Our speech and conversation is one aspect of our behavior that tells others what kind of person we are. Speech also betrays what we think about, because our thoughts lead to our words.
If we feel the need to correct our language, whether it be profanity, evil speaking, omitting praise and gratitude, or other similar corrections, we should first focus on our thoughts. Controlling our speech in spite of what we think about is a difficult venture, and will never correct the root problem.
Thoughts can be controlled. Rather than entertaining any thought that enters our minds, we should systematically sort through the bad and focus on what is best.
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It is impossible to live without faith. Faith in its broadest sense is simply a belief or set of beliefs. Unless a person has a perfect knowledge of every outcome that will result from every action, faith will be employed. Whether or not one holds to a belief in God, they act on faith on a daily basis. Agency, or our freedom to choose between good and evil, is one of the greatest blessings God has given us. But that freedom is limited. We cannot choose the consequences of our actions or how others will be affected by our actions. We also cannot choose to act in a way that is beyond our power. For instance, one cannot choose to play an immaculate rendition of a Mozart piece if he or she neplay an instrument. That person must choose to develop the talent and take the steps necessary to gain the power to make that choice. The Constitution of the United States was inspired by God. Those principles in the Constitution which are meant to protect freedoms--the freedoms spelled out in the constitution, NOT unlimited freedom--were designed by God. In truth, by guaranteeing certain freedoms to all, the constitution limits certain freedoms that would otherwise be available. For instance, guaranteeing the right to own property automatically takes away the right to take what belongs to someone else. When we have a knowledge of good and evil for a given choice, we have to submit ourselves to either good or evil. When faced with such a choice, there is no third option. Our actions under those circumstances then show where our faith is strongest. Satan obviously had a very compelling argument in the War in Heaven. It was compelling enough that one-third of all Heavenly Father's children took his side. What was it about Satan's plan that made it so compelling? One reason was it guaranteed a type of salvation to every person. Each person would be compelled to choose the right, and would thereby gain eternal life. The American Constitution is based on a set of principles that should be guaranteed to all. So important was the perception of the need for God-given values, that some who drafted the Constitution refused to sign it until the Bill of Rights was added. It is so much easier to pass off responsibility on to others, rather than being brutally honest with yourself. Those who consistently think they are never to blame are deceiving themselves. On the surface it seems as though it would be easier to act if we had a pure knowledge of the consequences of every action. If we have to choose between certain prison time and probation, we generally like the idea of probation. However, if we never change our ways during our probationary period, we'll likely end up in prison anyway. |
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