Is It Good or Is It Bad?

Shakespeare’s Hamlet had his problems, but he said some very profound things that have impacted my life. One of my favorites, because of what it teaches me about Living in Truth, is: “For there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.”

Put another way, if we think about it we discover that “There is a silver lining to every cloud.” When we find and dwell on (think about) the silver lining we realize that even the bad things that happen to us bring about some good. We have a choice then; we can think about the bad and make ourselves more miserable or we can think about the good and be happy.

In the gospel this principle is expanded upon when the Lord tells us that “All things shall work together for your good” (D&C 90:24; 100:15; and 105:40). Notice it says ALL things not just the good things. “All things” includes everything that happens to us whether we consider those things to be good or bad. So if the Lord is going to make all things good, we can take do the same. We can think until we find the silver lining and then let our thoughts rest there.

But we must also beware, as Hamlet warns, that we are also capable of making good things bad by the way we think about them. Good and bad is a choice and we are the only ones who can make that choice!

Sowing Seeds

This year our apricot trees have more apricots than leaves. I’ve never seen the branches so full of fruit—too full of fruit. But the winds and rains the last few day have caused a lot of the fruit to fall to the ground so that the patio is covered in what looks like tiny green marbles. As I’ve picked them up I’ve wondered about the miracle that such a small seed inside that little ball has within it the promise of becoming a huge tree like the one that towers over me. But despite the enormous power to become an apricot tree, it has absolutely no power to become an apple or an orange tree. Genetically it is programmed to be an apricot and it can be nothing else.

Likewise as I go through my day and think thoughts about what is happening to me or around me, those thoughts, like seeds, grow into feelings and the feelings direct other thoughts and especially decisions. The type of thought I plant determines what will grow in my life.

So like any good gardener, I need to occasionally do some weeding. I need to get rid of the noxious thoughts that will grow into hatred, jealousy, envy or anything bad and make more room for the good thoughts that will grow into prosperity, harmony, and friendship. I will never have a beautiful garden if I sow seeds of doubt, fear, or anger. It just can’t happen. Doubt, fear, or anger don’t have the genetic potential to be anything but noxious.

But if I plant seeds of faith, hope, and charity I will have a beautiful garden because they can grow into nothing but beauty. Sure there will be storms, wind may destroy some of my crop, but in the end those storms will only thin the crop a little so that the remaining fruit will be bigger and better. And the rain, well it may be a little overpowering at times, but the rain will feed my garden and make it better.

The kind of thoughts I plant will determine what will grow in my life. So today I’m going to plant lots of love.

The Power In Thought

At one point in the Bible we find King David thanking God for all He has given them in order to build a temple. After David praises God, he asks that God will help the people always remember the things they are seeing—the abundance of luxurious materials that have been given them to build the temple. As King David says, "Keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee" (1 Chronicles 29:18).

Alma in the Book of Mormon urges the people of Zarahemla to do a similar thing. He says, "Now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, you that belong to this church, have you sufficiently retained in remembrance the captivity of your fathers? Yea, and have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them? And moreover, have ye sufficiently retained in remembrance that he has delivered their souls from hell?" (Alma 5:6). Both King David and Alma recognize the power our thoughts have on us. Thoughts determine all action and behavior. If we are continually savoring good thoughts, our actions will naturally be good.

David and Alma want their people to choose to fill their minds with thoughts of gratitude and wonder and praise because they know the power of good thoughts. They know that the power isn't just in having positive thoughts. The power comes from centering our thoughts on God and His goodness—on what He has done and will do and is doing for us. The more we remember Him, the more we use our imagination to think about him, the more faith and hope and joy come into our lives. What we think about is a choice. The faith, hope, and joy are a consequence of that choice.

There is power in allowing our minds to consciously review all that is good.