Strengthen the Hands of Your Fellow Beings
If you feel evil, keep it to yourselves until you overcome that evil principle. This is what I call resisting the devil, and he flees from me.
So... lately I have been really focusing on how to improve the environment in our home. In the singing group that I go to with my mother in law and two sisters in law, we were let in on a great enlightenment. How often is our mood affected by the attitudes and feelings of people around us? I have made a conscious decision to try to not "drop bad fruit" and to always try to have a smile on my face. I have noticed a great differenece in how it affects my mood, my families mood, and the people I come into contact with. Now, I'm not saying that I am perfect... I am female with hormones, kids, school, and a husband (as wonderful as he is...)... life has stressors. Here is the quote anywho for anyone that is interested in taking on the challenge of keeping our bad feelings, thoughts, happenings, and whatever else may come along to ourselves.
"A trouble shared is a trouble doubled".
Discourses of Brigham Young Second President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints- Page 123By John A. WidtsoeContributor John A. WidtsoePublished by Kessinger Publishing, 2004
When you are influenced by the Spirit of holiness and purity, let your light shine; but if you are tried and tempted and buffeted by Satan, keep your thoughts to yourselves—keep your mouths closed; for speaking produces fruit, either of a good or evil character.If persons think they have greater sorrow and affliction than any others, when they reveal that sorrow and affliction, it produces fruit. You frequently hear brethren and sisters say that they feel so tried and tempted, and have so many cares, and are so buffeted, that they must give vent to their feelings; and they yield to the temptation, and deal out their unpleasant sensations to their families and neighbours. Make up your minds thoroughly, once for all, that if we have trials, the Lord has suffered them to be brought upon us, and he will give us grace to bear them; and that they do not concern our families, friends, and neighbours, we can bear them off alone. But if we have light or intelligence—that which will do good, we will impart it; but our bad feelings, our desponding feelings, our dark hours, and disagreeable sensations we will keep to ourselves. Let that be the determination of every individual, for spirit begets spirit—likeness, likeness; feelings beget their likeness; and custom, custom. You know very well, by your own experience, that you are naturally inclined to more or less adopt the customs, feelings, and manners of the people you associate with. If, then, we give vent to all our bad feelings and disagreeable sensations, how quickly we beget the same in others, and load each other down with our troubles, and become sunk in darkness and despair! If you have anything good to say, speak it and comfort the hearts of the Saints. If you have that which tends to death, keep it to yourselves: we do not want it, for we already have plenty of it.Frame your lives according to the precepts of the Gospel. Let your deal, walk, and conversation be that upon which an angel can look with pleasure. And in all your social communications, or whatever your associations are, let all the dark, discontented, murmuring, unhappy, miserable feelings—all the evil fruit of the mind, fall from the tree in silence and unnoticed; and so let it perish, without taking it up to present to your neighbours. But when you have joy and happiness, light and intelligence, truth and virtue, offer that fruit abundantly to your neighbours, and it will do them good, and so strengthen the hands of your fellow-beings
Journal of Discourses Volume 7:268-269
