Alma 39

“Cross Yourself in These Things”

Throughout time, Satan has led many people to believe that sexual relations outside of marriage are acceptable. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have given us the law of chastity for our protection, peace, and happiness. The prophet Alma lovingly counseled his son Corianton to forsake and repent of his sins, including a violation of the law of chastity. This lesson can help you understand the seriousness of sexual sin and how to resist the temptation to break the law of chastity.

The law of chastity

Read the following statements and determine which of the following best represents your feelings:

• I disagree

• I mostly disagree

• I mostly agree

• I agree

1. Youth in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints clearly understand the law of chastity, or the Lord’s law of sexual purity.

2. They understand why it matters and why the Lord wants us to live it.

3. It can be difficult to keep the law of chastity in the world today.

4. Youth in the Church know how to resist temptation and keep themselves sexually pure.

The law of chastity is the Lord’s law of sexual purity. Obeying the law of chastity means keeping yourself clean in thought, word, and action, including staying away from anything pornographic. It also means avoiding any sexual relations before marriage and being completely faithful to your wife or husband during marriage. “Like other violations of the law of chastity, homosexual activity is a serious sin. It is contrary to the purposes of human sexuality” (Gospel Topics, “Chastity,” topics.ChurchofJesusChrist.org).

Take a moment to ponder your understanding and feelings about the law of chastity. What questions do you have? Why does it matter to you? What temptations regarding chastity do you face? As you study this lesson, search for answers to your questions and for help to overcome your temptations.

Alma counsels his son Corianton

Alma 39 is the first of four chapters containing counsel, commandments, and teachings from Alma to his son Corianton. Corianton had accompanied his father and brother Shiblon to preach the gospel among the Zoramites. During this mission, however, Corianton committed some serious sins.

Read Alma 39:1–5, looking for mistakes Corianton made and how Alma and the Lord felt about them. (The word harlot in verse 3 refers to an immoral woman or prostitute.)

To help you ponder why breaking the law of chastity is “grievous” unto a father and a prophet (Alma 39:3) and an “abomination in the sight of the Lord” (Alma 39:5), it can be helpful to understand the blessings of keeping it. Read the promised blessings in the section “Your Body Is Sacred” in For the Strength of Youth: A Guide for Making Choices (booklet, 2022).

• How does keeping the law of chastity prepare us to receive great blessings from the Lord in this life and the next?

For additional insight, read the following questions and find their answers in the scriptures listed in parentheses:

• What will happen if a person does not repent of sexual sin? (Alma 39:7–9)

• What is an often-overlooked consequence of breaking the law of chastity? (Alma 39:11–13)

1. Answer the following questions:

   • Based on what you learned, why might a parent, prophet, and the Lord have such strong feelings about chastity?

   • How does the law of chastity show God’s love for His children?

“Go no more after the lusts of your eyes”

In addition to teaching his son about the seriousness of sexual sin, Alma also taught Corianton how to avoid making the same mistakes in the future.

Review Alma 39:9 and Alma 39:13, looking for words or phrases that can help you resist temptation and keep the law of chastity. (The phrase “cross yourself” in verse 9 means to exercise self-control or self-mastery.)

Alma 39:9 is a doctrinal mastery passage. Consider marking doctrinal mastery passages in a distinctive way so you can locate them easily. You will have an opportunity in the next lesson to practice applying the doctrine taught in this passage to a question or situation.

• What principle did Alma teach Corianton in these verses?

One possible principle from these verses is that as we exercise self-control and turn to the Lord, we can overcome the temptation to violate God’s law of chastity.

Exercising self-control and turning to the Lord to overcome temptation can sometimes be difficult. It can help to think of a variety of ways to do this and then follow promptings from the Spirit about what would be most helpful for you.

2. Do two of the following to help you identify ways youth today can exercise self-control and “turn to the Lord with all [our] mind, might and strength” (Alma 39:13) to overcome temptation to break the law of chastity. Make a list of what you find. You may also add your own ideas.

   1. Read the counsel in “Your Body Is Sacred” in the For the Strength of Youth booklet. For additional counsel from members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, consider reading “Personal Purity” (Jeffrey R. Holland, Ensign, Nov. 1998, 75–78) or “We Believe in Being Chaste” (David A. Bednar, Ensign or Liahona, May 2013, 41–44).

   2. Find scriptures you feel could strengthen you against temptations to break the law of chastity. You can also list hymns, or Primary songs you may want to turn to for strength when tempted.

   3. List ways you could strive to “turn to the Lord” with your “mind, might, and strength” (Alms 39:13). Include what you have done in the past that you feel has strengthened you.

   4. Write down counsel you have received from parents and Church leaders that could help you against temptation.

   5. Watch the video “Chastity: What are the Limits?” (3:59), available at ChurchofJesusChrist.org.

      Chastity: What Are the Limits?

      Latter-day Saint teens are counseled to stay sexually pure, but what exactly are the limits? Using teachings of modern prophets, this presentation shows how we can find happiness and peace through staying chaste.

Personal reflection

Take a moment to ponder why you want to stay sexually pure. Then record the steps you will take to continually obey the Lord’s law of chastity. Consider what the Holy Ghost may have inspired you to do, and record any additional thoughts in your study journal. If you or someone you know has broken the law of chastity, remember that Jesus Christ has “come to take away the sins of the world” (Alma 39:15) and will forgive all who sincerely repent and forsake their sins (see Mosiah 26:30, Alma 39:9).

Optional: Want to Learn More?

Alma 39:5. Why are sexual sins next to murder in seriousness?

While serving as a member of the Seventy, Elder Bruce C. Hafen taught:

Perhaps there is a common element in those two things—unchastity and murder. Both have to do with life, which touches upon the highest of divine powers. Murder involves the wrongful taking of life; sexual transgression may involve the wrongful giving of life, or the wrongful tampering with the sacred fountains of life-giving power. (Bruce C. Hafen, “The Gospel and Romantic Love,” New Era, Feb. 2002, 10)

Alma 39:6. What does it mean to deny the Holy Ghost?

The Prophet Joseph Smith (1805–44) taught:

What must a man do to commit the unpardonable sin? He must receive the Holy Ghost, have the heavens opened unto him, and know God, and then sin against him. After a man has sinned against the Holy Ghost, there is no repentance for him. He has got to say that the sun does not shine while he sees it; he has got to deny Jesus Christ when the heavens have been opened unto him, and to deny the plan of salvation with his eyes open to the truth of it. (Joseph Smith, in History, 1838–1856 [Manuscript History of the Church], volume E-1, 1976, josephsmithpapers.org, punctuation and capitalization modernized; see also “Accounts of the ‘King Follett Sermon,’” josephsmithpapers.org).

Alma 39:13. How can I better control my thoughts and avoid lustful desires?

Elder Ulisses Soares of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught:

I testify that as we rely upon the rock of salvation, the Savior of our souls, … our ability to control our thoughts will increase significantly. … Then the enemy’s temptations, little by little, will lose their power over us, resulting in a happier and more pure and consecrated life. (Ulisses Soares, “Seek Christ in Every Thought,” Ensign or Liahona, Nov. 2020, 84)

See also President Boyd K. Packer’s address, “Inspiring Music, Worthy Thoughts” (Ensign, Jan. 1974, 25–28.)