“Question Corner,” Friend, Feb. 2013, 43
Question Corner
What should I do when bad thoughts come into my mind?
Sometimes, bad thoughts come into our minds, even when we’re doing our best to keep the commandments. When this happens, we don’t need to panic. Sometimes a thought will float away if we don’t pay attention to it. But here are some other suggestions for letting go of bad thoughts and replacing them with good ones.
To get bad thoughts out of my head I think about happy things like times I spent with my family and friends! I think about upcoming events that I’m excited for. And then I go and work on one of my hobbies, and that all put together takes my mind someplace happy and comfortable and way off the subject of the bad thing that I was thinking of before.
Emma M., age 11, Minnesota, USA
When bad thoughts come into your mind you can say a prayer. Then you’ll be thinking about Heavenly Father and Jesus.
Dylan H., age 7, California, USA
Whenever bad thoughts come into my head, I just sing “I Am a Child of God” quietly, and then the bad thought is gone.
Minae B., age 12, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
Think of your mind as a TV. When bad thoughts are in your head, click your mind into another channel. Think of other things, like a Primary song.
Helen K., age 12, Idaho, USA
Picture yourself putting your bad thoughts in a box and chucking it thousands of miles away, and think of your favorite scripture heroes. What would they do?
Aubrey B., age 8, Idaho, USA
My advice is that you should just block it from your head with family memories, good movie scenes, humming church songs, etc.
Ryan, S., age 11, California, USA
You can think about good things instead, like about Heavenly Father and Jesus. They love us.
Megan B., age 5, Ohio, USA