In a political season, it can be really hard not to get bogged down with anxiety and frustration from all the negative banter going on. Even those who we feel closest to can feel distant when comparing differing opinions about politics. This season has been rough, but we can follow the counsel of the prophet and take the higher road.
President Monson posted a message on Facebook, one from his 2009 talks, “School Thy Feelings, O My Brother.”
Here is the prophetic counsel that he shared:
We are all susceptible to those feelings which, if left unchecked, can lead to anger. We experience displeasure or irritation or antagonism, and if we so choose, we lose our temper and become angry with others. Ironically, those others are often members of our own families—the people we really love the most.
Many years ago I read the following Associated Press dispatch which appeared in the newspaper: An elderly man disclosed at the funeral of his brother, with whom he had shared, from early manhood, a small, one-room cabin near Canisteo, New York, that following a quarrel, they had divided the room in half with a chalk line, and neither had crossed the line or spoken a word to the other since that day—years before. Just think of the consequence of that anger. What a tragedy!
May we make a conscious decision, each time such a decision must be made, to refrain from anger and to leave unsaid the harsh and hurtful things we may be tempted to say.
Thanks to LDS Living for helping us find this post.
If you haven’t already, follow the prophet on Facebook and remember this counsel no matter who wins the election.
