Now, what do we mean by the
world? It is sometimes used as an indefinite term. I take it that the world
refers to the inhabitants who are alienated from the Saints of God. They are
aliens to the Church, and it is the spirit of this alienation that we should
keep ourselves free from. We are told by Paul not to conform to the fashions of
the world. Titus was warned not to partake of those things, the evils of the
world, and to "Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith,
charity, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart."
Purity of heart--Zion is the pure in heart, we have been told, and the strength
of this Church lies in the purity of the thoughts and lives of its members,
then the testimony of Jesus abides in the soul, and strength comes to each
individual to withstand the evils of the world.
These evils present themselves
insidiously in our daily associations. They come in the shape of temptations,
as they came to the Savior after His baptism. What were those temptations? When
Satan said, "Command these stones to be made bread," be was appealing
to the appetite. He knew that Jesus was hungry, that He was physically weak,
and thought that by pointing to those little lime stones which resemble
somewhat a Jewish loaf of bread, he could awaken a desire to eat. Failing in
that, when He received the divine word, "Man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Satan
then tried Him in another way. He dared him--an appeal to His pride, to His
vanity, quoted scripture to support his temptation, for remember the devil can
find scripture for his purpose, and "an evil soul producing holy witnesses
is like a villain with a smiling cheek, a goodly apple rotten at the heart. Oh,
what a goodly outside falsehood has." But the Savior answered him in terms
of scripture, "It is also written, thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy
God." What was the third? An appeal to His love of power, domain, wealth, "All
these, (the kingdoms of the world and the glory thereof), I will give
you," said the tempter, "if you will only fall down and worship
me." "Get thee hence, Satan, for it is written, thou shalt worship
the Lord thy God, and Him only shall thou serve." Now, nearly every temptation
that comes to you and me comes in one of those forms. Classify, them, and you
will find that under one of those three nearly every given temptation that
makes you and me spotted, ever so little maybe, comes to us as (1) a temptation
of the appetite: (2) a yielding to the pride and fashion and vanity of those
alienated from the things of God; or (3) a gratifying of the passion, or a
desire for the riches of the world, or power among men. (Conference
Report, October 1911, pp. 58-59)
