“Desires determine the gradations in outcomes.” – Neal A. Maxwell
The more we resist a temptation the less power it will have to tempt us in the future.
Seeking Christ in every thought and following Him with all our heart requires that we align our mind and desires with His. The scriptures refer to this alignment as “stand[ing] fast in the Lord.” This course of action implies that we continually conduct our lives in harmony with the gospel of Christ and focus daily on everything that is good. Only then may we achieve “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding” and which will “keep [our] hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” The Savior Himself instructed the elders of the Church in February 1831, “Treasure these things up in your hearts, and let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds.”
This requires the humility to bend our will to His rather than seeking to bend His will to ours.
Our ancient and modern prophets have constantly reminded us to resist temptation in order to avoid losing our spiritual traction and becoming confused, disoriented, and disillusioned in life.
Metaphorically speaking, yielding to temptation is like approaching a magnet with a metal object. The magnet’s invisible force attracts the metal object and holds it tightly. The magnet loses its power over it only when the metal object is placed far from it. Therefore, just as the magnet is unable to exercise power over a faraway metal object, as we resist temptation, it fades away and loses its power over our mind and heart and, consequently, over our actions.
The sooner we reject know thoughts and ideas the easier they will be to put behind us.
During a particularly difficult time when Joseph Smith and his fellow prisoners in Liberty Jail did not have freedom in anything except for their thoughts, the Lord provided helpful counsel and a promise to them that are extended to all of us:
“Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men [and women], and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; …
“The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth.”
In doing so, holy thoughts will continuously adorn our minds and pure desires will lead us to righteous actions.
Choosing to feel and act charitably toward others will attract uplifting thoughts.
The word lust refers to an intense longing and improper desire for something. It encompasses any dark thoughts or evil desires that cause an individual to focus on selfish practices or worldly possessions rather than doing good, being kind, keeping the commandments of God, and so forth.
My dear friends, when we resist the little temptations, which often come unexpectedly in our life, we are better equipped to avoid serious transgressions. As President Spencer W. Kimball said: “Seldom does one enter into deeper transgression without first yielding to lesser ones, which open the door to the greater. … ‘A clean field [does not] suddenly [become] weedy.’”
Likewise, a weedy field does not student become clean. When we begin to repent we must be patient with ourselves as we continue to have unclean thoughts seeking lodging in our minds.
Can you imagine, my brothers and sisters, what would happen if we were to derive strength and courage from the Savior and say, “No” and “Get thee hence” to unvirtuous thoughts that very first moment they come into our minds? What would be the impact on the desires of our hearts? How would our resulting actions keep us close to the Savior and allow the continued influence of the Holy Ghost in our lives? I know that by following Jesus’s example, we will avoid many tragedies and undesirable behaviors that might cause family problems and disagreements, negative emotions and inclinations, perpetrating injustices and abuses, enslavement by evil addictions, and anything else that would be against the Lord’s commandments.
I testify to you that the promises given by our dear prophet are the promises given by the Savior Himself. I invite all of us to “hear Him” in every thought and follow Him with all our heart in order to obtain the strength and courage to say, “No” and “Get thee hence” to all the things that might bring unhappiness into our life. If we do so, I promise that the Lord will send an added measure of His Holy Spirit to strengthen and comfort us and we may become individuals after the Lord’s own heart.
I’ve been wanting to figure out how to record and remember promises and counsel from conference. I think I’ve just decided how to do it. Starting in April 2021 I will have a post titled “Promises {Conference ID}” in which I will gather the promises and invitations to act from the various conference talks.
Leave a Reply