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I am teaching this lesson, and teaching the subject in general, that Paul was writing to specific individuals and groups of people, in his time and his day, and we need to study his teachings through that lens. Some teachings, like many of his teachings about women, reflect his time and his opinion in his time. I transcribed George D. Watt’s shorthand for a general conference around 1860 {I can’t remember the exact year, it might have been earlier or later} where it seemed the major theme was, Keep your cattle out of your grain fields! Hardly relevant to most of us today, but essential then for the survival of those in Utah territory. I call myself a practical theologian – I study and ponder mostly to know how to live, how to worship, to learn about God. My Ph.D. is in literature, I read scriptures using the tools I learned there, and seek the principles behind Paul’s words – do these principles apply to us, today? What can we gain from his teachings? What parts were specific to his time and place, or to the person to whom he was writing? What are general? What can we learn that will help us here and now? I refuse to get upset about instructions to a different people in a different culture in a different time that really are not relevant to us today, according to our modern scriptures and prophetic teachings. Many of Brigham Young’s practical ideas were excellent counsel in his day, but not wise in our time, when so many things have changed.Share
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