MEDITATION

In 1872, the prophet Brigham Young counseled the Saints on this very subject. Said he: “Stop! Wait! When you get up in the morning, before you suffer yourselves to eat one mouthful of food, … bow down before the Lord, ask him to forgive your sins, and protect you through the day, to preserve you from temptation and all evil, to guide your steps aright, that you may do something that day that shall be beneficial to the kingdom of God on the earth. Have you time to do this? … This is the counsel I have for the Latter-day Saints to day. Stop, do not be in a hurry. … You are in too much of a hurry; you do not go to meeting enough, you do not pray enough, you do not read the Scriptures enough, you do not meditate enough, you are all the time on the wing, and in such a hurry that you do not know what to do first. … Let me reduce this to a simple saying—one of the most simple and homely that can be used—‘Keep your dish right side up,’ so that when the shower of porridge does come you can catch your dish full” (Bishop Keith B. McMullin
Second Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric “Come to Zion! Come to Zion!” Ensign, November 2002)

Let us study the scriptures and “meditate therein day and night,” as counseled by the Lord in the book of Joshua (1:8). (Thomas S. Monson, General Conference, October 2006)

Let us take a little time to meditate, to think of what we can do to improve our lives and to become better examples of what a Latter-day Saint should be (Gordon B. Hinckley, “A Time of New Beginnings,” General Conference, April 2000)

Marriages would be happier if nurtured more carefully.

My…suggestion is to contemplate. This word has deep meaning. It comes from Latin roots: con, meaning “with,” and templum, meaning “a space or place to meditate.” It is the root from which the word temple comes. If couples contemplate often—with each other in the temple—sacred covenants will be better remembered and kept. Frequent participation in temple service and regular family scripture study nourish a marriage and strengthen faith within a family. Contemplation allows one to anticipate and to resonate (or be in tune) with each other and with the Lord. Contemplation will nurture both a marriage and God’s kingdom. The Master said, “Seek not the things of this world but seek ye first to build up the kingdom of God, and to establish his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you” 17  (Elder Russell M. Nelson, “Nurturing Marriage, General Conference, April 2006).

We can partake of “the love of God,” “the tree of life,” and drink from “the fountain of living waters” daily by communing with our Holy Father, immersing ourselves in the scriptures, and meditation. Then the Lord will bless us to be more sensitive to speak to those souls which He has prepared for us (Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi, “Heavenly Father Has a Special Plan, General Conference, April 2000).

a splendor of connections to Christ opens up to us in multitudinous ways: prayer and fasting and meditation upon His purposes, savoring the scriptures, giving service to others, “succor[ing] the weak, lift[ing] up the hands which hang down, … strengthen[ing] the feeble knees.” (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “Broken Things to Mend,” General Conference, April 2006).

I thank Jesus for foregoing fashionableness and for enduring not only the absence of appreciation but also for speaking the truth, knowing beforehand that misunderstanding and misrepresentation would follow. I thank him for his marvelous management of time, for never misusing a moment, including the moments of meditation. Even his seconds showed his stewardship (Elder Neal A. Maxwell, “Jesus of Nazareth, Savior and King”, General Conference, April 1976).