Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for aSatan desireth to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.
What do we do to avoid entering into temptation? Watch and pray.
Notice it doesn't say to avoid temptation, to eliminate temptation, to never see it again!
It says to avoid entering into it...
We always have a choice, even up to the last second before we make a bad one. It's ours completely! We choose what we enter into.
To keep us from walking down that path, making that choice, that sometimes entangles us and traps us... He wants us to watch and pray.
Be aware of what is around us, avoid things that are tempting. See what is going on, what my choices will lead to, what the consequence will be.
And pray. There is power in prayer. I strongly believe that if I am praying and keeping that communication open, if I am pondering and thinking often of my Savior, of things I'm thankful for, of the goodness of life, of uplifting things, the things that 'tempt' have no power.
Watch and pray.
Henry B Eyring said:
He knows perfectly the powerful forces that influence us and also what it means to be human.
...The Master not only foresees perfectly the growing power of the opposing forces but also knows what it is like to be mortal. He knows what it is like to have the cares of life press upon us... And he knows how our human powers to cope are not constant...
...As the forces around us increase in intensity, whatever spiritual strength was once sufficient will not be enough. And whatever growth in spiritual strength we once thought was possible, greater growth will be made available to us. Both the need for spiritual strength and the opportunity to acquire it will increase at rates which we underestimate...
... Start with remembering Him. -'Always'
