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Obedience to law of chastity necessary to chart safe course

Torrents of tears and tons of tissues pave the path of those who fail to obey the law of chastity. The Lord in His infinite wisdom recognized that His children would be tempted and tested in mortality, and to assist them in meeting and overcoming these trials he established laws to guide and protect them.

The interesting thing about heavenly laws is that Satan recognizes them for what they are and he sets out to encourage us to disregard those laws which will bring about the peace and happiness that each of us is seeking. As children of our Heavenly Father, we are beleaguered by the glamor and glitz of a world constantly telling us that breaking heavenly laws is challenging and exciting. The consequences of such actions are never portrayed among the barrage of voices calling us away from obedience to the law of chastity.Obedience to the law of chastity brings earthly peace and heavenly joy. It brings a sweetness to mortal life that is understood by those who follow the Lord's counsel to rigorously maintain full commitment to this law.

The Greek poet Homer wrote about the Sirens, sea nymphs who lived on an island and used their beautiful singing to lure sailors to death. As the sailors passed the island, the beauty of the singing caused them to abandon course and to seek the source of the music. Of course, their fate was sealed when they left their charted course.

This Greek myth has parallels today. Many singers call to each of us and beckon us to leave our charted course. As the singers call, the response of many is that the music is appealing; that the voices are harmless; that the beauty is here to enjoy; that such enjoyment can't hurt; that the activity is being participated in by every one; and that the participation is only for a little while. The "song of the siren" is dressed in colors and harmonies that drag the listener ever nearer to the rocks of destruction.

How do we avoid crashing on the rocks of impure living? How do we remain chaste in this world of sexual "freedom"? The Lord has established laws to govern and guard us - a course through the rocks past the "singing of the sirens." The Lord has told us over and over again through His prophets that the easiest way to resist and overcome the temptations of the world is to obey the laws which He has established for our good. Many seeking freedom from laws they thought restrictive have discovered the worst kind of prison. They have discovered that disobedience to the law of chastity cinches steel chains around the spirit and body.

The Lord has spoken simply and plainly in a quiet, calm voice which reaches from Sinai through the ages to the hearts and lives of today, "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." (D&C 82:10.) The course is charted. Safety, success, and true freedom come from following the course of obedience to the law of chastity.

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