Every human soul, especially priesthood holders, has the challenge of controlling his or her thoughts, appetites, speech, temper and desires, President James E. Faust observed at the priesthood session Saturday evening.

He cited a newspaper account of "road rage," in which drivers lose their temper in traffic."Road rage is not caused by traffic congestion but by attitude, "President Faust said. "As some drivers become impatient and over-aggressive, they may lose control and cause serious injury, even death, to others on the highway."

President Faust remarked: "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."

Full-time missionaries, he said, learn great lessons in self-mastery, learning to get up when they should, work when they should and go to bed when they should.

"Full-time missionaries are generally admired and even respected though their message may not be as well received as we would like," he said, adding, "Our young elders are models of young manhood."

President Faust defined self-mastery "in its simplest terms" as "doing those things we should do and not doing those things we should not do."

Turning to mastery of one's private thoughts, President Faust remarked: "In this realm, conscience is the only referee that can blow the whistle when we get out of control. I believe reading the scriptures is the best washing machine for unclean or uncontrolled thoughts. For those who are eligible and worthy, the sanctity of the holy temple can lift our thoughts above the earthy."

He expressed "worry about young people becoming desensitized as they continually hear or use . . . bad language. I believe that the young man of character is not coarse in his speech. Holders of the holy priesthood of God should never use foul language or obscene gestures."

Speaking of physical appetites, President Faust said they might, in a sense, be called a "thorn in the flesh."

"One of the great foundations of personal power is purity," he said. "With all my heart I urge you wonderful young people not to take a secret shame with you to your marriage. You may never be able to forget it. You will want to go through life with the strength that comes from a clear conscience, which will permit you one day to stand before your Maker and say, 'My soul is pure.' Self-denial is not restrictive. It is liberating. It is the pathway to freedom. It is strength. It is an essential element of purity."

President Faust told of President Heber J. Grant, the seventh president of the Church. "We admired him because part of his strength was his great determination for self-mastery," he said.

"When he . . . wanted to join a baseball team, the other boys laughed at him, calling him a sissy because he could not throw the ball between bases. His teammates teased him so much that he made up his mind that he was going to play with the nine who would win the championship of the Territory of Utah. He purchased a baseball and practiced hour after hour, throwing at a neighbor's old barn. Often his arm would ache so much he could hardly sleep at night. He kept on practicing and improving and advancing from one team to another until he finally succeeded in playing on the team that won the territorial championship."

Another example, President Faust said, was President Grant's determination to become a good penman. Derided at first by friends for his penmanship, he worked diligently in his teens to improve, and was offered three times his salary to go to San Francisco as a penman. "He later became a teacher of penmanship and bookkeeping at the University of Utah," President Faust related. "In fact, with a specimen he had written before he turned 17, he took first prize in a territorial fair against four professional penmen."

Singing was another challenge for President Grant, President Faust said. By practicing all of his life, the Church president made some improvement in his singing, though perhaps not as much as in baseball and penmanship, which he mastered, President Faust said.

President Faust said priesthood holders should not look for excuses when they lose their 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 for mortality."