The Gospel Changes a Servant into a Brother
Philemon 1:17–21
17 If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself.
18 If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account;
19 I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.
20 Yea, brother, let me have joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my bowels in the Lord.
21 Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie wrote:
“Here we have the imprisoned Paul writing a personal letter to his convert-friend Philemon to plead the cause of Onesimus, a runaway slave. It appears that Philemon was a rich and faithful member of the Church; that his slave Onesimus chose to escape, apparently robbing his master in the process; that the slave was thereafter converted by and ministered to the needs of Paul; and that the Apostle sent Onesimus back to his master with a plea that he be received mercifully and fellowshipped as one of the Saints.
“The epistle is tactfully and sweetly written and does more to reveal the personal feelings of its author than to contribute to the body of Christian doctrine.”
(Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1965–73], 3:129.)
