Good morning, brothers and sisters. Thank you for participating in the devotional today. I know it is a busy time of year, with papers, projects, and finals pending. I promise to do my best to reward your time investment with something helpful to you now and throughout your life.<\/p>\n
According to a very fun website1<\/sup> that I found, it was thirty-six years, one month, and ten days ago that, as a freshman student at BYU, I sat where you are sitting today. I listened carefully as President Ezra Taft Benson, then president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, gave a talk titled \u201cFourteen Fundamentals in Following the Prophet.\u201d2<\/sup><\/a> He shared how we could more faithfully follow the living prophets and better keep the commandments of God.<\/p>\n The Spirit was strong that day, and I was motivated by President Benson\u2019s remarks. I thought to myself, \u201cI am going to follow his counsel to be a better follower of the prophets and to be more faithful in keeping the commandments of God. But I can do better than that. From this point on, I\u2019m not even going to make any mistakes!\u201d<\/p>\n Now, I know all of you are a lot smarter than I was as a freshman. You can see the impossibility, and perhaps the silliness, of my well-intentioned commitment.<\/p>\n As I was exiting the devotional, I paused to use the restroom. I was concentrating so intently on my new commitment\u2014to not make any mistakes\u2014that I didn\u2019t notice the cute little stick figure wearing a triangular dress on the restroom door. It wasn\u2019t until I had turned the corner that I realized where I was. There, standing in front of a large mirror, was a young woman brushing her long, black hair. I hadn\u2019t even made it out of this very building before I had failed at my new commitment!<\/p>\n Now, as an aside, I am still grateful to this day to that young woman for not calling for security. Can you imagine the look on the security officers\u2019 faces as I tried to explain that I was concentrating so hard on never making another mistake that had I made a mistake?<\/p>\n In my mind\u2019s eye I can see and hear the security officers as they would have looked at each other and said, \u201cYeah, right! Book \u2019em, Danno!\u201d<\/p>\n Today I come to you hopefully a little wiser to share some counsel on something I have worked on ever since that day.<\/p>\n We are told in Proverbs 23:7 that \u201cas he thinketh in his heart, so is he.\u201d Related to that is this old saying:<\/p>\n Sow a thought, and you reap an act; As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, our destiny is to live eternally with our Savior in the presence of our Heavenly Father. Because of the very real covenants we make at baptism and in the temple, our destiny also includes living eternally with a spouse, children, and extended family. Truly, families can be forever. The scriptures teach us that the Lord Himself says that His work and glory is \u201cto bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.\u201d4<\/sup><\/p>\n As members of Christ\u2019s restored Church, we should try to understand the actuality of eternal life and the reality of our personal destiny. Our destiny, as grandiose and incomprehensible as it is to fully understand, begins with the tiniest of individual thoughts.<\/p>\n These little things we call thoughts accompany us throughout almost every moment of every day of our entire lives. They can be small but immensely and intensely powerful. They will ultimately determine our character and our destiny. Thoughts must be consciously and carefully monitored and directed so that the acts, habits, and character that surely follow them are consistent with the commandments of God and lead to the destiny that is inherently ours.<\/p>\n You may have heard of the starfish story. It has been adapted numerous times by numerous people from Loren Eiseley\u2019s essay titled \u201cThe Star Thrower.\u201d5<\/sup> Based on these adaptations, the story goes something like this:<\/p>\n There was an old man walking along the seashore. In the distance he saw a young person doing something near the water\u2019s edge. As the old man approached, he saw that it was a boy surrounded by numerous starfish that had washed ashore and were lying on the sand. The old man watched, intrigued, as the boy picked up starfish after starfish and threw them as far as he could over the breaking surf.<\/p>\n After some time the old man approached the boy and said, \u201cSon, do you realize there are thousands of starfish on this shore? Certainly what you are doing can make no real difference.\u201d<\/p>\n After respectfully listening, the boy reached down and picked up another starfish and hurled it into the ocean. Then, looking thoughtfully at the old man, the boy said, \u201cIt made a difference to that one.