Mormon Musings

"You are aware that many think the devil has power over both the body and spirit. Now I want to tell you that he does not hold power over any, only as far as the body overcomes the spirit that is in man, through yielding to the spirit of evil. The spirit that the Lord puts into a tabernacle of flesh is under the dictation of the Lord Almighty…In the first place the spirit is pure, and under the special control and influence of the Lord, but the body is of the earth, and is  subject to the power of the devil, and is under the mighty influence of that fallen nature that is of the earth. If the spirit yields to the body, the devil then has power to overcome the body and spirit of man, and [that man] loses both… When you are tempted, buffeted, and step out of the way inadvertently: when you are overtaken in fault, or commit an over act unthinkingly; when you are full of evil passion and wish to yield to it, then stop and let the spirit, which God has put into your tabernacles, take t...

When we first heard the revelation upon the Word of Wisdom many of us thought it consisted merely in our [not] drinking tea and coffee, but it is not only [not] using tea and coffee and our tobacco and whisky, but it is every other evil which is calculated to contaminate this people.  The Word of Wisdom implies to cease from adultery, to cease from all manner of excesses, and from all kinds of wickedness and abomination that are common amongst this generation—it is, strictly speaking, keeping the commandments of God, and living by every word that proceedeth from His mouth.  This is the way I understand the Word of Wisdom, consequently we have to keep all the commandments…in connection with the Word of Wisdom, in order to obtain the blessings, for unless we do keep the commandments of God, and not offend in any one point, we have not full claim upon the blessings promised in connection with this portion of the word of the Lord. Ezra T. Benson, Journal of Discourses 2:358

"Let us acknowledge that most often gaining a testimony is not a task of a minute, an hour, or a day. It is not once and done. The process of gathering spiritual light is the quest of a lifetime. Your testimony of the living Son of God and His restored Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, may not come as quickly as you desire, but I promise you this: if you do your part, it will come. And it will be glorious." —Dieter F. Uchtdorf, " Receiving a Testimony of Light and Truth "