We Believe: Doctrines of Mormonism: Thoughts and Intentions

List of Doctrines on "Thoughts and Intentions"

820. Our minds should be occupied with virtuous and righteous thoughts.

821. We are to abstain from impure thoughts.

822. Our thoughts are to be directed unto the Lord.

823. The Lord knows our thoughts and the intents of our hearts.

824. The Lord judges us by what we are in our minds and hearts, not by how we may appear to others.

825. We are what we think and what we feel in our hearts—and we generally act accordingly.

826. Our evil thoughts will condemn us.

820. Our minds should be occupied with virtuous and righteous thoughts.

President Joseph F. Smith
Paul
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith
Alma, the younger
Robert D. Hales
L. Tom Perry
Related Witnesses
Recorded in Proverbs

President Joseph F. Smith

I wish to say to all who read these lines that the key to purity is found in chaste thoughts, and the young man who obtains it will be able to unlock a rich storehouse of cleanliness enabling his life to be as the fresh morning. ("Three Threatening Dangers," IE1914Mar:478) TLDP:690

Paul

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (Paul writes from Rome to the Church at Philippi in Macedonia) Philippians 4:8

Joseph Smith

[L]et virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven. (Revelation received while in Liberty Jail, March 20, 1839; the priesthood should be used only in righteousness) D&C 121:45

Joseph Smith,
receiving the Word of the Lord

And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things.
68. Therefore, sanctify yourselves that your minds become single to God, and the days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will.
69. Remember the great and last promise which I have made unto you; cast away your idle thoughts and your excess of laughter far from you. (Revelation received Dec. 27/28, 1832; the "olive leaf message of peace") D&C 88:67-69

Alma, the younger,
quoted by Mormon

[L]et all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord. . . . (Alma instructs his son Helaman, about 73 B.C.) Alma 37:36

Robert D. Hales

By choosing to be in His kingdom, we separate—not isolate—ourselves from the world. Our dress will be modest, our thoughts pure, our language clean. (CR 2000Oct; The Covenant of Baptism: To Be in the Kingdom and of the Kingdom, Ensign, November 2000, p.6)

L. Tom Perry

Truly one of the corners we must diligently strive to keep clean is our thoughts. The ideal is to keep our thoughts focused on spiritual things. (CR 2000Oct; Discipleship, Ensign, November 2000, p.60)

Related Witnesses:

Recorded in Proverbs

The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit. Proverbs 12:5

821. We are to abstain from impure thoughts.

Joseph Smith
Jesus
Alma, the younger
Jesus
President David O. McKay
Isaiah
King Benjamin
Paul
President Gordon B. Hinckley
Related Witnesses
Boyd K. Packer
Moses
Recorded in Proverbs

Joseph Smith,
receiving the Word of the Lord

And he that looketh upon a woman to lust after her shall deny the faith, and shall not have the Spirit; and if he repents not he shall be cast out. (Revelation "embracing the law of the Church," Feb. 9, 1831) D&C 42:23

Jesus,
quoted by Mormon

Behold, it is written by them of old time, that thou shalt not commit adultery;
28. But I say unto you, that whosoever looketh on a woman, to lust after her, hath committed adultery already in his heart.
29. Behold, I give unto you a commandment, that ye suffer none of these things to enter into your heart;
30. For it is better that ye should deny yourselves of these things, wherein ye will take up your cross, than that ye should be cast into hell. (The resurrected Jesus Christ teaches the Nephite people, A.D. 34) 3 Nephi 12:27-30

Alma, the younger,
quoted by Mormon

For our words will condemn us, yea, all our works will condemn us; we shall not be found spotless; and our thoughts will also condemn us; and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up to our God; and we would fain be glad if we could command the rocks and the mountains to fall upon us to hide us from his presence. (Alma contends with the wicked Zeezrom, about 82 B.C.) Alma 12:14

Jesus,
recorded in Mark

There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him: but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man.
16. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
17. And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.
18. And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him;
19. Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?
20. And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
21. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
22. Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
23. All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. (Jesus instructs the people) Mark 7:15-23

President David O. McKay

"Tell me what you think about when you do not have to think, and I will tell you what you are."
Temptation does not come to those who have not thought of it before. Keep your thoughts clean, and it will be easy to resist temptations as they come. (Gospel Ideals, p. 401) TLDP:690

Isaiah

Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (740-659 B.C.) Isaiah 55:7

King Benjamin,
quoted by Mormon

[I]f ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts . . . ye must perish. . . . (King Benjamin addresses his people, about 124 B.C.) Mosiah 4:30

