Just a few thoughts:
In section 20 verse 5 we read: "After it was truly manifested unto this first elder that he had received a remission of his sins, he was entangled again in the vanities of the world;"
This is the verse that I kept thinking about after I finished reading the assignment. How easy it is to be entangled by the vanities of the world. What can we do to keep from being entangled? Why do the vanities of the world seem so enticing? In the Doctrine and Covenants student manual I found the paragraph below.
What is Meant by "Entangled Again in the Vanities of the World"?
The Prophet Joseph Smith described the time period involved and the activities referred to by the Lord: "During the space of time which intervened between the time I had the vision and the year eighteen hundred and twenty-three--having been forbidden to join any of the religious sects of the day, and being of very tender years, and persecuted by those who ought to have been my friends, and to have treated me kindly, and if they supposed me to be deluded to have endeavored in a proper and affectionate manner to have reclaimed me,--I was left to all kinds of temptations; and mingling with all kinds of society, I frequently fell into many foolish errors, and displayed the weakness of youth, and the foibles of human nature; which, I am sorry to say, led me into divers temptations, offensive in the sight of God. In making this confession, no one need suppose me guilty of any great or malignant sins. A disposition to commit such was never in my nature. But I was guilty of levity, and sometimes associated with jovial company, etc., not consistent with that character which ought to be maintained by one who was called of God as I had been. But this will not seem very strange to any one who recollects my youth, and is acquainted with my native cheery temperament." (History of the Church, 1:9-10.)
I like the advice the we are given in verse 6 - repentance, humility, faith
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