Irresistible vs Infallible

In an Exodus class at Institute, we talked about the magicians of Pharaoh, who duplicated a few of Moses' miracles with their enchantments. Our teacher thought it would be helpful to define the word "enchantment," and identify some of the enchantments of our day.

I'm not sure where our teacher found the definition he did because I haven't been able to find it, but the definition he found included the word "irresistible," and, relating that to our day, he spoke of temptations that are so prevalent and persuasive that they could be called irresistible.

I took issue with that. No temptation is completely irresistible.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
1 Corinthians 10:13

God wouldn't allow us to face a temptation that we literally could not resist. That would take away our agency, and as far as I know, He was and is against that idea.

Of course, I've also heard that yielding to temptation can be habit-forming and addicting and can lead to a loss of agency. Still, I don't think that there will every be a complete loss of agency, no matter how addicted a person becomes. Yes, yielding to temptations can make temptation more difficult to resist in the future, but it will never be impossible. I think that God will always make a way to escape.

In a similar way, keeping the commandments makes it easier to continue keeping the commandments. It's habit-forming, in a sense, but it's a good habit. If a person keeps the commandments consistently, they'll have an easier time keeping the commandments, and Satan will have a harder time tempting them. But still, I don't think it will be impossible.

Just as I think that no temptation is truly irresistible, I think that no person is completely infallible. We're all subject to temptation, no matter how good we are, but we can always escape those temptations, no matter how strong they are.

"So," you and my Institute teacher may ask, looking for ways to draw practical application from these principles, "what can we learn from all of this and how can we apply it?" My answer to that can be summed up in two words, "Keep Fighting."

Because no temptation is truly irresistible, your situation is never hopeless. No matter how strong the temptation is or how weak you feel, you can defeat it. Keep Fighting. And because no person is completely infallible (aside, perhaps, from those who have already achieved godhood), you're never fully safe from temptation. No matter how strong you think you are, Satan will find something that will tempt you and you need to be on guard when he does. Keep Fighting.

I've been in both of those situations, sometimes feeling hopeless and sometimes feeling undefeatable. It's never true. As long as we're alive on this earth, we'll always be somewhere between those two absolutes. There will always be a reason to keep fighting against temptation. So whether you're doing well or poorly, keep fighting. This battle isn't over yet.