A Word about Birds

My dad's birthday was Monday and Father's Day was a couple of weeks ago, so I've been thinking a lot about the counsel he gave me throughout life—and especially as I prepared to serve a mission. I'm thankful for these lessons and the patient way in which my father taught them.

Dad often repeats a phrase he learned from his uncle—

Every day we are assaulted with inappropriate messages from friends and the media. Negative thoughts are a natural consequence of living in a negative world. I may not be able to control when an unsavory thought enters my mind, but I have ultimate control over when it leaves. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland taught this concept so well—

Like thieves in the night, unwelcome thoughts can and do seek entrance to our minds. But we don’t have to throw open the door, serve them tea and crumpets, and then tell them where the silverware is kept! (You shouldn’t be serving tea anyway)...Whatever thoughts you have, make sure they are welcome in your heart by invitation only.

You can't remove sludge by sitting around, and you can't replace something with nothing. Thought control is an active process. Satan requires nothing more than an empty mind and an apathetic heart; he doesn't need us to seek out angry, bitter, lustful, hopeless, or confused thoughts and feelings.

Positive thinking, on the other hand, requires effort. What do you do to keep your thoughts pure and hope-filled? Here are some of your ideas—

• Patsy: I keep my mind saturated with the word of God, keeping the commandments and doing His will.
• Emma: Garbage in is garbage out :) Listening to positive music helps. 
• Michael: Prayer, morning studies, and always surrounding myself with Gospel centered themes have prepared a way for the stage to remain pure and wholesome.
• Brooklin: If I ever start thinking something I don't want to, I automatically sing a hymn in my head. It's hard to think bad thoughts when you are singing the lyrics to I Know That My Redeemer Lives. Soon it becomes a habit and it is easy to divert my thoughts.
• Tyson: My mind is a stage; only one thing can be on my stage once. I keep my thoughts clean and pure by making certain that I am always the playwright. 
• Doris: Thinking positive means you are following the Lord. Keep a song and or prayer in your heart and stand up for the right.
• Michael: Flood your mind with God, truth, life and love.   

MORE ONLINE
Worthy Music, Worthy Thoughts, President Boyd K. Packer
Examples of Righteousness, President Thomas S. Monson
Think About What You Are Thinking About, Bruce K. Fordham
Hum Your Favorite Hymn, Children's Songbook #152