Cut It Off

In the Sermon on the Mount, the Savior gave this dramatic counsel: “And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.  And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell” (Matt. 5:29-30).  Obviously the Lord is being symbolic here, and to understand the full meaning I think we need to read it in context.  These verses follow directly after the Savior’s teaching about adultery and how “whoever looketh on a woman to lust       after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”  So this invitation to cut off the unwanted members of our body seems to be related to the command to stay morally clean. 

                Perhaps one way that we can understand this invitation is that if we come across any kind of material (video, book, magazine, internet site, etc.) that is not clean and virtuous, then we should do all in our power to get rid of it completely.  We must “pluck it out” and “cut it off”.  So strong is the power of the adversary in making those things appealing that we must have the will power to completely remove them and cut them out of our lives as soon as we realize they are offensive.  So important is it that we stay clear of this kind of material that we should be willing to even cause ourselves pain in order to get rid of them.  Joseph of Egypt gave us the example for what to do when we come across that which would make us unclean: “And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out” (Genesis 39:12).  Joseph cut himself off from Potiphar’s wife completely and never looked back even though it caused a drastic change in his standard of living—he went to jail for that choice but he stayed clean.  That’s exactly how we must respond when we come across the filth in so much of today’s media.  We must reject it whole heartedly and cut it off from us immediately.  If we want to avoid making serious mistakes we must be able to pluck out the small temptations that surround us before they turn into anything bigger.  The For the Strength of Youth pamphlet puts it this way: “Do not attend, view, or participate in anything that is vulgar, immoral, violent, or pornographic in any way. Do not participate in anything that presents immorality or violence as acceptable. Have the courage to walk out of a movie, change your music, or turn off a computer, television, or mobile device if what you see or hear drives away the Spirit.”  In other words, we must be able to get rid of anything from us that would offend the Spirit in order to prevent.  As the Savior put it to the Nephites, “For it is better that ye should deny yourselves of these things, wherein ye will take up your cross, than that ye should be cast into hell” (3 Nephi 12:30).