Staying Spiritual on the Road

After moving our family to San Diego, California, I began working for a new company that required considerable out-of-town travel, even on weekends. Due to an onslaught of new temptations and experiences resulting from my being away from home and alone, I realized I needed to set for myself the following guidelines for maintaining my spiritual reserves while traveling.

1. Maintain contact with the Church and reinforce my identity as a Latter-day Saint by:

   • Attending Sunday Church meetings whenever possible, even in foreign countries.

   • Carrying a Book of Mormon and being willing to talk to people about it as occasion permits.

   • Appropriately sharing Church standards with business contacts so they understand why I do not participate in some activities.

   • Attending the temple if there is one in the city where I am visiting.

2. Pursue a program for ongoing self-improvement by:

   • Reading uplifting books.

   • Keeping a personal journal.

   • Studying languages, history, and geography in connection with my travels.

3. Build spirituality by:

   • Reading from the scriptures daily and memorizing selected passages.

   • Offering multiple daily personal prayers, as necessary.

   • Avoiding inappropriate movies, magazines, books, and hotel room television.

4. Serve others by:

   • Staying in touch with my family and encouraging them through letters, postcards, or telephone calls.

   • Sending uplifting postcards to friends, shut-ins, and missionaries.

   • Writing to my home teaching families and staying informed of their needs.

I also found that by having a personal prayer before leaving on a trip and specifically recommitting myself to living gospel standards and the above guidelines, I was able to avoid temptations, boost my spirituality, and always remember my love for the Savior and his gospel and for my family.—Paul McMullin, San Diego, California

Illustrated by Tom Child