Stoic Principle: Temperance
"Therefore, cease from all your light speeches, from all laughter, from all your lustful desires, from all your pride and light-mindedness, and from all your wicked doings."
-Doctrine & Covenants 88:121
Temperance
The principles which are to be discussed are universally applicable to both male and female, but it will be tailored primarily for men and boys.
In the Book of Mormon, the prophet Alma addressed his son, Shiblon, following a mission to a group of people who had apostatized from the church of God. Some of the things which Alma counseled his son were given in the following words:
Alma 38
9. And now, my son, I have told you this that ye may learn wisdom, that ye may learn of me that there is no other way or means whereby man can be saved, only in and through Christ. Behold, he is the life and the light of the world. Behold, he is the word of truth and righteousness.
10. And now, as ye have begun to teach the word even so I would that ye should continue to teach; and I would that ye would be diligent and temperate in all things.
11. See that ye are not lifted up unto pride; yea, see that ye do not boast in your own wisdom, nor of your much strength.
12. Use boldness, but not overbearance; and also see that ye bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love; see that ye refrain from idleness.
What is temperance? And how does one practice being temperate in all things? What is diligence, and how does one stive to be diligent? What does it mean to be lifted up unto pride? How does one bridle his passions? What does it mean to refrain or cease from "all laughter"? What does it mean to be light-minded?
One of the definitions for temperance means to abstain from alcoholic beverages. (1) This brings to mind the old temperance societies during the 19th and early 20th Centuries. One can also think of Alcoholics Anonymous, and other similar associations that help people to overcome their various vices or addictions.
Another definition is given: "Moderation and self-restraint."(2)
"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof."
-Romans 6:12
Temptations & Weaknesses
Why do we face temptation? And why are we given weakness? How can we find strength in the Lord?
"Therefore hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will that the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
-1 Corinthians 10:13
All of us suffer from temptation, and for the record, being tempted is not sinful. Yielding to temptation is sinful.
All of us experience temptations. So did the Savior, but He “gave no heed unto them” (D&C 20:22). Similarly, we do not have to yield simply because a temptation surfaces. We may want to, but we don’t have to. An incredulous female friend asked a young adult woman, committed to living the law of chastity, how it was possible that she had never “slept with anybody.” “Don’t you want to?” the friend asked. The young woman thought: “The question intrigued me, because it was so utterly beside the point. … Mere wanting is hardly a proper guide for moral conduct.”
-President D. Todd Christofferson, "Moral Discipline"
Due to the fact that we live as mortals on the earth, we are prone to sin because of our fallen nature. We struggle with the Apostle Paul called the "thorn in the flesh":
2 Corinthians 12
7. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure
Our mortal frames are prone to thorns of the flesh. Temptations are also thrown by Satan to hinder, or cause us to stumble. Thankfully, however, we can find strength in the Lord because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. His grace can help us find strength in our weakness. Paul continues:
8. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
9. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Turning to the Book of Mormon, the Lord gave the following counsel to Moroni:
"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."
-Ether 12:27
We are given weakness to be humble! Notice how Paul wrote how he petitioned the Lord three times. It's not enough to simply offer a single prayer asking for a temptation or weakness to be taken from us. Remember how Alma counseled his son Shiblon to be diligent and temperate in all things. To be diligent involves perseverance.
Diligent "The underlying meaning of diligent is 'loving.' It comes via Old French diligent from the present participial stem of Latin diligere 'esteem highly, love.'" (3)
Having diligence in this case shows or expresses our love for God. We must make the effort to overcome the temptations and weaknesses here in mortality. And there should be an expression of gratitude from each of us that we have a Savior who knows how to help us.
Alma from the Book of Mormon prophesied concerning what Christ had to face during His mortal ministry:
Alma 7
11. And he [Jesus Christ] shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
12. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor [or help] his people according to their infirmities.
13. Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.
The good news for us is we're not expected to face mortality alone. In fact it's impossible to do it alone, and I testify to that.
In some cases, temptation may have the added force of potential or actual addiction. I am grateful that for an increasing number of people the Church can provide therapeutic help of various kinds to aid them in avoiding or coping with addictions. Even so, while therapy can support a person’s will, it cannot substitute for it. Always and ever, there must be an exercise of discipline—moral discipline founded on faith in God the Father and the Son and what They can achieve with us through the atoning grace of Jesus Christ. In Peter’s words, “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations” (2 Peter 2:9).
-President D. Todd Christofferson, "Moral Discipline"
We Are Commanded to Be Humble
Recalling how Paul qualified caution of exalting himself because he received revelation from the Lord, he had to recognize that he was still a mortal man, subjected to a sinful nature. In a revelation to the Prophet Joseph Smith, the Lord echoed a similar caution to him. It's applicable to anyone.
"For although a man may have many revelations, and have power to do many mighty miracles, yet if he boasts in his own strength, and set at naught the counsels of God, and follows the dictates of his own will and carnal desires, he must fall and incur the vengeance of a just God upon him."
-Doctrine & Covenants 3:4
"The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts."
-Psalm 10:4
"Most of us think of pride as self-centeredness, conceit, boastfulness, arrogance, or haughtiness. All of these are elements of the sin, but the heart, or core, is still missing.
"The central feature of pride is enmity—enmity toward God and enmity toward our fellowmen. Enmity means 'hatred toward, hostility to, or a state of opposition.' It is the power by which Satan wishes to reign over us.
-President Ezra Taft Benson, "Beware of Pride"
In a friendly warning to the reader, another passage in the Bible reads:
"Pride goth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."
-Proverbs 16:18
The Lord Jesus also gave the following counsel:
"And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted."
-Matthew 23:12
The prophet Alma from the Book of Mormon also taught about the importance of humbling ourselves.
"Therefore, blessed are they who humble themselves with being compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of heart, yea, without being brought to know the word, or even compelled to know, before they will believe."
-Alma 32:16
Chastity & Fornication
"But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof."
-Romans 13:14
To live a chaste and virtuous life is one of the large issues that is important for men (and women) to live. This is also a topic worthy of its own discourse, but it's still important to address in regards to having temperance. Sexual deviancy and immorality is a poison which plagues the world over.
To keep matters simple what I will say is to save the powers of procreation for marriage. As it should be!
"Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth."
-Proverbs 5:18
"Whoso findeth a good wife hath obtained favor of the Lord."
-Proverbs 18:22, Joseph Smith Translation in red
1 Corinthians 6
18. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
19. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
20. For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.
The following statement was given at a devotional from Brigham Young University:
"The purchase price for our fullness of joy—body and spirit eternally united—is the pure and innocent blood of the Savior of this world. We cannot then say in ignorance or defiance, 'Well, it’s my life,' or worse yet, 'It’s my body.' It is not. 'Ye are not your own,' Paul said. 'Ye are bought with a price.' So in answer to the question, 'Why does God care so much about sexual transgression?' it is partly because of the precious gift offered by and through his Only Begotten Son to redeem the souls—bodies and spirits—we too often share and abuse in cheap and tawdry ways."
-Jeffrey R. Holland, "Of Souls, Symbols, and Sacraments"
Jacob, another prophet from the Book of Mormon, instructed the men in his audience concerning the divine significance of chastity. The men whom he addressed begun to marry more than one wife or had taken to themselves concubines.
Jacob 2
27. Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none;
28. For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts.
To my fellow men, live a chaste life. When you marry a woman, be faithful to her. Don't indulge yourselves with pornography (which is prostitution).
(1, 2) The American Heritage Dictionary, 5th ed., 841.
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