5 Scriptures to Help You Overcome Temptation

1.      3 Nephi 18:15, 18-19  Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always, lest ye be tempted by the devil, and ye be led away captive by him. Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. Therefore ye must always pray unto the Father in my name;

The Savior is the only one who ever lived who was perfectly righteous.  Even though he was tempted in all the same ways that we are, he never gave in, and he faithfully followed His Father in all things, and he lived a wholly sinless life (see Hebrews 4:14-15).  This makes Christ the unopposed champion of resisting temptation.  Not only do we have his powerful example of obedience to guide us, but he also left us valuable teachings concerning how best to resist temptation and how to avoid it when possible. Given Christ’s sinless life and example, it makes sense to look carefully at the things he taught about resisting temptation.  Namely, he exhorted His disciples to “watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation.”

Why is it that constant prayer so effective a remedy in staving off temptation?  One answer has to do with the fact that the devil never sleeps.  He and his angels have nothing better to do than to try to lead you astray, and he is obsessed with your destruction.  I don’t know what it feels like to be sifted as wheat, but if Satan wants to do it to you, you can bet it’s not pleasant.  The only way to combat an enemy that never rests is to turn to God, who will never rest in providing and guiding us in the way to joy and salvation.   God is more powerful than the devil, and his voice can dispel the seductive tendrils of temptation.  We need Him in our lives, and prayer is the way for us to access God and His power.  That is why the devil works so hard to get us to neglect the habit and practice of prayer in our lives.

Why the Church has the Right to Speak Out on Political Issues

Q:  Is it typical for the church to [speak out] for or against voting for something [specifically in letters regarding impending state votes on the questions of doctor-assisted suicide and the legalization of recreational marijuana]? Does the church feel like the congregations can't make informed decisions on their own without out an official statement? Do they believe that…we have to be spoon fed our opinions?

                                       

A:  The church does not endorse any particular candidate or political party, however:

“The Church does… Reserve the right as an institution to address, in a nonpartisan way, issues that it believes have significant community or moral consequences or that directly affect the interests of the Church” (Official Statement on Political Neutrality, http://www.mormonnewsroom.org).

This has been the case throughout the church’s history.  For instance, the church expressed support for the so-called (and much praised) “Utah compromise” (Utah senate bill 296) which contained language designed to protect LGBT individuals from discrimination, while also protecting and preserving religious freedoms.  In the case of California Proposition 8, the church sent a letter to congregations in California encouraging members to get involved in efforts to pass the proposition, but the church was not directly involved, nor did it donate any money to those efforts.  Less recently, church leaders encouraged members to speak out against ratifying the proposed Equal Rights Amendment in the United States.  There are many other examples of the church urging members to speak up on one issue or another on “issues that it believes have significant community or moral consequences or that directly affect the interests of the Church.”

Note the careful wording in the passage quoted at the top of this article.  The church reserves the right to “address” issues.  In the recent letter about marijuana, the strongest language used by the first presidency is that they “urge” the members to speak up in opposition to the legalization of marijuana.  (Note that nowhere in the letter is anyone specifically told to vote one way or another). That’s because such letters constitute counsel rather than commandment.  As such, they do not represent any kind of direct mandate to the members to vote one way or another.  That means that you are left to reason for yourself as to what the right course of action should be.  Even if they could force the members to vote a certain way, the brethren would not do it.

“Some may believe that reason is not free when religious leaders have spoken, but I doubt that any religious leader in twentieth-century America has such a grip on followers that they cannot make a reasoned choice in the privacy of the voting booth. In fact, I have a hard time believing that the teachings of religions or churches deprive their adherents of any more autonomy in exerting the rights of citizenship than the teachings and practices of labor unions, civil rights groups, environmental organizations, political parties, or any other membership group in our society.” (Dallin H. Oaks, “Religious Values and Public Policy,” address given 29 February 1992, Brigham Young University Management Society, lds.org).

5 Scriptures to Help You Overcome a Faith Crisis

1.      Ether 12:6  And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.

If you are experiencing doubt, or even a crisis of faith, don’t despair.  All who desire a witness of the truth of the gospel must endure a trial of faith (or several).  Part of that trial is the expectation that we are to strive to cultivate faith before we obtain evidence that our faith is not in vain.  In fact, Paul goes so far as to preach that faith is, in itself, the evidence which we seek:

Hebrews 11:1  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

The apostle Peter taught that our faith will be refined if we maintain it even as we experience the fires of doubt.  If we love God, and believe in him, even “though now ye see him not,” we are promised that we will receive our sought after witness, the end (or object) of our faith. If you will stay faithful, even when “ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations [and trials]” (see 1 Peter 1:6), your faith will be rewarded, and you can "rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.”

1 Peter 1:7-9  That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.