"Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire."
Matthew 18:8-9
These verses seem extreme, I'm sure intentionally. Christ is trying to get our attention and make sure that we understand that our quest for heaven is more important than our bodies. God isn't actually asking us to maim outselves, but instead explaining that it's better to not have a body part than to let our bodies get in the way of our long-term happiness (both on earth and in the eternities because those concepts are tied together as we learn in Mormon 9:14). The best answer is to solve it a different way than maiming, but the maiming part is in here for those of us stubborn enough to argue that we can't. :)
Today, let's recognize when our bodies are getting in our way spiritually, and let's find a way, with God, to follow him anyway. I trust that, with God's help, we will be able to do that without harming ourselves. :)
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