President James E. Faust
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"As priesthood holders, we should not look for excuses when we lose our self-control. Even though our circumstances may be challenging, we can all strive for self-mastery. Great blessings of personal satisfaction can come from doing so. Self-mastery is related to spirituality, which is a central quest of mortality."
Self-mastery is the power of noble manhood and enhances a person's gifts and talents in a remarkable way. It requires self-determination and strength of character. It is essential to invoke the power of the priesthood of God.
"Willpower is necessary so that irritations do not take over our emotions."
Road rage is caused by attitude, not by traffic congestion.
"Self-mastery is a challenge for every individual. Only we can control our appetites and passions. Self-mastery cannot be bought by money or fame. It is the ultimate test of our character. It requires climbing out of the deep valleys of our lives and scaling our own Mount Everests."
In its simplest terms, self-mastery is doing those things we should do and not doing those things we should not do.
"As the traffic on the communications highway becomes a parking lot, we must depend more and more on our personal moral filters to separate the good from the bad. Marvelous as it is in many ways, there is something hypnotic about using the Internet. I refer specifically to spending endless time in chat rooms or visiting the pornographic sites."
Self-denial is not restrictive, it is liberating.
