Day 178-9/22/06-Interviews-Control Your Thoughts. Control Your Actions.
Happy Thing for Day 178-Going to Interviews with President and Sister W. It's a lot of fun. Sister W and I talked about different things. She wanted to know how my personal studies had been going. We talked about our favorite scriptures or any new scriptures that we had found recently through our studies.
Sister W shared with me Mosiah 7:33. "But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will according to his own will and pleasure deliver you out of bondage." When she read this to me, the line that really stuck out was "serve him with all diligence of mind." Your thoughts become your actions.
This is a topic I've wanted to cover in here for a while. Control your thoughts. Control your actions. On Day 38 I went to my first Zone Conference. The president of the mission at the time, President B. gave a talk about how we should try to be one. He mentioned the German army in WWII and how they'd work in unity by having the planes come in first and weaken the defenses of the opposing army thereby allowing the tanks to mow through the remainder of the other sides' defenses with little trouble at all. I'll mention unity later, but what I want to focus on now is the airplanes.
At the height of WWII, Walt Disney made a film entitled, "Victory Through Air Power". In it, the case was made that the safest and easiest way to win the war would be (as the title states) through air power. The Russian-born pilot, Alexander P. De Seversky is our host through the film as he guides us through the role that aircraft had played over the years both in and out of war times.
The film shows how France was conquered by the Germans in WWII. The French people were not prepared for the enemy aircraft. As a defense against aggressors, France had constructed this massive line of trenches and underground bunkers. The idea was to hold the enemy at bay, get them stuck in the trenches, and thereby reduce their offenses to a standstill. It had worked before in previous wars and France was sure that they would be able to stop the enemy right in their tracks.
France had not counted on Hitler's use of war planes to clear a path for his ground troops. The planes came by, flying over the trenches and made quick work of the French Resistance.
The Frenches trenches (Say that 5 times fast-Frenches trenches,Frenches trenches, Frenches trenches...)stood as a grim monument to the futility of trying to fight a war only on the surface of the earth. It was now clear that you would need your own air force to truly be safe from the invading army. Mr. DeSeversky points out in the film that it's not enough to secure your borders. If you want to truly protect yourself from invaders, you must be in control of your skies as well.
In the film, the example is given of the Royal Air Force of Great Britain and the role that it played in WWII in keeping Britain from falling under Nazi rule. The airplanes acted as a shield that covered the country, thus protecting it from the constant barrage from the enemy. That isn't to say that the planes were a perfect protection. Many cities were destroyed; But it would have been hundreds of times worse without that defense in the sky.
And so it is with us. If we want to be truly protected against the cunning of the devil, even Satan, that old serpent, it isn't enough to simply watch what we say and do. We must watch our thoughts most carefully. As King Benjamin warned the people in Mosiah 4:30, "But this much I can tell you, that if you do not watch yourselves and your thoughts and your words and your deeds...ye must perish. And now, O man, remember and perish not."
Your brain is like a huge battlefield. There is a constant war being fought in your mind over your thoughts. Satan, the Great Deceiver, wants us to sin. He knows full well that our thoughts turn into our actions. We are often bombarded by thoughts that try to get us to break our Heavenly Father's commandments. For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..." Proverbs 23:7 The question is, how hard are we fighting to drive those thoughts from our mind? Jealous thoughts, prideful thoughts, backsliding toward the Natural Man...Do we have that spiritual air force? Or are we sitting around in the trenches of our mind?
Nephi's brother, Jacob speaks to us in 2 Nephi 9:39 saying, "Oh my beloved brethren, remember the awfulness in transgressing against that Holy God and also the awfulness of yielding to the enticings of that cunning one. Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually minded is life eternal."
Now, how can we have that spiritual Air Force protecting us and keeping us safe from the enticings of the devil? It's been mentioned in several of the scriptures I've quoted. Remember. All through the scriptures we are told of things we should remember. "And now my son, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall. Helaman 5:12 (this is the same scripture Elder P wrote in my journal on Day 42) "Oh, remember my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth to keep the commandments of God." Alma 37:35
When we remember the teachings of the Prophets of God, we won't be able to dwell on the depressing and negative thoughts that Satan would have us think on. President Ezra Taft Bensen said, "Let your mind be filled with the goal of being like the Lord, and you will crowd out depressing thoughts as you anxiously seek to know him and do his will."
We can build up our spiritual air force to combat the destructive powers of the adversary by studying and pondering the scriptures in our hearts. I always like to have a hymn in reserve. It helps me focus my thoughts on the Savior. "I need thee every hour, stay thou nearby. Temptations lose their power, when thou art nigh. I need thee, oh I need thee. Every hour I need thee. Every hour I need thee. Oh bless me now my Savior, I come to thee." Jesus Christ has told us, "Look unto me in every thought. Doubt not. Fear not. D&C 6:36
In closing, I'd like to call everyone to remembrance about why it is so important. Why our thoughts must be kept safe from the temptings of the adversary. We learn in Alma 12:14 that "our thoughts will condemn us..." Alma tells his son Helaman in Alma 37:36-37 to "cry unto God for all thy support; yea let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest, let it be in the Lord; yea, let all of thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever. Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good. Yea, when thou liest down at night, lie down unto the Lord that He may watch over your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning, let your heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day."
In D&C 121:45 it says that we should "let virtue garnish our thoughts unceasingly". What does it mean to garnish? In the dictionary it says that garnish is to add and accompaniment to food or drink to enhance it's flavor or appearance. I like that. When our thoughts are garnished in virtue, they are enhanced. We will be more receptive to receive spiritual promptings and blessings that way. I hope that all of us may continue to garnish our thoughts with virtue; that we will continue to keep the commandments and endure to the end so that we may receive eternal life, "which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God." D&C 14:7 I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
But anyway! Back to the interview with Sister W...continued in the next post...
