1 Corinthians 10:13

The Apostle Paul taught us how we are able to bear temptation.

13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

Temptation

“The adversary … knows where, when, and how to tempt us. If we are obedient to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, we can learn to recognize the adversary’s enticements. …

“Our success is never measured by how strongly we are tempted but by how faithfully we respond. We must ask for help from our Heavenly Father and seek strength through the Atonement of His Son, Jesus Christ.”

Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Apr. 2009 general conference.

Common to Man

We may all have different temptations, but all are tempted. Temptation is necessary, for “it must needs be that the devil should tempt the children of men, or they could not be agents unto themselves” (D&C 29:39).

God Is Faithful

Faithful—trustworthy, loyal. We can trust God’s promises that He will help us bear and escape temptation.

Above That Ye Are Able

We should try to avoid temptation. Sometimes we make it harder on ourselves by not rejecting temptation as soon as it arrives. As Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught, “Of course Jesus noticed the tremendous temptations that came to him, but He did not process and reprocess them. Instead, He rejected them promptly. If we entertain temptations, soon they begin entertaining us!” (Apr. 1987 general conference).

A Way to Escape

There’s always an escape—another choice, another place to go, another thing to do. When all else fails, follow the example of Joseph of Egypt and just run away (see Genesis 39:7–12).

Able to Bear It

The scriptures give us some keys to help us in our responsibility to avoid temptation so we can bear it:

Watch and pray always (see Matthew 26:41; Alma 13:28; 31:10; 34:39; 3 Nephi 18:18; D&C 31:12).
Rely on Jesus Christ (see Alma 37:33), because “in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18; see also Alma 7:11).
“Humble yourselves before the Lord” (Alma 13:28) and “beware of pride” (D&C 23:1).
“Hearken unto the word of God, and … hold fast unto it” (1 Nephi 15:24).