Paul

Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; . . . (Paul writes about charity to the Church at Corinth, Greece, about A.D. 55) 1 Corinthians 13:5

President Gordon B. Hinckley

Those whom we teach will overlook our youth if in our conversations in charity, in spirit, in faith, and in the purity of our lives, we reflect the Spirit of Christ. We cannot indulge in swearing. We cannot be guilty of profanity; we cannot indulge in impure thoughts, words, and acts and have the Spirit of the Lord with us. (CR 1997Apr; Converts and Young Men, Ensign, May 1997, p.47)

Related Witnesses:

Boyd K. Packer

Choose . . . a favorite hymn . . . one that makes you feel something akin to inspiration. Go over it in your mind carefully. Memorize it. . . .
Now, use this hymn as the place for your thoughts to go. . . . Whenever you find these shady actors [shady thoughts] have slipped from the sidelines of your thinking onto the stage of your mind, put on this record, as it were. As the music begins and as the words form in your thoughts, the unworthy ones will slip shamefully away. It will change the whole mood on the stage of your mind. Because it is uplifting and clean, the baser thoughts will disappear. For, while virtue, by choice, will not associate with filth, evil cannot tolerate the presence of light. CR1986Oct:100
Authors Note: Elder Ezra Taft Benson said: "Sometimes we may have difficulty driving off the stage of our minds a certain evil thought. To drive it off, Elder Boyd K. Packer suggested that we sing an inspirational song of Zion, or think on its words." (Teachings of Ezra Taft Benson, p. 382)

Moses

Recorded in Proverbs

The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD: but the words of the pure are pleasant words. Proverbs 15:26

822. Our thoughts are to be directed unto the Lord.

Alma, the younger
Marion G. Romney
Joseph Smith
Recorded in Psalms
Related Witnesses
Recorded in Psalms
Mormon

Alma, the younger,
quoted by Mormon

Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever.
37. Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day. (Alma instructs his son Helaman, about 73 B.C.) Alma 37:36-37

Marion G. Romney

If we would avoid adopting the evils of the world, we must pursue a course which will daily feed our minds with, and call them back to, the things of the spirit. I know of no better way to do this than by reading the Book of Mormon. . . .
I am persuaded that it is irrational to hope to escape the lusts of the world without substituting for them as the subjects of our thoughts the things of the spirit. (Learning for the Eternities, pp. 83-84) TLDP:691

Joseph Smith,
receiving the Word of the Lord

Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not. (Revelation to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, April 1829) D&C 6:36

Recorded in Psalms

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. Psalms 10:4

Related Witnesses:

Recorded in Psalms

In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul. Psalms 94:19

Mormon

And again, when they thought of the immediate goodness of God, and his power in delivering Alma and his brethren out of the hands of the Lamanites and of bondage, they did raise their voices and give thanks to God. (King Mosiah reads to his people the account of Alma and his brethren and their afflictions; the people respond, about 120 B.C.) Mosiah 25:10

823. The Lord knows our thoughts and the intents of our hearts.

Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith
Recorded in 1 Samuel
Alma, the younger
Recorded in Matthew
Recorded in 1 Chronicles
Isaiah
Jesus
Paul
Recorded in 1 Kings
Francis M. Lyman
Related Witnesses
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith

Joseph Smith,
receiving the Word of the Lord

Yea, I tell thee, that thou mayest know that there is none else save God that knowest thy thoughts and the intents of thy heart. (Revelation for Oliver Cowdery, April 1829) D&C 6:16

Joseph Smith,
receiving the Word of the Lord

Behold, I say unto you, my servants Ezra and Northrop, open your ears and hearken to the voice of the Lord your God, whose word is quick and powerful, sharper than a two-edged sword, to the dividing asunder of the joints and marrow, soul and spirit; and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Revelation for Ezra Thayre and Northrop Sweet, Oct. 1830) D&C 33:1

Recorded in 1 Samuel

But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. (The Lord through Samuel chooses David to be king) 1 Samuel 16:7

Alma, the younger,
quoted by Mormon

Now Zeezrom, seeing that thou hast been taken in thy lying and craftiness, for thou hast not lied unto men only but thou hast lied unto God; for behold, he knows all thy thoughts, and thou seest that thy thoughts are made known unto us by his spirit; . . . (Alma contends with the wicked Zeezrom, about 82 B.C.) Alma 12:3

Recorded in Matthew

And Jesus knew their thoughts. . . . (The Pharisees said that Jesus cast out devils by the power of the devil) Matthew 12:25