\u201d And he continued to throw more starfish back into the water.<\/p>\n Now, all of us can benefit from the excellent principles in this story. Doing something good against what seem like insurmountable odds does make a difference.<\/p>\n But today I would like for us to create a different kind of starfish story. This story has a very special purpose with an eternal application. In this story you are the young man or woman at the ocean\u2019s edge. The shore represents your mind and, ultimately, your life, which comprises thoughts, acts, habits, and character. The starfish in this story represent unwanted or inappropriate thoughts that sometimes come as you try to transition from a \u201ccarnal, sensual, and devilish\u201d6<\/sup> nature to a state in which you possess the same character as your Savior Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n It is possible that some starfish in your new story aren\u2019t necessarily good or bad thoughts; they can be time wasters that keep you from thinking about or doing something positive, productive, or purposeful. For some of you the starfish may represent negative thoughts about roommates, Church or family members, coworkers, or others. For some, starfish will be thoughts of revenge, resentment, or reclusiveness. Perhaps some starfish will be negative thoughts related to self-image, self-worth, or even self-destructive behaviors. Some starfish thoughts may be motivated by the pursuit of power, fame, fortune, or sex. There may be starfish representing thoughts related to immoral behavior with someone from either the opposite or same gender.<\/p>\n I cannot represent all types of unwanted or sinful thoughts, but as you consider your story, I invite you to reflect on those thoughts that you know you struggle with. In all of these examples, it is possible that the starfish have already been sown into acts, habits, or even the foundation of your character\u2014but not yet into your destiny!<\/p>\n You are standing on the shore of your life. The waves bring what you allow into your life. With each incoming wave there is the possibility that a new or a reoccurring starfish washes ashore. Typically, your desire is to have a clean oceanfront. It is beautiful when it is clean. And when it is clean, you feel comfortable inviting others there. It is where you want your friends and family to be. It feels good, and typically you want it to remain that way.<\/p>\n But there may be times when you find yourself actually inviting certain starfish onto your shore. There may be some starfish that are secretly your favorites. They are exciting and enticing when they first arrive, but you soon realize\u2014in fact, you may have known for a long time\u2014that they clutter your shore and quickly decay into an ugly mess.<\/p>\n It is both our challenge as well as our opportunity in this life to throw our starfish back into the sea. We need to fling them as far as we can over the breaking water so that they will not come back again.<\/p>\n Having pure, positive, and appropriate thoughts will affect all aspects of your life. It will affect who you marry, what kind of spouse you will be, and how you teach and raise your children. It will affect what kind of job you have and how successful you are in your employment. It will affect your testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, your faithfulness in the Church and to your callings, and your commitment to covenants you have made or will make with God. In short, having pure, positive, and appropriate thoughts will determine your life and your eternities.<\/p>\n Perhaps you may, appropriately, ask how to do it: How do I replace negative or inappropriate thoughts with pure or positive ones that lead to good acts, good habits, and good character? It is especially challenging for us to control our thoughts when we live in a world of ever-increasing \u201c\u2018in-your-face,\u2019 carnal confrontiveness,\u201d as termed by Elder Neal A. Maxwell.7<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles gave some guidance on how we can accomplish this task:<\/p>\n Probably the greatest challenge to people of any age, particularly young people, and the most difficult thing you will face in mortal life is to learn to control your thoughts. As a man \u201cthinketh in his heart, so is he.\u201d (Prov. 23:7.) One who can control his thoughts has conquered himself. . . .<\/i><\/p>\n This is what I would teach you. Choose from among the sacred music of the Church a favorite hymn, one with words that are uplifting and music that is reverent, one that makes you feel something akin to inspiration. . . .<\/i><\/p>\n Now, use this hymn as the place for your thoughts to go. Make it your emergency channel. Whenever you find these shady actors have slipped from the sidelines of your thinking onto the stage of your mind, put on this record, as it were.