Sister W shared with me Mosiah 7:33. "But if ye will turn to the Lord with full purpose of heart, and put your trust in him, and serve him with all diligence of mind, if ye do this, he will according to his own will and pleasure deliver you out of bondage." When she read this to me, the line that really stuck out was "serve him with all diligence of mind." Your thoughts become your actions.
This is a topic I've wanted to cover in here for a while. Control your thoughts. Control your actions. On Day 38 I went to my first Zone Conference. The president of the mission at the time, President B. gave a talk about how we should try to be one. He mentioned the German army in WWII and how they'd work in unity by having the planes come in first and weaken the defenses of the opposing army thereby allowing the tanks to mow through the remainder of the other sides' defenses with little trouble at all. I'll mention unity later, but what I want to focus on now is the airplanes.
At the height of WWII, Walt Disney made a film entitled, "Victory Through Air Power". In it, the case was made that the safest and easiest way to win the war would be (as the title states) through air power. The Russian-born pilot, Alexander P. De Seversky is our host through the film as he guides us through the role that aircraft had played over the years both in and out of war times.
The film shows how France was conquered by the Germans in WWII. The French people were not prepared for the enemy aircraft. As a defense against aggressors, France had constructed this massive line of trenches and underground bunkers. The idea was to hold the enemy at bay, get them stuck in the trenches, and thereby reduce their offenses to a standstill. It had worked before in previous wars and France was sure that they would be able to stop the enemy right in their tracks.
France had not counted on Hitler's use of war planes to clear a path for his ground troops. The planes came by, flying over the trenches and made quick work of the French Resistance.
The Frenches trenches (Say that 5 times fast-Frenches trenches,Frenches trenches, Frenches trenches...)stood as a grim monument to the futility of trying to fight a war only on the surface of the earth. It was now clear that you would need your own air force to truly be safe from the invading army. Mr. DeSeversky points out in the film that it's not enough to secure your borders. If you want to truly protect yourself from invaders, you must be in control of your skies as well.
In the film, the example is given of the Royal Air Force of Great Britain and the role that it played in WWII in keeping Britain from falling under Nazi rule. The airplanes acted as a shield that covered the country, thus protecting it from the constant barrage from the enemy. That isn't to say that the planes were a perfect protection. Many cities were destroyed; But it would have been hundreds of times worse without that defense in the sky.
And so it is with us. If we want to be truly protected against the cunning of the devil, even Satan, that old serpent, it isn't enough to simply watch what we say and do. We must watch our thoughts most carefully. As King Benjamin warned the people in Mosiah 4:30, "But this much I can tell you, that if you do not watch yourselves and your thoughts and your words and your deeds...ye must perish. And now, O man, remember and perish not."
Your brain is like a huge battlefield. There is a constant war being fought in your mind over your thoughts. Satan, the Great Deceiver, wants us to sin. He knows full well that our thoughts turn into our actions. We are often bombarded by thoughts that try to get us to break our Heavenly Father's commandments. For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..." Proverbs 23:7 The question is, how hard are we fighting to drive those thoughts from our mind? Jealous thoughts, prideful thoughts, backsliding toward the Natural Man...Do we have that spiritual air force? Or are we sitting around in the trenches of our mind?
Nephi's brother, Jacob speaks to us in 2 Nephi 9:39 saying, "Oh my beloved brethren, remember the awfulness in transgressing against that Holy God and also the awfulness of yielding to the enticings of that cunning one. Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually minded is life eternal."
Now, how can we have that spiritual Air Force protecting us and keeping us safe from the enticings of the devil? It's been mentioned in several of the scriptures I've quoted. Remember. All through the scriptures we are told of things we should remember. "And now my son, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall. Helaman 5:12 (this is the same scripture Elder P wrote in my journal on Day 42) "Oh, remember my son, and learn wisdom in thy youth to keep the commandments of God." Alma 37:35
When we remember the teachings of the Prophets of God, we won't be able to dwell on the depressing and negative thoughts that Satan would have us think on. President Ezra Taft Bensen said, "Let your mind be filled with the goal of being like the Lord, and you will crowd out depressing thoughts as you anxiously seek to know him and do his will."
We can build up our spiritual air force to combat the destructive powers of the adversary by studying and pondering the scriptures in our hearts. I always like to have a hymn in reserve. It helps me focus my thoughts on the Savior. "I need thee every hour, stay thou nearby. Temptations lose their power, when thou art nigh. I need thee, oh I need thee. Every hour I need thee. Every hour I need thee. Oh bless me now my Savior, I come to thee." Jesus Christ has told us, "Look unto me in every thought. Doubt not. Fear not. D&C 6:36
In closing, I'd like to call everyone to remembrance about why it is so important. Why our thoughts must be kept safe from the temptings of the adversary. We learn in Alma 12:14 that "our thoughts will condemn us..." Alma tells his son Helaman in Alma 37:36-37 to "cry unto God for all thy support; yea let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest, let it be in the Lord; yea, let all of thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever. Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good. Yea, when thou liest down at night, lie down unto the Lord that He may watch over your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning, let your heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day."
In D&C 121:45 it says that we should "let virtue garnish our thoughts unceasingly". What does it mean to garnish? In the dictionary it says that garnish is to add and accompaniment to food or drink to enhance it's flavor or appearance. I like that. When our thoughts are garnished in virtue, they are enhanced. We will be more receptive to receive spiritual promptings and blessings that way. I hope that all of us may continue to garnish our thoughts with virtue; that we will continue to keep the commandments and endure to the end so that we may receive eternal life, "which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God." D&C 14:7 I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
But anyway! Back to the interview with Sister W...continued in the next post...
posted by Garden Anywhere Box | 3:37 AM
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