A Lesson on Self Control

In seeking self-control, we will find great power in prayer and fasting. Both are exercises in self-control and bring to our aid the powers of heaven. Indeed, much of what the Lord asks of us can help us master ourselves. President Spencer W. Kimball observed: “To be able to take from [one’s] purse one-tenth of all that [one] has earned and turn it over to leaders to redispense is a test of faith. To fast is self-mastery. … To be unselfish totally, always thinking of others before one’s self, is a great step toward self-mastery. To forgive one who is mean and offensive is the act of one near to perfection” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball [1982], 204).