This week’s “Come, Follow Me” study guide covers 1 Corinthians 14-16, which includes the apostle Paul’s teachings on the resurrection and celestial glory.
Church News recently dug through archives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to learn what leaders and scholars have said about these chapters.
1 Corinthians 14
“Our current world is deluged in a ‘war of words and tumult of opinions’ (Joseph Smith—History 1:10). Paul reminds us that ‘there are … so many kinds of voices in the world” (1 Corinthians 14:10). Which of all the voices rise clearly and meaningfully above the fray? It is the voice of God’s prophets, seers and revelators.”
— Elder Taniela B. Wakolo, April 2021 general conference, “God Loves His Children”
“We read in 1 Corinthians 14:10: ‘There are … so many kinds of voices in the world.’ We are surrounded by persuasive voices, beguiling voices, belittling voices, sophisticated voices and confusing voices. I might add that these are loud voices. I admonish you to turn the volume down and to be influenced instead by that still, small voice which will guide you to safety. Remember that one with authority placed his hands on your head after you were baptized, confirming you a member of the Church and saying, ‘Receive the Holy Ghost.’ Open your hearts, even your very souls, to the sound of that special voice which testifies of truth. As the prophet Isaiah promised, ‘Thine ears shall hear a word … , saying, This is the way, walk ye in it.’ May we ever be in tune, that we might hear this comforting, guiding voice which will keep us safe.”
— President Thomas S. Monson, October 2015 general conference, “Keep the Commandments”
“The apostle Paul taught us about comparing communication to musical instruments when he wrote to the Corinthians:
“‘And even things without life giving sound, whether pipe or harp, except they give a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped?
“‘For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?’
“If ever there was a time when the world needs disciples of Christ who can communicate the message of the gospel with clarity and from the heart, it is now. We need the clarion call of the trumpet.”
— Elder Gregory A. Schwitzer, October 2015 general conference, “Let the Clarion Trumpet Sound”
“We need not wonder vainly if the general authorities are speaking by the Spirit of inspiration or not — we can discover for certain. …
“That’s the same doctrine that Paul taught. Paul said, ‘Ye may all prophesy.’ He said, ‘Covet to prophesy’ (1 Corinthians 14:31, 39). The whole membership of the Church, the whole body of the Church is supposed to receive revelation. It’s not reserved for a select few, the missionaries or the bishops. We ought to get revelation.”
— Elder Bruce R. McConkie in the September 2007 Liahona article, “Ordinary Men, Extraordinary Callings”
1 Corinthians 15
“New Testament teachings on resurrection… promote hope and provide comfort. Paul emphasized that through resurrection, we can overcome death, pain and loss. He wrote to the Saints in Corinth: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?’ (1 Corinthians 15:54–55).
“What distinguished Christian teaching about resurrection was the belief that resurrection is made possible through Jesus Christ and that He is the first of many to be resurrected, the ‘firstfruits of them that slept’ (1 Corinthians 15:20).
“In Jewish literature written after Jesus, belief in resurrection was considered an essential tenet of faith, but differences of opinion arose regarding where resurrected beings would dwell, how long after death one would be resurrected, and how much the afterlife would resemble mortal life — that is, eating, drinking and so on. Apart from Christians and Jews, the only other ancient people to believe in a bodily resurrection were the Zoroastrians of Persia.”
— Daniel Becerra, assistant professor of ancient scripture at Brigham Young University, in the April 2023 Liahona article, “Jewish Views of Resurrection”
“Some of the most magnificent scriptural accounts of the Savior and His mission are set forth in 1 Corinthians. One chapter — 15 — has received worldwide attention through performances of George Frideric Handel’s ‘Messiah.’ It contains profound doctrine about the Savior. In the third part of ‘Messiah,’ immediately following the ‘Hallelujah Chorus,’ most of the scriptures used are from 1 Corinthians 15. In a few of these verses, Paul beautifully describes some of what the Savior accomplished:
“‘[For] now is Christ risen from the dead, … the firstfruits of them that slept. ...
“‘Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
“‘For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. …
“‘O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? …
“‘But thanks be to God, [who] giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.’”
— Elder Quentin L. Cook, October 2016 general conference, “Valiant in the Testimony of Jesus”
“God is our Father! All the love and generosity manifest in the ideal earthly father is magnified in Him who is our Father and our God beyond the capacity of the mortal mind to comprehend. His judgments are just; His mercy without limit; His power to compensate beyond any earthly comparison. ‘If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable’ (1 Corinthians 15:19).”
— President Boyd K. Packer, April 2015 general conference, “The Plan of Happiness”
“The Savior’s Redemption… atones for Adam’s transgression and the consequent Fall of man by overcoming what could be called the direct effects of the Fall — physical death and spiritual death. Physical death is well understood; spiritual death is the separation of man from God. In the words of Paul, ‘For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive’ (1 Corinthians 15:22). This redemption from physical and spiritual death is both universal and without condition.”
— Elder D. Todd Christofferson, April 2013 general conference, “Redemption”
“As the result of Christ’s victory over the grave, we shall all be resurrected. This is the redemption of the soul. Paul wrote:
“‘There are… celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
“‘There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
“‘So also is the resurrection of the dead’ (1 Corinthians 15:40–42).
“It is the celestial glory that we seek. It is in the presence of God that we desire to dwell. It is a forever family in which we want membership.”
— President Thomas S. Monson in the April 2011 Liahona article, “He Is Not Here, but Is Risen”
“It is common today to hide one’s identity when writing hateful, vitriolic, bigoted communications anonymously online. Some refer to it as flaming.
“The Apostle Paul wrote:
“‘Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
“‘Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God’ (1 Corinthians 15:33–34).
“It is clear that evil communications are not just a matter of bad manners. If practiced by Latter-day Saints, they can adversely affect those who do not have knowledge of God or a testimony of the Savior.
“Any use of the Internet to bully, destroy a reputation or place a person in a bad light is reprehensible. What we are seeing in society is that when people wear the mask of anonymity, they are more likely to engage in this kind of conduct, which is so destructive of civil discourse. It also violates the basic principles the Savior taught.”
— Elder Quentin L. Cook in the October 2013 Liahona article, “Act Well Your Part”
“God’s love is so great that He requires His children to obey His laws because only through that obedience can they progress toward the eternal destiny He desires for them. Thus, in the Final Judgment we will all be assigned to the kingdom of glory that is commensurate with our obedience to His law.
“In his second letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul told of a vision of a man ‘caught up to the third heaven’ (2 Corinthians 12:2). Speaking of the resurrection of the dead, he described ‘bodies’ with different glories, like the respective glories of the sun, moon and stars. He referred to the first two of these as ‘celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial’ (see 1 Corinthians 15:40–42). For us, eternal life in the celestial, the highest, glory is not a mystical union with an incomprehensible spirit-god. Rather, eternal life is family life with a loving Father in Heaven and with our progenitors and our posterity.”
— Then-Elder Dallin H. Oaks in the January 2011 Liahona article, “Fundamental to Our Faith”
“As regards the Resurrection, Paul asked, ‘Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?’ (1 Corinthians 15:29). We are baptized for the dead because we know that they will rise. …
“It matters tremendously what we do in relation to those who have gone before, because they live today as spirits and shall live again as immortal souls, and that because of Jesus Christ.”
— Elder D. Todd Christofferson in the March 2009 Liahona article, “Why Do We Baptize for the Dead?”
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