, ‘Ye are Gods’”: Concepts Conducive to the Early Christian Doctrine of Deification in Patristic Literature and the Underlying Strata of the Greek New Testament Text
Resources on the Church website:
Come Follow Me – For Individuals and Families
Come, Follow Me—For Sunday School
New Testament Videos: Ye are the Temple of God, 1 Cor 3:14-17
Faithful Resources from other reliable websites:
- Scripture Central, Lynn Hilton Wilson: 1 Corinthians 1-7: New Testament with Lynne Wilson
- Scripture Central, Taylor and Tyler: 1 Corinthians 1–7 | Aug 21 – Aug 27 | Come Follow Me Insights
- The Scriptures are Real, Kerry Muhlestein: Overview of 1 Corinthians (week of Aug. 21, first to watch), Unity, Marriage, and Paul. Lincoln Blumell on 1 Corinthians 1-7 (week of Aug. 21, second to watch)
- Follow Him, John Bytheway and Hank Smith: 1 Corinthians 1- 7 Part 1 • Dr. Teresa Bell , 1 Corinthians 1- 7 Part 2 • Dr. Teresa Bell
- Unshaken, Jared Halverson: Come Follow Me – 1 Corinthians 1-7 (part 1): The Wisdom of God, Come Follow Me – 1 Corinthians 1-7 (part 2): Ye Are the Temple of God
- Talking Scriptures, Bryce Dunford and Mike Day: Ep 216 | 1 Corinthians 1-7, Come Follow Me 2023 (August 21-27)
- Don’t Miss This, David Butler and Grace Freeman: Come Follow Me New Testament 1 Corinthians 1-7
- BYU Scripture Roundtable Discussions: In the Power of God: Acts 18-20, 1 Corinthians 1-2, 12
- Links to other sites: (you may be copying and pasting some of their links)
- Interpreter resources for this unit: Come, Follow Me — New Testament Lesson 35 | The Interpreter Foundation
- Scripture Central resources: Come Follow Me 2023: 1 Corinthians 1–7 | Book of Mormon Central
- BYU RSC: (click “jump to this week’s lesson”): Come, Follow Me | Religious Studies Center
Dig Deeper
Be sure to listen to Jennifer Roach’s presentation for this week!
- General Conference Talks
- President Russell M. Nelson: Peacemakers Needed
- Elder David A Bednar: We Believe in Being Chaste
- Bishop Gérald Caussé: Is It Still Wonderful to You?
- BYU Devotionals
- Jeffrey R. Holland: Of Souls, Symbols, and Sacraments | BYU Speeches
- Matthew O. Richardson: Teaching Chastity and Virtue
Lesson Devotional
McKenzie Wood lives in Utah with her family and is constantly planning for her next Disneyland trip. She is a soon-to-be graduate of St. John’s University with her master’s in library and information science, and enjoys writing, reading, and amateur bird watching.
Lesson devotionals are provided by the Wilford Woodruff Papers Foundation. Its mission is to digitally preserve and publish Wilford Woodruff’s eyewitness account of the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ from 1833 to 1898. It seeks to make Wilford Woodruff’s records universally accessible to inspire all people, especially the rising generation, to study and to increase their faith in Jesus Christ. See wilfordwoodruffpapers.org.
“Be Perfectly Joined Together”
By McKenzie Wood
Wilford Woodruff once said, “In every age of the world the Saints of God have been obliged to be united. Babylon may divide; the inhabitants of the earth may have all the division they wish for . . . But the Saints of God cannot prosper unless they are united.”1
Paul taught this same concept in his own time: “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Corinthians 1:10).
God has taught throughout history that His Saints must be unified to become more like Him. Dissentions, arguments, and disagreements are natural to the human experience, but He wants us to become more than the natural man; He wants us to be better (see Mosiah 3:19). One way to do so is to become unified with the teachings of the gospel given to us by Jesus Christ through His prophets and apostles. We may not understand every little thing that involves—and that’s OK. All He asks is that we try to be more willing to submit to His will. Being unified with our brothers and sisters under the banner of God will come more naturally once we do.
1 Discourse by Wilford Woodruff, August 3, 1890, p. 1, The Wilford Woodruff Papers, wilfordwoodruffpapers.org/discourse/1890-08-03.
Chapter Summaries
1 Cor 1
1-9: Paul greets the Corinthian saints and gives thanks for their faith.
10-17: He pleads that they live in unity, not allowing that any individual boast regarding who taught or baptized him or her.
18-31: Others may believe that the Christian beliefs are foolishness. However, God chooses the weak and the humble to show forth his wisdom, might and salvation.
1 Cor 2
1-5: When Paul first shared his message with the Corintihian saints, his goal was for the Spirit to teach, not for them to be impressed with any wisdom on Paul’s part.
6-16: But, just because Paul does not rely on clever words in his preaching, the saints should not think the gospel message is not deep and meaningful. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. (v.9). The Spirit is the best teacher.
1 Cor 3
1-9: The Corinthian saints are still young in the gospel. Paul and others are helping to plant and nourish gospel seeds, while God causes those seeds to grow.
10-15: The only sure foundation for faith is Jesus Christ. As others teach, only what builds upon that foundation will last.
16: Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17-23: Paul warns again for them not to rely on the wisdom of the world, or to take pride in the source of their faith. Instead, they should find their satisfaction in their connection to Jesus and their Heavenly Father.
1 Cor 4
1-6: Paul hopes his dedication to preaching will be appreciated by the Corinthian saints, and his flaws forgiven.
7-21: Paul’s life as an apostle has been very challenging and full of trials. Though he cannot be with them in person, he hopes they will hold fast to his teachings and grow in their faith and help one another.
1 Cor 5
1-13: Paul admonishes the Corinthian saints to not only shun sexual and other serious sins, but that there is a need to expel those involved in those sins from their midst. His previous counsel was not to judge too harshly, particularly those not of the faith, but it had become clear that those sins were negatively impacting their fledgling faith community.
1 Cor 6
1-11: Paul is concerned about the frequency of legal disputes amongst the believers. It is better to settle the disputes within their faith community than to be judged by those who don’t understand their new found way of life. It can be better to suffer a wrong than to seek legal action, but the best recourse is for all to stop sinning.
1 Cor 7:
1-9: In Corinth, where sexual sin was rampant, Paul makes clear that sexual relations should only be between husband and wife.
10-16: Spouses should not divorce the other partner when one is a believer and the other is not.
17-24: Building on the previous concept, Paul counsels that whatever circumstance we may be in, married to a non-believer, a slave, circumcised – we should live a faithful life, devoted to Christ.
25-40: There are many aspects of life that take our attention away from our faith, such as material needs, family duties and concerns – even emotions such as mourning and sorrow. Paul says that “time is short” and encourages us to simplify our earthly lives so that our spiritual lives can be more rich. His advice is to not marry and to dedicate their lives to missionary work, if that is realistic.
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