Two Poems on the War Against Sin

There's something about President Packer and his poems. Granted, not all of the poems he shares in his talks are his poems, but I just found a talk of his called The Spirit of Revelation, in which he shares two poems that I'd like to share with you today. The first one is called All the Water in the World. The author is unknown.

All the water in the world,
However hard it tried,
Could never sink the smallest ship
Unless it [gets] inside. 

And all the evil in the world,
The blackest kind of sin,
Can never hurt you the least bit
Unless you let it in.

This poem is meant to be inspiring, but I find two problems with it. First, even if we are never guilty of sin ourselves, we can still be harmed by the effects of the sins of others. And second, keeping sin out is a lot harder than this poem seems to suggest. To illustrate that point, I'd like to share the second poem from President Packer's talk. This one was written by Louisa May Alcott, and it's titled My Kingdom. President Packer only shared part of this poem, and for the sake of space, I'll follow suit, but the rest of the text can be found here.

A little kingdom I possess
where thoughts and feelings dwell,
And very hard I find the task
of governing it well;
For passion tempts and troubles me,
A wayward will misleads,
And selfishness its shadow casts
On all my words and deeds. ... 

Dear Father, help me with the love
that casteth out my fear;
Teach me to lean on thee, and feel
That thou art very near,
That no temptation is unseen
No childish grief too small,
Since thou, with patience infinite,
Doth soothe and comfort all.

I do not ask for any crown
But that which all may win
Nor seek to conquer any world
Except the one within. ...

The struggle to control our thoughts and actions is ongoing. It can seem like a real battle sometimes, and in many ways, it is. That, I believe, is why we were given the "war chapters" of the Book of Mormon. They show us the offensive strategies we need to watch out for and the defensive strategies we can use to counter them. Those chapters also show us the power of righteousness and the consequences of sin. The battle will be hard, no matter what we do, but knowing that we're at war with evil can help us prepare for and win our battles. Useful tactics can be found in the words of wise men and women both inside and outside the church. All people are fighting this war, and some of them are winning. Thankfully, many of those people are willing to share their strategies so we can win as well. So far, the strategy that's been most helpful to me is to remember that the battle is always raging. Satan is always on the attack, whether he's doing it openly, or with stealth. I always need to keep my guard up and try to repel all wayward thoughts. Otherwise, Satan will find an opening. The need of constant vigilance is of tremendous importance for me.

There are other tactics, too. Since everyone is different, they have different strengths and weaknesses. Since Satan attacks us according to our weaknesses, he may use slightly different tactics for each of us. And because his tactics vary for each person, a counter-strategy that works well for one person may not work so well for another. I've tried President Packer's Replace-Tempting-Thoughts-With-A-Hymn technique, but with varying success. The Remember-You're-At-War technique is working a lot better for me. I'd advise you to not just do what I do, butt to find out what works best for you personally. Find out what your weaknesses are, then try to learn ways to increase your defense in that area. Since everyone is different, I can't offer you specific advice and guarantee that it'll help, but I can advise you to actively search for tactics that will work for you, then use them. All the guidance you need is written down somewhere (in the war chapters, in a Conference talk, or somewhere else) or can be gained through personal revelation. I know that if you pray for help, then look for advice, God will steer you in the right direction and help you find the guidance you need to win.