School Thy Feelings, O My Brother

When Brad came home from priesthood session and told me about the talk: School Thy Feelings, O My Brother by President Monson I knew this would be one that I needed to read. Of course this is the one talk that I have been too distracted to read for over a week.

What a heartbreaking story President Monson shared of a man accidentally injuring his child in anger. It makes me think of alcohol. Anger is just another "thing" that can and will impare our vision, choices and actions. It's something that we must abstain from.

Some wonderful quotes that President Monson shared included:
- “Anger doesn’t solve anything. It builds nothing, but it can destroy everything.”
- “A man’s a fool who takes an insult that isn’t intended.”
- “For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.
“Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.”

President Monson said that "To be angry is to yield to the influence of Satan. No one can make us angry. It is our choice. If we desire to have a proper spirit with us at all times, we must choose to refrain from becoming angry. I testify that such is possible."

I too can testify that we can be in control of our emotions and our responses. It is not unhealthy stifling of feelings but rather deciding that you do not wish to respond a certain way to a situation. I have done it. I regret to say that last week I let myself slide by neglecting my morning prayer occasionally and I felt an obvious weakness as a result. I even fell into my old ways on Sunday for a moment knowing that me being upset was because I had allowed myself to become such. It was such a silly choice.

I now hope to realign my emotions and my spirit and hope to become more effective at controlling my anger. I am so grateful for this talk and look forward to rereading it for years to come.