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Saturday, September 20, 2008

Withstanding Temptations

So I got looking at some scriptures on withstanding temptations. So this post is just a compilation of what I found. Sorry no additional commentary to go with them. If we really want to be blessed it looks like withstanding temptation is they way to go about it. Most of them are common knowledge, but when we truly read these scriptures, not just turn off our mind because we know them they do talk to us.

James 1:12 “ Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”

D&C 23:1 “ ...But beware of pride, lest thou shouldst enter into temptation.”

2 Peter 2:9 “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations”

1 Nephi 15:24 “And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.”

D & C 10: 5 “Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work.”

Ether 12:27 “ 27 And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.”

Alma 13:28 “But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering;”

D & C 62:1 “Jesus Christ, your advocate, who knoweth the weakness of man and how to succor them who are tempted”

D & C 93:1 “Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you whom I love, and whom I love I also chasten that their sins may be forgiven, for with the chastisement I prepare a way for their deliverance in all things out of temptation, and I have loved you”

Also this is how temptation is defined on the official church web site, “Temptation is a test of a person's ability to choose good instead of evil. It is an enticement to sin and follow Satan instead of God. Part of the experience of this life is to learn to overcome temptation and to choose right over wrong.”

It really looks like humility is key to overcoming temptations.

4 comments:

Clean Cut said...

Well, you added some commentary after all, but an insightful one at that. We don't often think of humility as a key to withstanding temptation; however, it makes a lot of sense. We ought to be humbled by the fact that we are all in the same boat and in need of the same salvation offered by the Savior--not just after our repentance but to save us from ourselves while in the midst of temptation. Rightfully we sing "I Need Thee EVERY Hour". It's humbling to know that we can have such perfect faith and trust in Him, and equally humbling (if not more so) to think of the price He paid to rescue us.

Robby C said...

Thanks for the scriptures Dallas. I took your advice about “truly reading” them and did see something that I haven’t noticed before. You and I have discussed the idea found in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that we will never be tempted beyond that which we are able to bear. Put in modern day language, we should be able to handle any temptation that comes our way. We’ve discussed how it would seem that this is not the case since so many…actually all of us…succumb to at least one temptation or another. Since we give in to the temptation, we obviously weren’t able to handle it. But, what if the promise that we wouldn’t be tempted beyond that which we are able to bear was conditional? That would seem to make sense and explain why we can, and do, succumb to temptation. One of the scriptures you gave seems to imply that this conditionality is the case.

Alma 13:28 “But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear, and thus be led by the Holy Spirit, becoming humble, meek, submissive, patient, full of love and all long-suffering;”

Anyway, I won’t hijack your post with a bunch of my own commentary, perhaps when it’s all straight in my head I’ll write more in a new post. Thanks again for the scriptures.

Dallas said...

Clean Cut--Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. I agree there is a lot in our lives that should compel us to be humble, but we often overlook them. Take for example Ether 12:27. This is commonly known as the weakness can be turned into strengths scripture, however, after reading it again. The key to this is humility.

Dallas said...

Robby--feel free to tread jack on here. I mainly posted to help me clear my mind of some of my research. I like what you pointed out about Alma 13:28. I don't think I would ever have linked Alma 13:28 with 1 Cor 10:13. The second half of this verse is rarely quoted, "...who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able to; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

So I am tending to agree with you on the conditionality of tempting above that which we can bear, when things seem unbearable,if we humble ourselves, the lord is going to make a way for us to "escape."