<\/i><\/p>\n As the music begins and as the words form in your thoughts, the unworthy ones will slip shamefully away. It will change the whole mood on the stage of your mind. Because it is uplifting and clean, the baser thoughts will disappear. For while virtue, by choice, <\/i>will not <\/i><\/b>associate with filth, evil <\/i>cannot<\/i><\/b> tolerate the presence of light.<\/i>8<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n There are many strategies you can use to control your thoughts. The critical thing is to consciously recognize an unwanted thought and acknowledge that it will lead to actions that lead to habits that lead to character that leads to\u2014eventually\u2014your destiny. Once recognized, replace the unwanted thought with something uplifting. The void created by removing an unwanted thought must be replaced by something of value.<\/p>\n One person shared with me that she replaces inappropriate thoughts by reflecting upon her temple covenants. She ponders on the words of the covenants and their sacred and eternal meaning. She reflects on the security these covenants personally bring to her, to her marriage, and to her young children. She also ponders on the promised and eternal blessings associated with each covenant.<\/p>\n A returned missionary once shared that he tries to imagine the sublime glory of the Savior. This has helped him replace undesirable thoughts with virtuous ones that elevate his mind to a holier place. He tries to imagine what it was like for Joseph Smith when he saw God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ in Their glory. He imagines what it would feel like to gaze into the Savior\u2019s eyes and to feel of His approving love.<\/p>\n A young woman once shared that when she recognizes that an unwanted thought has crept onto the stage of her mind, immediate prayer provides her a safe refuge. She found that as she focuses on sincerely speaking to her Heavenly Father, the unwanted thoughts seem to melt away, and she feels peace as the Holy Spirit prompts her in her prayer.<\/p>\n All of these methods can help us control our thoughts. I have created a personal reminder to help myself that I call the five Rs:<\/p>\n 1. Recognize<\/b> when a thought is inappropriate, unworthy, or unwanted.<\/p>\n 2. Remove<\/b> the thought as soon as you \u00adrecognize it.<\/p>\n 3. Replace<\/b> the thought with something pure, positive, or productive.<\/p>\n 4. Repent<\/b> immediately when necessary.<\/p>\n 5. Repeat<\/b> the process as often as required for as long as required.<\/p>\n The blessings associated with keeping your shoreline clean and unencumbered of starfish are many. The Doctrine and Covenants promises that if you have charity toward all and if you let virtue garnish your thoughts unceasingly,<\/p>\n then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven.<\/i><\/p>\n The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion, and thy scepter an unchanging scepter of righteousness and truth; and thy dominion shall be an everlasting dominion, and without compulsory means it shall flow unto thee forever and ever.<\/i>9<\/sup><\/p>\n Another way to construct these scriptural blessings is to approach the Lord in prayer, asking for whatever righteous needs or desires you have, and to expect with faith and confidence that the Lord will hear and answer your prayer. It means that your understanding of the mysteries of heaven can expand to where faith becomes knowledge. It means that the Holy Ghost will carefully lead you by constant personal revelation to truth, wisdom, and understanding. It means that you will, with legitimacy, be able to lead, teach, and inspire family, friends, and others who love, respect, and seek for your influence\u2014forever! It ultimately sets in place your eternal destiny\u2014and all this because you choose charity and virtuous thoughts.<\/p>\n In a talk during the priesthood session of the October 1983 general conference, equally applicable to all members of the Church, President Benson said:<\/p>\n A priesthood holder is <\/i>virtuous.<\/i><\/b> Virtuous behavior implies that he has pure thoughts and clean actions. He will not lust in his heart, for to do so is to \u201cdeny the faith\u201d and to lose the Spirit. (See D&C 42:23.)<\/i><\/p>\n He will not commit adultery \u201cnor do anything like unto it.\u201d (D&C 59:6.) This means fornication, homosexual behavior, self-abuse, child molestation, or any other sexual perversions.<\/i><\/p>\nThe Starfish Story and Our Thoughts<\/b><\/h2>\n
\n<\/i>Sow an act, and you reap a habit;
\n<\/i>Sow a habit, and you reap a character;
\n<\/i>Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.<\/i>3<\/sup><\/p>\nControlling Our Thoughts<\/b><\/h2>\n