Contributed by: Ann Scripture
D&C
121:45-46
45 Let thy bowels
also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue
garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of
God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from
heaven. 46 The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging
scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and
without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.
D&C 58:2
2 For verily I say
unto you, blessed is he that keepeth my commandments, whether in life or in death; and he
that is faithful in tribulation, the reward of the same is greater in the kingdom of
heaven.
D&C 93:49
49 What I say unto
one I say unto all; pray always lest that wicked one have power in you, and remove you out
of your place.
D&C 59:9
9 And that thou
mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of
prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day;
Stories
Story 1
"[A] camel and
his owner … were traveling across the desert sand dunes when a wind storm came up.
The traveler quickly set up his tent and moved in, closing the flaps to protect himself
from the cutting, grinding sands of the raging storm. The camel was of course left
outside, and as the violent wind hurled the sand against his body and into his eyes and
nostrils he found it unbearable and finally begged for entrance into the tent.
" ‘There is room only for myself,’ said the
traveler.
" ‘But may I just get my nose in so I can breathe
air not filled with sand?’ asked the camel.
" ‘Well, perhaps you could do that,’ replied
the traveler, and he opened the flap ever so little and the long nose of the camel
entered. How comfortable the camel was now! But soon the camel became weary of the
smarting sand on his eyes and ears, and he was tempted to ask again:
" ‘The wind-driven sand is like a rasp on my head.
Could I put just my head in?’
"Again, the traveler rationalized that to acquiesce
would do him no damage, for the camel’s head could occupy the space at the top of the
tent which he himself was not using. So the camel put his head inside and the beast was
satisfied again—but for a short while only.
" ‘Just the front quarters,’ he begged, and
again the traveler relented and soon the camel’s front shoulders and legs were in the
tent. Finally, by the same processes of pleading and of yielding, the camel’s torso,
his hind quarters and all were in the tent. But now it was too crowded for the two, and
the camel kicked the traveler out into the wind and storm" (Spencer W. Kimball, The
Miracle of Forgiveness [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1969], pp. 215-16).
Story 2
Alice was thrilled to
be invited to a party with all of her new friends. She knew several would be drinking, but
she decided she would just say "No, thank you" if anyone offered her a drink.
At the party, several people offered her drinks. She refused
the first few times, but she finally had one drink. This one drink multiplied into
several. As the evening progressed, Alice lost her ability to control both her mind and
her body. This loss was indeed heartbreaking because she later had to live with the
reality that she had also lost her chastity.
Story 3
" ‘That
junior prom date was a turning point. It started out a very special one. But as I see it
now, it turned out to be a tragic one, the beginning of our troubles. When I saw her
coming downstairs that night, I thought no girl was ever so beautiful and so sweet. We
danced through the evening; and then when we sat in the car, long and silently afterward,
my thoughts became unruly as we became more and more intimate.
" ‘Neither of us dreamed what was happening to
us,’ he continued, ‘but all the elements were there to break down resistance. We
did not notice time—the hours passed. The simple kisses we had often exchanged
gradually developed into petting. We stopped at that. But there were other nights—the
bars were down. We loved each other so much that we convinced ourselves that it was not so
wrong merely to pet since we sort of belonged to one another anyway. Where we ended one
night became the starting point for the next night, and we continued on and on, until
finally it happened—almost as though we could not control ourselves—we had
intercourse. We had even talked about it and agreed that whatever else we did we would not
go that far. And then when it was late—so late—so everlastingly late—we
woke up to the meaning of what we had done.’ "
Story 4
Carolyn leaned
against the wall outside of her school counselor’s office and let the tears flow. She
silently offered a prayer of thanks to her Father in Heaven.
The counselor had just informed her that she had been chosen
to receive one of the school’s most valuable scholarships. Her academic and
leadership qualifications were identical to those of several other applicants, so the
scholarship committee had looked beyond these qualities for their choice. The counselor
had told her about their evaluation of her personal habits and activities.
