This week I want to talk about passions. I am going to be a little more specific to sexual passions though. It is obvious that it is part of human nature to have these desires. I think our society has made it so that people believe they have the right to act on these desires and that there won't be any consequences for those actions. However, I know for a fact that acting on these desires without any commitment can hurt you physically and spiritually.
In Alma 38 we read the words given to Shiblon by his father. There is a very powerful lesson that pertains to what I want to talk about. In verse 12 it reads, "Use boldness, but not overbearance: and also see that ye bridle all your passions, that ye may be filled with love; see that ye refrain from idleness." This scripture has a lot of very important points but I want to focus on the word Bridle. This basically means to control your passions and not let them overtake you. He then says that when you do this, you will be filled with love. To me, that means that if you love someone, you will hold back your passions for that person to show them respect. I strongly believe that if you refrain from letting your passion get out of hand, you will always make the right decision. We all get into situations that may cause us not to make the right choice, but it is important to remember that we are all children of God, and we should respect ourselves and those around us. If this concept was more established in the world, I think we would see a lot of problems with sexual assault and unplanned pregnancy disappear. So overall, bridal your passions people. You will feel happiness and love when you do so.