An aside:
The name of this blog used to be "Bill's Random Blog" but that has changed. Now it is called "Wandering with Purpose". It will still be fairly random, but I have found that there is a common thread in most of my posts, so I wanted to acknowledge that. Also, for those who have become concerned (as have I) that my ramblings are becoming a little to "preachy" please know that it will not stay that way for long. Our Stake President has given our Stake a challenge to read the Book of Mormon by March 21 when our next Stake Conference will be and to write down our thoughts about things we have read. I have tried to be obedient to that counsel and have found a great outpouring of the Spirit in my own life. I may not finish in time - I'm trying my best but I'm still only in mid-Alma - but I don't know if that's really the point. Either way, as I complete the Book of Mormon this exercise will be over and it'll be back to the usual boring stuff instead of the Book of Mormon boring stuff. So hang in there. Please.
Besides, some of you have told me you enjoy my "preachy" thoughts on occasion. So you just never know...
Now, back to the regularly scheduled programming...
Where do you pray?
Why do you pray?
The Zoramites - in particular those who were poor (temporally) found that they were removed from the locally accepted form of worship (strange as that may have been). They felt that they could not worship God because they were not welcome in their places of worship.
Alma and Amulek describe the need to pray everywhere - closets, fields, wilderness - and in every circumstance. Even when we do not vocalize our prayers, our hearts should be full of prayerful, reverent, and grateful thoughts.
I have been studying a lot about the evils of pornography lately. It is truly insidious, pernicious, and damning. While I do not understand all of what happens with this, President Monson has likened it to the makefeke used in Polynesian cultures to trap octopuses. An object made to look one way is in fact nothing more than a lure. As our minds wrap around this lure we find ourselves drawn into an ever increasing downward spiral, pulled out of the life-giving world and into one that eventually leads to death.
There is a way to combat these things. While we are ALL subject to diverse temptations, we do not have to allow them into our lives. If our minds are like an open field, we must carefully remove thoughts before they flourish, grow, mature, and bear seed. I once asked a man I know who is knowledgeable about weeds how it was that they could proliferate so abundantly. He said it's a matter of proportion. You carefully plant one desired plant for every million or so seeds that have come from other places. These seeds may be local or have blown in on whatever winds exist. They may lie dormant for years until conditions are right for them to grow. But grow they will. Comparing that to a pine tree, which I would liken to a desirable thought, the pine tree has a way of eliminating competition. It drops needles down to the ground that create unfavorable conditions for other plants to grow. Further, it absorbs all of the sunlight and attention from above, while monopolizing all of the water and nutrients from below. Thus, a good thought, once mature and stable, can provide shelter from the growth of destructive thoughts. So the method is two-fold: remove the negative thoughts, acknowledging them for what they are, and then modifying behavior and thought patterns to encourage growth of good thoughts. It is not enough to say "I'm not going to do something". Our minds, like all of nature, abhor a vacuum. So we must put something positive in its place. Amulek suggests we pray. Elder Packer suggests we use hymns or scriptures. I find that reading good books helps, as does spending time with my family, listening to uplifting music, and even writing in this silly blog. We will always struggle. But in the struggle we find refinement and dignity and confidence. Things that are difficult for us now may not always be thus. We can overcome our baser natures - the natural man that is an enemy to God - and become new creatures in Christ - His sons and daughters.
The name of this blog used to be "Bill's Random Blog" but that has changed. Now it is called "Wandering with Purpose". It will still be fairly random, but I have found that there is a common thread in most of my posts, so I wanted to acknowledge that. Also, for those who have become concerned (as have I) that my ramblings are becoming a little to "preachy" please know that it will not stay that way for long. Our Stake President has given our Stake a challenge to read the Book of Mormon by March 21 when our next Stake Conference will be and to write down our thoughts about things we have read. I have tried to be obedient to that counsel and have found a great outpouring of the Spirit in my own life. I may not finish in time - I'm trying my best but I'm still only in mid-Alma - but I don't know if that's really the point. Either way, as I complete the Book of Mormon this exercise will be over and it'll be back to the usual boring stuff instead of the Book of Mormon boring stuff. So hang in there. Please.
Besides, some of you have told me you enjoy my "preachy" thoughts on occasion. So you just never know...
Now, back to the regularly scheduled programming...
Where do you pray?
Why do you pray?
The Zoramites - in particular those who were poor (temporally) found that they were removed from the locally accepted form of worship (strange as that may have been). They felt that they could not worship God because they were not welcome in their places of worship.
Alma and Amulek describe the need to pray everywhere - closets, fields, wilderness - and in every circumstance. Even when we do not vocalize our prayers, our hearts should be full of prayerful, reverent, and grateful thoughts.
I have been studying a lot about the evils of pornography lately. It is truly insidious, pernicious, and damning. While I do not understand all of what happens with this, President Monson has likened it to the makefeke used in Polynesian cultures to trap octopuses. An object made to look one way is in fact nothing more than a lure. As our minds wrap around this lure we find ourselves drawn into an ever increasing downward spiral, pulled out of the life-giving world and into one that eventually leads to death.
There is a way to combat these things. While we are ALL subject to diverse temptations, we do not have to allow them into our lives. If our minds are like an open field, we must carefully remove thoughts before they flourish, grow, mature, and bear seed. I once asked a man I know who is knowledgeable about weeds how it was that they could proliferate so abundantly. He said it's a matter of proportion. You carefully plant one desired plant for every million or so seeds that have come from other places. These seeds may be local or have blown in on whatever winds exist. They may lie dormant for years until conditions are right for them to grow. But grow they will. Comparing that to a pine tree, which I would liken to a desirable thought, the pine tree has a way of eliminating competition. It drops needles down to the ground that create unfavorable conditions for other plants to grow. Further, it absorbs all of the sunlight and attention from above, while monopolizing all of the water and nutrients from below. Thus, a good thought, once mature and stable, can provide shelter from the growth of destructive thoughts. So the method is two-fold: remove the negative thoughts, acknowledging them for what they are, and then modifying behavior and thought patterns to encourage growth of good thoughts. It is not enough to say "I'm not going to do something". Our minds, like all of nature, abhor a vacuum. So we must put something positive in its place. Amulek suggests we pray. Elder Packer suggests we use hymns or scriptures. I find that reading good books helps, as does spending time with my family, listening to uplifting music, and even writing in this silly blog. We will always struggle. But in the struggle we find refinement and dignity and confidence. Things that are difficult for us now may not always be thus. We can overcome our baser natures - the natural man that is an enemy to God - and become new creatures in Christ - His sons and daughters.
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