August 2006 Ensign - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

PHOTOGRAPH BY CRAIG DIMOND
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ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye
shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you”(3 Nephi
18:15, 18, 20). Prayer gives us the spiritual strength and
direction necessary to withstand temptation.
5. Avoid contention. Contention
will always drive away the Spirit of the
Lord. When the resurrected Jesus personally
appeared to the Nephites at
the temple in Bountiful, He taught:
“He that hath the spirit of contention
is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention,
and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend
with anger, one with another. Behold, this is not my doctrine,
to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against
another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should
be done away” (3 Nephi 11:29–30).
The Book of Mormon Can Fortify
All Followers of Christ
An example from the Europe East Area is illustrative of
the power of the devil and how it was set at naught by
the Book of Mormon. A lovely young sister from
Saratov, Russia, was baptized in December 1997. She
was called to teach seminary but avoided using the
Book of Mormon and other Church materials.
She soon began meeting with members of other
churches, became confused about the doctrine
of Christ, ceased partaking of the sacrament,
and rarely attended Church meetings. Satan
had begun to lull her away from the truth and
to carefully lead her away from the Church.
At a New Year’s Eve party with Latter-day
Saint friends, everyone wrote on a piece of
paper a wish for the new year. All the papers
were placed in a hat, and each person randomly
drew one. The paper this sister drew
read, “You will go to the temple.” She immediately
informed everyone that she would never
go to the temple. However, a friend persuaded
her to read the Book of Mormon with him. She
began slowly but within a month had read the book in its
entirety for the first time. She knew it was true, and with that
witness came a strong desire to go to the temple, which she
did one year later while serving a full-time mission in
Moscow. She recently stated: “I know Heavenly Father loves
me so much. He literally saved my life.”
The Book of Mormon can help fortify all followers of
Christ against the evil strategies of the devil. I add my witness
to that of the Prophet Joseph Smith: “The Book of
Mormon [is] the most correct of any book on earth, and the
keystone of our religion, and a man [will] get nearer to God
by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book” (History
of the Church, 4:461). The devil
will have very little power
over those who study
and follow the precepts
of this volume
of scripture, and
they will be well
established on
the road to
eternal life. ■
HELPS FOR HOME EVENING
Most Ensign articles can be used for family home evening
discussions, personal reflection, or teaching the gospel in a
variety of settings.
1. Wrap a piece of string around a family member’s hands
five times. Relate the story of the Russian woman and discuss
how Satan uses deceptions to bind us. Then slowly unwrap the
string as you discuss the five teachings on how to resist evil.
Conclude by giving the untied person a Book of Mormon,
emphasizing its ability to free and fortify us from evil.
2. As you read the first three paragraphs of the article, ask
family members to listen for some of Satan’s strategies. Before
the lesson, draw the shape of a shield on paper and cut it into
five pieces. Label each piece with one of Elder Orton’s teachings.
Put the shield together as you discuss how to resist evil.