Meditating Mormons

This is a more recent picture of Richard Frye.
Thank you, my friend.

And ye must practice virtue and holiness before me continually. Even so. Amen.

Doctrine & Covenants 46:33

In one area of my mission in the Philippines, I served with an Elder Frye. One of the first mornings there, I saw him sitting Indian style on his bed in what looked like a meditative state.  I felt like I shouldn’t disturb him but later that morning I said something sarcastic like, “You realize, Elder, we aren't Hindu, right?” He kindly said that he was in fact meditating.  He then explained that each morning he tried to mediate through his day and how to be the kind of person he wanted to be; he would think through how he would see that day and how he would like to approach each situation as a godly man.  He would think through situations that might frustrate him and how he would like to approach them in a better way.  He would “practice virtue” in his mind so when the actual events came, he had already practiced through what he would do.

Have you ever done the opposite of this? Have you ever had a conflict and imagined through a whole argument or fight that later never happened? You imagined what they might say and how you would react to get the best of them?  How often does your mind take you into the very opposite than the kind of person you want to be?  I think of it as the opposite of this verse. Instead of practicing virtue, we might often practice vice in our mind.  Then when the situation happens, we don’t always do what we should.

Today’s Takeaway: Take a few minutes and try meditating through your day; think of who you will see and interact with: family, work associates, friends. Practice through in your mind how you can be your best self in thosepotential situations. Think of situations where you often give in to temptation and meditate through how you will be different this time. This can be a powerful tool to becoming the man or woman of God you want to be. And remember practice makes perfect. 

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