Temperate in All Things

In the New Testament, Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things” (1 Corinthians 9:25). In the Book of Mormon, Alma encouraged the people of Gideon with these words, “And now I would that ye should be humble, and be submissive and gentle; easy to be entreated; full of patience and long-suffering; being temperate in all things” (Alma 7:23). He also said to his son Corianton, “I would that ye would be diligent and temperate in all things” (Alma 38:10). And in our dispensation, the Lord said this to Joseph Knight, Sr., now recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants: “And no one can assist in this work except he shall be humble and full of love, having faith, hope, and charity, being temperate in all things, whatsoever shall be entrusted to his care” (Doctrine and Covenants 12:8). That makes three books of scripture which all encourage us to be “temperate in all things.” So, what does this mean? One definition of the word temperate describes it this way: “Moderate or self-restrained; not extreme in opinion, statement.” It can also mean to be “moderate as regards indulgence of appetite or passion” as well as “not excessive in degree, as things, qualities.” The temperance movement, for example, was one in which people sought to curb the problem of drinking too much alcohol. I believe that the Lord wants us to be moderate in our physical appetites, and He also wants us to show self-restraint in all things that we do. That means that we avoid excess even in good things, striving for moderation and balance. As President Boyd K. Packer taught, in the gospel we should not figuratively “choose a single key and endlessly tap out the monotony of a single note, or even two or three notes, when the full keyboard of limitless harmony can be played.” We need temperance to have balance and restraint.  

               One area in which I think temperance is important is the sacrament. The Church Handbook says this: “The passing of the sacrament should be natural and not overly formal. For example, certain actions (such as holding the left hand behind the back) or appearances (such as dressing alike) should not be required.” We need not demand perfection in the administration of the sacrament or in ourselves in order for it to be efficacious and spiritual. This is true as well for the blessing of the sacrament. While we of course want the prayer to be said accurately and with reverence, that does not mean that it must be perfect before the ordinance can continue. The handbook says it this way: “The bishop makes sure the sacrament prayers are spoken clearly, accurately, and with dignity. If someone makes an error in the wording and corrects himself, no further correction is needed. If the person does not correct his error, the bishop kindly asks him to repeat the prayer. The bishop uses discretion when asking for the prayer to be repeated. He ensures that doing so does not cause undue embarrassment or detract from the ordinance.” Recently in a sacrament meeting, one of the new priests blessed the sacrament. He incorrectly added a word, and the bishop had him do it again. He made the same mistake the second time, and the bishop walked over and spoke to him, presumably showing him what the problem was. The priest then blessed the sacrament the third time, and my heart sank as he made the exact same error again. At that point the bishop showed temperance, and we simply moved on with the ordinance. It was good enough.   

               Peter encouraged us to develop attributes of the Savior with these words, “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity” (2 Peter 1:5-7). To develop temperance, alongside other such attributes as kindness and patience, is an important part of our becoming like the Savior Jesus Christ—and the scriptures exhort us to seek it “in all things.”