3 years ago

Seek Christ in Every Thought
By Elder Ulisses Soares

Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

Fighting against temptation takes a lifetime of diligence and faithfulness. But please know that the Lord is ready to assist us.

In his poetic hymn of praise, the Psalmist declared:

“O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.

“Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.

“Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.”1

In this poem’s semantic parallelism, the Psalmist praises the Lord’s divine attribute of omniscience because He truly knows every aspect of our souls.2 Being aware of all that is necessary for us in this life, the Savior invites us to seek Him in every thought and to follow Him with all our heart.3 This gives us the promise that we can walk in His light and that His guidance prevents the influence of darkness in our life.4

Seeking Christ in every thought and following Him with all our heart requires that we align our mind and desires with His.5 The scriptures refer to this alignment as “stand[ing] fast in the Lord.”6 This course of action implies that we continually conduct our lives in harmony with the gospel of Christ and focus daily on everything that is good.7 Only then may we achieve “the peace of God, which passeth all understanding” and which will “keep [our] hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”8 The Savior Himself instructed the elders of the Church in February 1831, “Treasure these things up in your hearts, and let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds.”9

Despite our continuous efforts to seek out the Lord, inappropriate thoughts may penetrate our mind. When such thoughts are permitted and even invited to stay, they can shape the desires of our heart and lead us to what we will become in this life and eventually to what we will inherit for eternity.10 Elder Neal A. Maxwell once emphasized this principle by saying, “Desires … determine the gradations in outcomes, including why ‘many are called, but few are chosen.’”11

Our ancient and modern prophets have constantly reminded us to resist temptation in order to avoid losing our spiritual traction and becoming confused, disoriented, and disillusioned in life.

Metaphorically speaking, yielding to temptation is like approaching a magnet with a metal object. The magnet’s invisible force attracts the metal object and holds it tightly. The magnet loses its power over it only when the metal object is placed far from it. Therefore, just as the magnet is unable to exercise power over a faraway metal object, as we resist temptation, it fades away and loses its power over our mind and heart and, consequently, over our actions.

This analogy reminds me of an experience that a very faithful member of the Church shared with me some time ago. This member told me that when she awakened on one particular morning, an improper thought that she had never experienced before unexpectedly entered her mind. Although it caught her completely by surprise, she reacted against the situation in a split second, saying to herself and to that thought, “No!” and replaced it with something good to divert her mind from the unwelcome thought. She told me that as she exercised her moral agency in righteousness, that negative, involuntary thought immediately disappeared.

When Moroni called upon the people to believe in Christ and to repent, he urged them to come unto the Savior with all their hearts, stripping themselves from all uncleanness. Furthermore, Moroni invited them to ask God, with unbreakable determination, that they would not fall into temptation.12 Applying these principles in our lives requires more than a mere belief; it requires adjusting our minds and hearts to these divine principles. Such adjustment requires a daily and constant personal effort, in addition to reliance on the Savior, because our mortal inclinations will not disappear on their own. Fighting against temptation takes a lifetime of diligence and faithfulness. But please know that the Lord is ready to assist us in our personal efforts and promises remarkable blessings if we endure to the end.

During a particularly difficult time when Joseph Smith and his fellow prisoners in Liberty Jail did not have freedom in anything except for their thoughts, the Lord provided helpful counsel and a promise to them that are extended to all of us:

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