One teacher had commented that in his science labs, he had
never heard Carolyn use filthy language or tell or even laugh at a vulgar story. The
senior class adviser said he had attended several school dances and observed Carolyn
properly dressed and showing respect and attention to young men. He had never observed her
expressing affection to a young man beyond appropriate limits. Another teacher praised
Carolyn because she was always prepared, alert, and attentive in class. Some of the other
students were using drugs, tobacco, and liquor. They had come to class unable to
participate or even to comprehend what was being presented.
As Carolyn knelt to pray that evening, she reflected on what
the counselor had said. She recognized that it was her daily striving to live by gospel
standards that had brought her this valuable award. She thanked her Heavenly Father for
the gospel standards and for helping her live by them.
After her prayer, the scripture found in 3 Nephi 13:33 came very forcefully to
her mind and heart.
Story 5
One young woman
evaluated her daily activities and habits and set goals for maintaining her standards. She
knew that her happiness now and in the future depended on her maintaining her chastity.
Tell the following story:
Tamara accepted the prophet’s challenge to keep a
journal. Before she began dating, she decided to write in her journal the personal
commitments she had made about dating. She resolved to date only boys who had standards
similar to hers. There would be no parking, no necking, no petting, and she would always
have a prayer by herself before going out, to ask for strength to keep her commitments.
As she dated, she recorded her experiences and maintained
her standards even though she was pressured not to. She remained true to the commitments
that she had recorded in her journal.
While attending a university, Tamara became acquainted with
an outstanding Latter-day Saint young man. They often talked together and developed a
close friendship.
One day, in a casual conversation, the subject of
Tamara’s journal and the commitments she had made years earlier came up. It was then
that this young man determined that their friendship must develop into an eternal
partnership. He had been searching for a companion who had established high standards and
maintained them.
Quotations
Quote 1
President Kimball
then counseled the young couple: "Immorality does not begin in adultery or
perversion. It begins with little indiscretions like sex thoughts, sex discussions,
passionate kissing, petting and such, growing with every exercise. The small indiscretion
seems powerless compared to the sturdy body, the strong mind, the sweet spirit of youth
who give way to the first temptation. But soon the strong has become weak, the master the
slave, spiritual growth curtailed. But if the first unrighteous act is never given root,
the tree will grow to beautiful maturity and the youthful life will grow toward God, our
Father" ("President Kimball Speaks Out on Morality," Ensign, Nov. 1980, pp.
94-95).
Quote 2
"Good habits are
not acquired simply by making good resolves, though the thought must precede the action.
Good habits are developed in the workshop of our daily lives. It is not in the great
moments of test and trial that character is built. That is only when it is displayed. The
habits that direct our lives and form our character are fashioned in the often uneventful,
commonplace routine of life. They are acquired by practice" (Delbert L. Stapley, in
Conference Report, Oct. 1974, p. 25; or Ensign, Nov. 1974, p. 20).
Quote 3
"Do not try
merely to discard a bad habit or a bad thought. Replace it. When you try to eliminate a
bad habit, if the spot where it used to be is left open it will sneak back and crawl again
into that empty space. It grew there; it will struggle to stay there. When you discard it,
fill up the spot where it was. Replace it with something good. Replace it with unselfish
thoughts, with unselfish acts. Then, if an evil habit or addiction tries to return, it
will have to fight for attention. Sometimes it may win. Bad thoughts often have to be
evicted a hundred times, or a thousand. But if they are to be evicted ten thousand times,
never surrender to them. You are in charge of you. I repeat, it is very, very difficult to
eliminate a bad habit just by trying to discard it. Replace it" ("To the
One," in Speeches of the Year, 1978 [Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1979], p.
39).
Quote 4
"Some of us may
feel from time to time that some of [the Lord’s] commandments are an impediment to
happiness in this life, but this isn’t so; and deep down in our hearts we all know
that so long as we adhere to these commandments, just as surely as night follows day, we
will reap the blessings that are promised to the faithful. Remember, the Lord said:
" ‘I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say;
but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise’ (D&C 82:10)" (O. Leslie Stone, in
Conference Report, Oct. 1979, p. 105; or Ensign, Nov. 1979, p. 73).
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