It is Not a Sin to be Tempted

For many people facing addiction, there is a shift that takes place as they begin to experience real recovery for extended periods of time. Usually, they begin to focus on healing and winning for the long term. They are often more strict with themselves as they pursue this deeper level of progress. It is not uncommon for these people to pursue the coveted state of "[having] no more disposition to do evil" (Mosiah 5:2). As unlikely or impossible as it seems, some people pursue this righteous desire so passionately that they can cause self-harm and unnecessary guilt. This happens when the boundaries between natural desire, temptation, and sin get blurred.

Natural desire, or even curiosity for that matter, and temptation are not

synonymous. When God created our bodies He provided them with a way to communicate needs, warnings, and other important messages. We feel discomfort in our abdomen that communicates the need to eat. We feel pain to tell us something is wrong and needs healing. Our mouths feel dry to communicate the need to drink life-sustaining fluids. The discomfort of not meeting these needs are balanced by pleasant messages related to fulfilling them. A cold beverage feels refreshing. Certain foods taste delicious. To have a backache massaged away feels like bliss.

The desire for deep, personal, and intimate connections are likewise natural and God-given. These desires, by themselves, are neither a temptation nor a sin. Just as it is not a sin or a temptation to desire a refreshing drink of water, the desire for human connection, whether or not it includes a sexual component, is not a temptation or a sin by itself.

That is not to say that these desires can’t be twisted and used against us. Satan will take anything he can use to destroy or torment a soul. He will take a natural desire for food and twist it into temptation while you are trying to fast or meditate. He will turn any form of pain relief into an addiction, if given the chance. So it should not be surprising that Satan will take the natural desire for deep and personal connection and try to twist it into a soulless and empty act of sexuality.

Even then, temptation is not a sin. We know from scripture that Jesus Christ was a sinless man. "...Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth" (1 Peter 2:21-22). But we also know that Christ was tempted, and not just the three events that came right after his fasting in the wilderness for 40 days. "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15, emphasis added).  If Jesus Christ was tempted in all points, if he endured more temptation than any of us (which is what it sounds like), and yet remained sinless then it must not be a sin to be tempted.

One of Satan's tactics is to persuade you that to think an unclean thought is sinful and makes you vile and unworthy. He will work to convince you that because these brief but unvirtuous thoughts create sensations that feel desirable, you are sinful. If left unchecked, those thoughts can be sinful, but the desires and temptations are not sins by themselves.

Another tactic of the Enemy is that if

he can't persuade you to believe that being tempted is sinful, then he will work to blur the line between temptation and sins of the heart. There are verses in the New Testament, the Book or Mormon, and the Doctrine and Covenants that warn that anyone who looks on one of God's children and lusts after them has committed adultery in their heart. At some point, a typical temptation can be transformed into a sin of the heart. I don't think there is an easy or clear way to draw the line that distinguishes those. I also don't think drawing that line is helpful or important. While being tempted isn't a sin, marinating in the temptation is foolish. Trying to discover how long you can consider or enjoy temptation before it becomes sinful is just begging for trouble. Consider some of the symbolism from Lehi's vision of the Tree of Life and the path that led to it. The dark mist that arose to confuse and lead people away was temptation. If your goal is to reach the tree and remain by it, standing still in the fog is counterproductive and foolish. When temptations come, quickly leave them or banish them as the Savior did. Jesus Christ was not passive towards temptation; when Peter inadvertently tempted his Master, the Savior's response to His chief apostle was, "Get behind me, Satan."

As you fight you can learn to better recognize when you are being tempted and to not feel guilt for experiencing part of mortality that we were meant to go through. You will learn ways to quickly root the temptation out and cast it away, saying like the Savior, "Get behind me, Satan."

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