"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."
We're not of the same faith, but we both read the Bible and I immediately recognized it as from Proverbs of Psalms.. It was Proverbs - Chapter 4, verse 23 to be exact. I started to think about the meaning of the words... sometimes I merely skim over scriptures and don't really internalize the meaning. I've been making attempts to be better at this. Thus, I started to think about the meaning...
"Keep thy heart will all diligence..." To keep something is to save or guard it. You heart represent your feelings, desires, and the center of your being. Putting the pieces together I'd say that we are to persistently and carefully guard and protect our thoughts, feeling, and thus, actions.
"... for out of it are the issues of life." So, from our heart comes the issues, trial, temptations, and desires we have in life. Therefore, I can use my deductive reasoning to assess that the we should be consistently guarding (and even shepherding- guiding) our daily thoughts and feelings because the issues (good or bad) in our lives come from those feelings and thoughts. Our feelings and thoughts control our actions. Think about it. If you're spending the majority of your time thinking negative thoughts, it's really difficult to stay positive, right? It's the same with other things in our life.
Example: I'm not saying if you think about sex once you're suddenly going to be having it. Heaven knows that's not the truth. However, when things overrun our mind, it can be reflected in the way we speak and act. Therefore, I think it's smart to follow the counsel to "Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God." (D&C 121:45) I believe what H. David Burton said in a General Conference talk he gave in October of 2009, "As we allow virtue to garnish our thoughts unceasingly and we cultivate virtuous traits in our personal lives, our communities and institutions will be improved, our children and families will be strengthened, and faith and integrity will bless individual lives."
Sidenote: For those friends who don't know what General Conference is, it's a bi-annual conference where individuals - mostly members of the LDS faith - gather in a series of two-hour sessions to listen to instruction from Church leaders. To see some of the transcripts, click HERE.
One way that I have found I am able to keep my mind in the right place and focus on the right things is to go to the temple. I love the temple - the peace felt there and just the fact that it's mine and Heavenly Father's time. I mean, you're serving others, but it's at such a benefit to you... I just am really grateful that I have the opportunity to go to the temple often here in UT. In fact, I don't believe I utilize the temple as much as I could/should and so my new goal is to go once a week. I use to do that while in college, and it was an extra mile or two away there... Here I have the Draper Temple basically in my backyard.
I know that when I go to the temple I feel peace and can keep my mind in the right place. I can truly "keep [my] heart with all diligence," and keep myself on the best path for me. If you want to learn more about LDS temple and why we have them, click on the picture below.... or just check out the stats. :)
Song of the Day: My Sunday obsession for the past few weeks has been Nichole Nordeman's song "Legacy." It's so uplifting for anytime of the week and it's catchy... I adore it. Enjoy!
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