Recorded in 1 Chronicles

And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searchest all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. (Solomon has been told by King David that he has been chosen by the Lord to build a house unto the Lord) 1 Chronicles 28:9

Isaiah

For I know their works and their thoughts. . . . (The word of the Lord to Isaiah; the wicked shall be destroyed) Isaiah 66:18

Jesus,
recorded in Matthew

And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? (The scribes call it blasphemy when Jesus, healing a man with palsy, says, "thy sins be forgiven thee") Matthew 9:4

Paul

For the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Paul writes to the Jewish members of the Church, about A.D. 60) Hebrews 4:12

Recorded in 1 Kings

Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, even thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) . . . (King Solomon calls upon the Lord) 1 Kings 8:39

Francis M. Lyman

We will learn valuable lessons at times, no doubt, by the things we suffer, and sometimes possibly by the mistakes we make. But the Lord knows our hearts, our conduct, and our thoughts, and He will purge us and prove us, and will save us to the uttermost, if we will but be saved. (CR 1898Oct; Third Day—Morning Session)

Related Witnesses:

Joseph Smith

After we had received this revelation, Oliver Cowdery stated to me that after he had gone to my father's to board, and after the family had communicated to him concerning my having obtained the plates, that one night after he had retired to bed he called upon the Lord to know if these things were so, and the Lord manifested to him that they were true, but he had kept the circumstance entirely secret, and had mentioned it to no one; so that after this revelation was given, he knew that the work was true, because no being living knew of the thing alluded to in the revelation, but God and himself. (Entry in Joseph's journal, April 1829) HC1:35

Joseph Smith,

translating the Book of Moses
And Satan . . . knew not the mind of God, wherefore he sought to destroy the world. (The Lord instructs Moses about the devil, the father of lies) Moses 4:6

Author's Note: Only the Lord—and, at times and in part, his righteous servants—can know our thoughts and intents: "there is none else save God that knowest thy thoughts and the intents of thy heart." (D&C 6:16) Satan does not have this ability.

824. The Lord judges us by what we are in our minds and hearts, not by how we may appear to others.

Recorded in 1 Samuel
President George Albert Smith
Elder John Taylor
President John Taylor
Related Witnesses
Mormon

Recorded in 1 Samuel

President George Albert Smith

All at once there came to me this interpretation of what he [Karl Maeser] had said: Why of course you will be held accountable for your thoughts, because when your life is completed in mortality, it will be the sum of your thoughts. That one suggestion has been a great blessing to me all my life, and it has enabled me upon many occasions to avoid thinking improperly, because I realize that I will be when my life's labor is complete, the product of my thoughts. (Sharing the Gospel with Others, p. 63) TLDP:691

Elder John Taylor

We may deceive one another, and, in some circumstances, as counterfeit coin passes for that which is considered true and valuable among men. But God searches the hearts and tries the reins of the children of men. He knows our thoughts and comprehends our desires and feelings; he knows our acts and the motives which prompt us to perform them. He is acquainted with all the doings and operations of the human family, and all the secret thoughts and acts of the children of men are open and naked before him, and for them he will bring them to judgment. (In Fourteenth Ward, Nov. 16, 1873, JD16:301-02) TLDP:691

President John Taylor

We may succeed in hiding our affairs from men; but it is written that for every word and every secret thought we shall have to give an account in the day when accounts have to be rendered before God, when hypocrisy and fraud of any kind will not avail us; for by our words and by our works we shall be justified, or by them we shall be condemned. (To some settlements on a trip to Bear Lake, JD24:232) TLDP:691

Related Witnesses:

Mormon

Now when Alma saw this his heart was grieved; for he saw that they were a wicked and a perverse people; yea, he saw that their hearts were set upon gold, and upon silver, and upon all manner of fine goods. . . .
28. Behold, O my God, their costly apparel, and their ringlets, and their bracelets, and their ornaments of gold, and all their precious things which they are ornamented with; and behold, their hearts are set upon them, and yet they cry unto thee and say—We thank thee, O God, for we are a chosen people unto thee, while others shall perish. (Alma heads a mission to reclaim the apostate Zoramites and observes their customs, about 74 B.C.) Alma 31:24,28

825. We are what we think and what we feel in our hearts—and we generally act accordingly.

George Q. Cannon
Recorded in Proverbs
Marion G. Romney
Elder Harold B. Lee
President David O. McKay
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
Related Witnesses
Jesus
Jesus
Paul

