Look Unto Me In Every Thought

The Lord made this statement to David Whitmer several months after the organization of the Church, “But your mind has been on the things of the earth more than on the things of me, your Maker, and the ministry whereunto you have been called; and you have not given heed unto my Spirit” (Doctrine and Covenants 30:2). In another revelation the Lord commanded His Saints, “Cast away your idle thoughts” (D&C 88:69). One of the implications of these verses is the Lord knows what we do with our minds; He knows what we spend our time thinking about and He cares about it. Other scriptures similarly teach this. Ammon taught King Lamoni, “He looketh down upon all the children of men; and he knows all the thoughts and intents of the heart; for by his hand were they all created from the beginning” (Alma 18:32). Amulek taught the same to Zeezrom: “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 12:3). The Lord told Oliver Cowdery, “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” (Doctrine and Covenants 6:16). The Psalmist said it perhaps most succinctly: “The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man” (Psalm 94:11). We can hide our thoughts and intents of our heart from those around us, but we can never hide them from the Lord: He “is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Doctrine and Covenants 33:1).

               Focusing our thoughts on the things of the Lord is not just a recommendation from the Lord for David Whitmer, but it is part of the first great commandment for us all: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matt. 22:37). Part of this injunction is for us to love God with all our mind, meaning, I believe, that we will focus our thoughts on Him and His work, on the things of the Spirit and the “solemnities of eternity” (Doctrine and Covenants 43:34). Professor John W. Welch spoke about this topic and gave us some ideas on what loving God with our minds might mean practically speaking: “We love God with our mind by caring about the problems He cares about. We love God with our mind by embracing His work, giving it the best of our planning, research, and problem solving. Figuring out what you can do as a home teacher to motivate someone to repent is truly a challenging intellectual task, and learning the names of everyone in your ward is another way to love God with your mind…. It takes mental effort to forgive other people as He does, for that begins by thinking nonjudgmental thoughts about them and seeing them as He does…. We love God with our mind by memorizing scriptures…. We love God with our mind by skillful analysis of problems; it is often said that ‘God is in the details.’ But don’t forget also to love God with skillful synthesis as well, seeing things as one great whole…. We love God with our mind by asking good and righteous questions.” He also suggested, “If you love God, you will think of Him often. You will want to share with Him your whole day, every day and every night, Fridays as well as Sundays, everything you have thought, said, and done. You miss Him and hope to see Him again.”

Ultimately the Lord wants us not just to do certain things that He asks, but He wants us spend our mental energy seeking Him, drawing near to Him, focusing on spiritual matters that are important to Him. We often spend so much of our thoughts, like David Whitmer, on the “things of the earth,” on celebrities and cell phones, our careers and cars, on the latest technology and toys. The Lord wants us to focus our thoughts on a higher plane, to “lay aside the things of this world, and seek for the things of a better” and concentrate our minds on that which really matters (Doctrine and Covenants 25:10). In short, He invites us to focus our minds with this powerful injunction: “Look unto me in every thought” (Doctrine and Covenants 6:16).