Poisonous Serpents

I was reading in Ether (my favorite book in the Book of Mormon) about a plague of poisonous serpents the Lord set upon the people in a time of wickedness. Then successions and histories are given and a few chapters later, representing decades of time, a brief description is given of the snakes finally being driven from the land and that area being open for the people to hunt and gather food. I thought about how often we turn to our Heavenly Father and want our poisonous serpents to be immediately banished. The truth is, sin has consequence. Sometimes that consequence lingers through several weeks, months, or even years of consistently trying to be faithful before it is banished and we are able to gain access to blessings we have been waiting to enjoy. We cannot instantly have the Spirit, the Comforter, with us when we have not been putting ourselves in his power. We cannot instantly have our spirits lifted when we have been wallowing in worldliness and carnal-mindedness. I was reminded of this tonight when I tried to write a talk I'm giving tomorrow in church after watching a rated R film about a Satanic serial killer. Just because I was turning my mind toward spiritual things did not mean that the lingering yucky feeling did not interfere with my ability to gain guidance from the Spirit. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not a quick fix. I'm to the point with my weight that I am not looking for a quick fix. I have tried several of those and it has not done anything for me but keep me slowly climbing the scale. I am in this for the long haul, whether my poisonous snakes keep hanging on or not. I know that if I remain faithful, they will eventually be banished and those promised blessings will be kept from me no longer.