Thursday, January 31, 2019

2 Corinthians 5:4 -- On Eternal Clothing

"For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life."
2 Corinthians 5:4


When Paul talks about a tabernacle in this chapter, he is talking about the "tabernacle of clay" (Mosiah 3:5; Moroni 9:6), or in other words, the body.  He refers to our spirits or souls being clothed in a body, so basically this verse is saying that we sometimes suffer because of the pain and inadequacies of our mortal bodies, but it isn't that we are seeking a disembodied existence, but rather a resurrection into a perfect, heavenly body and an immortal life.

D&C 183:50 helps clarify this as well, telling us that "the dead had looked upon the long absence of their spirits from their bodies as a bondage."  This helps us to know that coming to earth and receiving bodies is truly a gift from God, and something that we are going to want forever, even if for a time on this earth our bodies cause us a lot of pain or hardship.

Today, let's keep our bodies clean and pure along with our spirits, but let's not look on them as something bad.  They are good, and are an amazing gift from God that bring us a lot of joy.  We just have to learn to use them wisely.  Let's rejoice where we can, and have patience the rest of the time, waiting upon God's timing to be clothed with perfected bodies that aren't subject to death and pain. :)

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