Welcome! Thank you for coming to devotional today. I am really excited to share a quick thought with you at the beginning of this new semester.
I have been remembering a question I was asked once or twice by my parents. It is a question I have had occasion to ask my own children. Maybe you have heard this from your parents as well. This is the question: "What were you thinking?"
I remember a specific incident in which I needed to find an answer to that question for my Dad. I had driven the family car to mutual one night. On the 9-mile drive home afterward, I got into a little race with one of my friends. As I sped beyond 100 miles per hour to get around her, I heard a little pop on the right side of my car. It drew my attention to the side mirror on the passenger side, but I could see nothing in that mirror. It was pitch black. I knew I should be seeing my friend's car in that side mirror as I passed and pulled over in front of her. I checked the rearview mirror. There she was! But the side mirror was still pitch black.
Just then I heard a pop on the left side of my car. I looked to that mirror, to my astonishment, to find it was also pitch black!
To make a long story short, the next day I needed to come up with an explanation for the two missing mirrors. I thought my Dad probably knew at what speed side mirrors pop out of their frames, so without going into detail I spoke of the response of our Ford's V-8 engine when I needed speed to win the race and said, "Those mirrors must have been loose." My Dad's response was the question: "What were you thinking?"
I don't remember clearly my reply, but in my experience, the best answer to that question has usually been: "I was only thinking about the fun. The excitement of the moment controlled my selfish desires for a thrill and a triumphant win!
What I couldn't see through the excitement was the danger, not just to the car, but to myself and others. It is an example of how losing control of clear thinking can cause us to act in ways that put us in harm's way physically.
But distorted thinking can also put us in harm's way spiritually.
In Proverbs, chapter 27, we are counseled that the thoughts of our hearts make us who we are. So, let's ask ourselves the question, "What am I thinking?"
In the book of Moroni, chapter 7, Moroni records a speech given by his dad, Mormon, that gives us good advice about thinking clearly in order to avoid spiritual decay.
Let me quote just a few passages from Mormon's discourse:
". . .by their works ye shall know them; . . . ."[1]
"For . . . God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; . . ."[2]
". . . a bitter fountain cannot bring forth good water; neither can a good fountain bring forth bitter water; . . . ."[3]
". . . every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God."[4]
". . . the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; . . . ."[5]
". . . ye shall have hope through the atonement of Christ . . . because of your faith in him . . . ."[6]
". . . if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; "[7]
". . . charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; . . . ."[8]
We would be wise, as Mormon encourages, to "be meek and lowly of heart,"[9] to "lay hold upon every good thing,"[10] and to confess "by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ"[11] whose gift to us is His pure love. Endowed with this charity, we will not behave unseemly, selfishly, destructively, or in ways that put others or ourselves at risk of harm either physically or spiritually. It is my prayer that we will all seek for this gift.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
Notes
[1] Moroni 7:5
[2] Moroni 7:6
[3] Moroni 7:11
[4] Moroni 7:13
[5] Moroni 7:16
[6] Moroni 7:41
[7] Moroni 7:44
[8] Moroni 7:47
[9] Moroni 7:44
[10] Moroni 7:19
[11] Moroni 7:44