The Garden of Your Mind

Sundays are always great days. I am able to attend church and for 3 hours I get to feel the presence of the Holy Ghost so strongly. It is an opportunity for the Lord to communicate with me as I listen to those who have been guided by the Spirit in preparing talks and lessons. Today Bishop Pyper taught a combined lesson and said something that I really needed to hear. He said:

"From time to time you need to go through the garden of your mind and weed out the bad thoughts. Not just the unclean thoughts but the negative ones that weigh you down and depress you. Weeds grow best where nothing else is growing. So, keep the garden of your mind full of good things to keep the weeds out."

Will you leave your garden barren, perfect for weeds of self doubt and self loathing to grow? Or will you work on your garden, pulling out the bad and replacing it with the good? Some days will be tough, but as you actively take notice of what is growing in your mind and replace those thoughts of unworthiness and self-pity with thoughts of the Savior's love for you, you will notice a difference in your attitude and you will be happier.

I have come to know through my own experiences how damaging focusing on a bad thought can be. When I nitpick my actions and what I'm doing, when I focus on the little bad things in my life, they grow and become huge and overwhelming to the point where that is all I see in my life. Too often I find myself nourishing my weeds instead of nourishing my flowers.

But when I focus on my flowers and the things that I am good at, my talents and my strengths, they bloom and my attitude changes. The sun comes out and life is beautiful. Your mind is the easiest rose garden to tend to. You literally just need to focus on your flowers and cast your weeds to the wayside. I can promise you that as you focus on the good instead of the bad, your attitude and how you view yourself will change and your life will become better.

So do you want weeds, or do you want flowers?