Thursday, May 5, 2011

The Power of Self-Mastery JAMES E. FAUST

  • Self-mastery … is the ultimate test of our character
  • Self-mastery requires self-determination and strength of character. It enhances our own gifts and talents in a remarkable way.
  • Every human soul...has the challenge of controlling his or her thoughts, appetites, speech, temper, and desires.
  • Willpower is necessary so that irritations do not take over our emotions.
  • Self-mastery is a challenge for every individual. Only we can control our appetites and passions. Self-mastery cannot be bought by money or fame. It is the ultimate test of our character. It requires climbing out of the deep valleys of our lives and scaling our own Mount Everests.
  • Often that which is seen...is more powerful and persuasive than what is said.
  • Men and women often attempt to gain notice and approval of the group from whom they seek acceptance. Such peer pressure may cause them to do things they would not otherwise do. This is acting out of weakness, not strength.
  • self-mastery is doing those things we should do and not doing those things we should not do. It requires strength, willpower, and honesty.
  • I now turn to mastery of our own private thoughts. In this realm, conscience is the only referee that can blow the whistle when we get out of control. If not bridled, our thoughts can run wild. Our minds are a part of us that really require discipline and control. I believe reading the scriptures is the best washing machine for unclean or uncontrolled thoughts. For those who are eligible and worthy, the sanctity of the holy temple can lift our thoughts above the earthy.
  • “language is the dress of thought”
  • “My strength is as the strength of ten, / Because my heart is pure.”
  • “That which we persist in doing becomes easier for us to do; not that the nature of the thing itself is changed, but that our power to do is increased.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • President David O. McKay once said: “Spirituality is the consciousness of victory over self, and of communion with the Infinite. Spirituality impels one to conquer difficulties and acquire more and more strength. To feel one’s faculties unfolding and truth expanding the soul is one of life’s sublimest experiences.”
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance,
I have not winced nor cried aloud:
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed. …
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
-
William Ernest Henley

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