Overcoming Temptation

Ian and I gave talks in Sacrament today. While I'm not going to share my whole talk with you, I thought I'd post the quotes and scriptures that I used. I geared my talk more towards the youth in our ward since I felt that they were probably confronting the most temptation.


Spencer W. Kimball told about a huge tidal wave that struck Hilo, Hawaii, in 1946 with walls of water forty feet high. He described the devastation this way: “Homes had been overturned and shredded, crushed into splinters like toothpicks; fences and gardens were obliterated; bridges and roads were washed away. … Where one of our little chapels had stood, nothing remained but the foundation. More than a hundred people lost their lives; as many more were injured; thousands were left homeless. … One woman told how she received a telephone message from friends to get out and to leave—that a tidal wave was coming. She looked out to sea and saw the monstrous wave approaching, like a mountain. She and her husband picked up the baby and ran for their lives up the hill. However, two of their little girls were away from home playing near a clump of lauhala trees. They saw the wave coming, ran into the trees, and held tightly with their arms around the tree trunks. The first gigantic wave washed entirely over them, but they held their breath and clung with all their might until the water receded and their heads were again above the water. When the wave receded, they quickly ran up the hill before the succeeding waves came. Together, the family watched from the safety of the hill as their home disappeared under the pounding of the waves.”

President Kimball continued: “We, too, are faced with powerful, destructive forces unleashed by the adversary. Waves of sin, wickedness, immorality, degradation, tyranny, deceitfulness, conspiracy, and dishonesty threaten all of us. They come with great power and speed and will destroy us if we are not watchful” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1978, pp. 5–6; or Ensign, Nov. 1978, pp. 5–6).


“But a warning is sounded for us. It behooves us to be alert and to listen and flee from the evil for our eternal lives. Without help we cannot stand against it. We must flee to high ground or cling fast to that which can keep us from being swept away. That to which we must cling for safety is the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is our protection from whatever force the evil one can muster” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1978, p. 6; or Ensign, Nov. 1978, p. 6; italics added).

Ephesians 6:11-12 “Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”


“There is an oft-told story of three men who applied for the job of driving the coaches for a transportation company. The successful applicant would be driving over high, dangerous and precipitous mountain roads. Asked how well he could drive, the first one replied: ‘I am a good, experienced driver. I can drive so close to the edge of the precipice that the wide metal tire of the vehicle will skirt the edge and never go off.’

“ ‘That is good driving,’ said the employer.

“The second man boasted, ‘Oh, I can do better than that. I can drive so accurately that the tire of the vehicle will lap over, half of the tire on the edge of the precipice, and the other half in the air over the edge.’

“The employer wondered what the third man could offer, and was surprised and pleased to hear, ‘Well, sir, I can keep just as far away from the edge as possible.’ It is needless to ask which of the men got the job” (Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness [1969], 217–18).

Romans 12:21 “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”


David O. McKay said:

“All good things require effort. That which is worth having will cost part of your physical being, your intellectual power, and your soul power—“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” (Matt. 7:7.) But you have to seek, you have to knock. On the other hand, sin thrusts itself upon you. It walks beside you, it tempts you, it entices, it allures. You do not have to put forth effort. … It is like the billboard advertising attracting you to drink and to smoke. It is like the message that comes into your very homes with the television and radio. … Evil seeks you, and it requires effort and fortitude to combat it. But truth and wisdom are gained only by seeking, by prayer, and by effort.

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.”