Addicted above what you can bear

1 Corinthians 10:13- "who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able"
Alma 13:28- "But that ye would humble yourselves before the Lord, and call on his holy name, and watch and pray continually, that ye may not be tempted above that which ye can bear."

For a long time I struggled to see how 1 Corinthians 10:13 was true when you think of people with serious addictions or appetites that they can not control.  I would think of drug addicts, alcoholics, pornography addicts, and sex addicts of any type.  I would wonder how it was possible that they weren't be tempted above that which they were able to bear.  All of the failed drug rehabs, alcoholic anonymous, and quit smoking patches seem to show that you can be tempted above what ye are able.  So what gives?

Then I came across Alma 13:28, which clearly states that its not a free ride to overcome temptation.  The "that" is the crucial conjunction; there are some prerequisites before 1 Corinthians 10:13 is applicable.  First, humble yourself before the Lord.  Someone that just wants to quit (fill in the blank with whatever addiction) but doesn't admit that what they have been doing is a sin, will never have the Lords help to quit.  Then you must call on his name.  You have to repent and admit to him that you need his help desperately.  Watch has many interpretations, I prefer for this application that you have to watch your back.  You've got to be smart, avoid areas or friends that will draw you back to your addiction.  "Watch yourselves, and your thoughts,  and your words and your deeds" (Mosiah 4:30).  And then you have to pray continually. Its not enough to pray once saying you want to quit and then forgetting God in the matter.  You have to pray every day for strength to overcome the addiction, don't let it sneak back in.  If you have done all these things, then the Lord will make sure the Adversary isn't allowed to tempt you above what you can bear.  That doesn't mean that you won't sin again or that you won't fall back into this addiction.  You can still have relapses.  But it won't be because Satan tempted you more than you can bear, it will be because you lowered your guard and took off the armor of God for a moment.  But that's when you have to remember this promise, and keep applying it over and over.

So why the discrepancy in the two verses?  The audience.  Although the people in Corinth were very lascivious and had much cause for rebuke, Paul still addressed his epistle to the Church.  So his message was more, "don't blame God for your sins, you are members and know the doctrine, he hasn't let you be tempted more than you can bear, you let yourselves."  While Alma was preaching to the people of Ammonihah who were a very wicked group as well, these people were not trying to live the gospel and thus he had to teach them repentance from the ground up.  As they said to him when he first arrived "we are not of thy church, and we do not believe in such foolish traditions" (Alma 8:11).  This makes it clear why one would exclude this explanation while in the other it was necessary.