“Overcome the Evil”
John the Revelator learned that he who overcomes shall not taste of the second death; shall eat of the hidden manna; shall have power over the nations to rule with a rod of iron, with the word of God; shall have his name written in the book of life; shall have the name of God written upon him; and shall sit with the Lord Jesus in his throne, even as Christ overcame the world and was granted the privilege of sitting down with his Father (see Revelation 2:11, 17, 26-27; Revelation 3:5, 12, 21) “Salvation,” Joseph Smith said, “is nothing more nor less than to triumph over all our enemies and put them under our feet.” (Teachings, p. 297.)
“Good May Overcome the Evil”
We must do all in our power to lift, to bless, to strengthen, and to deliver the children of God from the waves of wickedness. We do not excommunicate every person who struggles with the Word of Wisdom, nor should we disfellowship those of our brethren and sisters of the faith who innocently err in doctrine. After having spoken concerning the parable of the wheat and the tares and thus the causes of the great apostasy in the meridian of time, the Lord, speaking to modern Israel, said:
“But behold, in the last days, even now while the Lord is beginning to bring forth the word, and the blade is springing up and is yet tender- behold, verily I say unto you, the angels are crying unto the Lord day and night, who are ready and waiting to be sent forth to reap down the fields; but the Lord saith unto them, pluck not up the tares while the blade is yet tender (for varily your faith is weak), lest you destroy the wheat also. Therefore, let the wheat and the tares grow together until the harvest is fully ripe; then ye shall first gather out the wheat from among the tares, and after the gathering of the wheat, behold and lo, the tares are bound in bundles, and the field remaineth to be burned.” (D&C 86:4-7; italics added.)