Avoid It | Lynn G. Robbins

The Lord teaches that it is easier to avoid temptation than to resist it.

Sections:
Introduction: It is Easier to Avoid Temptation Than It is to Resist Temptation - 0:00
Chocolate Chip Cookies - 1:20
Hormones, Intimacy, and Families - 2:59
David and Joseph - 5:28
The Lord's Prayer - 6:34
"Sin Lieth at the Door" - 8:18
The People of Ammon - 10:05
"Never Make the Same Mistake Once" - 12:28
He Will Lull Them - 15:00
Movies - 16:49
Dating - 22:49
Trust—The Best Wedding Gift - 25:56
Resisting - 28:33
The Savior's Grace and Repentance - 29:28

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/lynn-g-robbins/avoid/

Lynn G. Robbins was a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when this devotional address was given on 17 September 2013.

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"The focus of my message today is based on a proverb from Solomon, who was given a gift from God of “exceeding” wisdom, “and his fame was in all nations round about. . . . And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon.” Even 3,000 years later, when we read Solomon’s proverbs we often nod in agreement with his profound wisdom because life has also taught us the same lesson—often through a trying or difficult experience.

If life hasn’t yet taught you the wisdom of the proverb I am about to share, it would be my prayer that by the end of my remarks it will have enlightened your understanding and touched your hearts sufficiently to motivate you to make some helpful and wise changes in your life. Here is the proverb: “Enter not into the path of the wicked. . . . Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.” The wisdom of Solomon in this passage is to be discovered in the word avoid. Solomon had discovered, as all wise people do, one of life’s most helpful guiding principles: It is easier to avoid temptation than it is to resist temptation.

To illustrate the wisdom of this principle, let’s suppose my great temptation in life is chocolate chip cookies and I’m trying to conquer the temptation. It is easier for me not to have the cookies in the house than it is to walk through the front door and smell two dozen of them fresh out of the oven—warm, moist, and smelling good. At that moment I am no longer simply fighting temptation; I am also fighting chemistry. The aroma triggers the pleasure center of my brain. My mouth begins to water in preparation for the cookies. With each tempting breath my resistance grows weaker as my craving grows stronger and my appetite begins to overpower my reason and resolve.

My other self—the one that is carnal—argues in favor of the cookies: “You know, dieting doesn’t have to mean deprivation. It’s your overall effort that counts, and one cookie certainly isn’t going to blow your diet.” With my pleasure center activated, I don’t need much convincing, and I yield to the cookie’s enticing aroma.

...

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.

My parting prayer is similar: that the Lord will bless each of you with the same wisdom with which he blessed Solomon; help you avoid temptation rather than trying to resist it; and give you the strength to quickly dismiss temptation in those situations in which it is impossible to completely avoid it, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen." — Elder Lynn G. Robbins

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