George Q. Cannon

It is very true that "As he thinketh in his heart, so is he." (Proverbs 23:7) Words and actions are but the external fruits of the inward thoughts of the soul; they must be conceived there before they find their birth from the lips or the hands of the corporeal frame. Hence, we can see the necessity of properly governing our thoughts and of cultivating a habit of pure and correct thinking. (Gospel Truth, 2:200) TLDP:690

Recorded in Proverbs

For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. . . . (Proverbial literature) Proverbs 23:7

Marion G. Romney

The great overall struggle in the world today is, as it has always been, for the souls of men. Every soul is personally engaged in the struggle, and he makes his fight with what is in his mind. In the final analysis the battleground is, for each individual, within himself. Inevitably he gravitates toward the subjects of his thoughts. Ages ago the wise man thus succinctly states this great truth: "As he thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7). CR1980Apr:88

Elder Harold B. Lee

Thought is the father of an act. No man ever committed murder who did not first become angry. No one ever committed adultery without a preceding immoral thought. The thief did not steal except he first coveted that which was his neighbor's. (Church News, Nov. 6, 1943; Stand Ye in Holy Places, p. 370) TLDP:690

President David O. McKay

Thoughts are the seeds of acts and precede them. Mere compliance with the word of the Lord, without a corresponding inward desire, will avail but little. Indeed, such outward actions and pretending phrases may be vehemently condemned. . . .
. . . . What a man continually thinks about determines his actions in times of opportunity and stress. A man's reaction to his appetites and impulses when they are aroused gives the measure of that man's character. In these reactions are revealed the man's power to govern or his forced servility to yield. CR1951Oct:6,8

Elder Spencer W. Kimball

Every thought that one permits through his mind leaves its trace. Thoughts are things. Our lives are governed a great deal by our thoughts. (Brisbane, Australia Area Conference, March 1, 1976) (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 154) TLDP:690

Related Witnesses:

Jesus,
recorded in Matthew

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
28. But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. (Jesus Christ to the multitude, about A.D. 30) Matthew 5:27-28

Jesus,
recorded in Matthew

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Jesus continues the Sermon on the Mount) Matthew 6:21

Paul

Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. (Paul writes to his companion Titus, about A.D. 64) Titus 1:15

826. Our evil thoughts will condemn us.

Alma, the younger
Elder David O. McKay
King Benjamin
President Spencer W. Kimball
Related Witnesses
Moses

Alma, the younger,
quoted by Mormon

Elder David O. McKay

Actions in harmony with divine law and the laws of nature will bring happiness and those in opposition to divine truth, misery. Man is responsible not only for every deed, but also for every idle word and thought.
"We are spinning our own fates good or evil, and never to be undone. Every smallest stroke of virtue or of vice leaves its ever so little scar. The drunken Rip Van Winkle, in Jefferson's play, excuses himself for every fresh dereliction by saying, 'I won't count this time.' Well, he may not count it, and a kind Heaven may not count it; but it is being counted none the less. Down among the nerve-cells and fibers the molecules are counting it, registering and storing it up to be used against him when the next temptation comes." (William James ) CR1950Apr:33-34

King Benjamin,
quoted by Mormon

But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not watch yourselves, and your thoughts, and your words, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and continue in the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not. (King Benjamin addresses his people, about 124 B.C.) Mosiah 4:30

President Spencer W. Kimball

If we think that [poem] through, we will realize that it is very true, that the things we tolerate in our lives finally become a part of us. [See Alexander Pope's An Essay on Man, lines 217-20.] It means that all of the teachings that are given to us are fundamental and true and need to be followed. Ugly things, evil thoughts, and evil doings will take place in our lives if we think about them and tolerate them in our minds, and then we will suffer. Eventually we will pay for that which we have done.
["Vice is a monster of so frightful mein,
As, to be hated, needs but to be seen;
Yet seen too oft, familiar with her face,
We first endure, then pity, then embrace."] ACR(Manilla)1975:5

Related Witnesses:

Moses

And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. (The people are ripe in iniquity; the Lord prepares the great flood) Genesis 6:5-7

We Believe: Doctrines and Principles

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Thoughts and Intentions

820. Our minds should be occupied with virtuous and righteous thoughts.

Related Witnesses:

821. We are to abstain from impure thoughts.

Related Witnesses:

822. Our thoughts are to be directed unto the Lord.

Related Witnesses:

823. The Lord knows our thoughts and the intents of our hearts.

Related Witnesses:

824. The Lord judges us by what we are in our minds and hearts, not by how we may appear to others.

Related Witnesses:

825. We are what we think and what we feel in our hearts—and we generally act accordingly.

Related Witnesses:

826. Our evil thoughts will condemn us.

Related Witnesses: