Jet Mariano

Tag: Prayer

  • MIT8 – “Let Virtue Garnish Thy Thoughts Unceasingly”

    (President Gordon B. Hinckley, April 2007 General Conference)
    Read the full talk →

    Oquirrh Mountain Temple under the waxing gibbous moon — November, 2025. I waited patiently until light met stillness.

    Excerpt:
    President Hinckley’s counsel reaches across time: “Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God.” The promise that follows is profound—“The Holy Ghost shall be thy constant companion.” These are not poetic lines; they are spiritual laws. Virtue invites confidence, and confidence invites the Spirit.

    When I listened to this talk again—over fifty times between last night and this morning—the Spirit emphasized one word: virtue.

    What is virtue?
    Virtue means to fill your mind with morally clean, righteous, and excellent thoughts until goodness becomes your reflex. To garnish is to equip or arm your thoughts, so when fear, doubt, or temptation step onto the stage of your mind, they find no audience. We control the stage. We choose which act plays. As I sat inside the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, I realized: darkness never conquers light that is armed with virtue.

    President Hinckley connected virtue to a simple, practical four-point program—a pattern that turns righteousness into rhythm:

    1. Pray.
      Prayer is the bridge to our Heavenly Father. “Speak with Him,” President Hinckley said. “Express the gratitude of your heart.” Prayer is not repetition—it is relationship. It invites light to dwell where confusion once lived.
    2. Study.
      “Resolve now that you will get all the education you can.” The glory of God is intelligence. I remember my own pursuit—working full-time in IT while carrying a full course load at LACC and DeVry. It was exhausting, but education was revelation in motion. To study is to worship with the mind.
    3. Pay Tithing.
      “Glorious is the promise of the Lord concerning those who pay their tithes.” Temporal faith builds spiritual independence. Each tithe is a declaration that God’s economy governs my heart more than the world’s uncertainty.
    4. Attend Your Meetings.
      There is no substitute for partaking of the sacrament. Sunday worship keeps us anchored when weekday storms rise. It renews the covenant that allows virtue to flow back into thought and action.

    President Hinckley’s bridge between virtue and the four-point program is clear once you live it: each step disciplines the mind and purifies the heart.
    Prayer keeps thoughts upward.
    Study keeps them expanding.
    Tithing keeps them consecrated.
    Worship keeps them renewed.
    Together, they garnish the mind with virtue—unceasingly.

    He promised, “Each of you is a creature of Divinity. You are literally a daughter or son of the Almighty. There is no limit to your potential. If you will take control of your lives, the future is filled with opportunity and gladness.”

    As I waited outside the Oquirrh Temple for the waxing gibbous moon to rise above the spire, I thought of those words. The moon appeared quietly, reflecting light it does not create—just as we reflect heaven’s virtue when we live this four-point pattern.

    Final Reflection:
    Virtue is not perfection—it is direction. It is the steady alignment of thought toward holiness until confidence replaces fear. In that light, President Hinckley’s four steps are not separate commandments; they are one continuous motion toward the presence of God.

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  • Marked In Time – “Stand in Holy Places”

    Layton Utah Temple — late afternoon, sun crowning the spire; shallow haze for a soft halo; foreground reds as a living border. iPhone, 26mm equiv.

    Excerpt

    In a shifting world, God’s laws don’t move. Standing in holy places anchors my heart and tunes my ears to revelation—often quiet, always real.

    Intro

    I came to the Layton Temple in July needing steadiness. Technology breaks, schedules slip, even good plans go sideways. Inside the temple, the noise falls away. President Monson’s call to “stand … in holy places, and be not moved” landed fresh. I felt why the Lord invites us to keep covenants and come back often—the temple is where He re-centers the soul.

    Notes from President Monson

    • God’s commandments are constant; they are commandments, not suggestions.
    • Prayer is our lifeline; God answers—in ways we recognize as we practice.
    • The world’s moral compass drifts, but Christ’s gospel holds steady.
    • Revelation comes when we’re worthy, willing, and in the right places.
    • Holy places (temples, homes, sacrament) give peace to weather life’s storms.
    • Inspiration is to be trusted and acted upon.

    Perspective — direct quotes

    “The Ten Commandments are just that—commandments.”
    “Our Father in Heaven is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
    “Watch and pray always.”
    “Stand … in holy places, and be not moved.”

    Practice — today, not someday

    1. Temple time: schedule my next endowment/initiatory before I leave this post.
    2. Daily prayer slots: five quiet minutes morning and night—no phone, just scripture and a kneeling prayer.
    3. Holy ground at home: set a small, uncluttered spot for scripture, journal, and temple card—use it daily.

    Final Reflection

    In July I brought a hurried heart to the Layton Temple and left carrying peace. President Monson reminded me that God’s laws don’t flex with culture, and that revelation often whispers when I’m where He wants me to be. The temple slowed me to the Lord’s pace. It didn’t erase my problems, but it reframed them. I can face outages, delays, and disappointments without losing center. Holiness isn’t escape; it’s alignment. When I choose the Lord’s places, I hear the Lord’s voice.

    Pocket I’m Keeping

    “Stand in holy places, and be not moved.” One line to carry into every room this week.

    What I Hear Now — direct quotes

    “The work of righteousness shall be peace.”
    “Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you.”

    A Moment That Marked Me — Frankfurt, 1987 (Monson)

    President Monson told how, during the Frankfurt Germany Temple dedication, he felt a clear impression to call Peter Mourik as the first speaker—even after being told Brother Mourik wasn’t in the building. Trusting the Spirit, he announced him anyway. At that very moment, Brother Mourik felt prompted across town to drive to the temple and walked in as his name was called. This experience witnesses that worthy, timely impressions can be trusted—the Lord coordinates details we cannot see.

    Advantages of Standing in Holy Places (my takeaways)

    • Clarity: Temples tune the heart; choices sort into wise vs. unwise.
    • Protection: Covenants set boundaries that keep me safe when the world blurs lines.
    • Power to Act: The Spirit gives courage to do right things in the right order.
    • Peace: The promised effect of righteousness is quietness and assurance forever.
    • Memory: Heaven records; the temple helps me remember who I am and whose I am.

    Link to the Talk / Source

    Official text: Stand in Holy Places — President Thomas S. Monson.

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

  • Day of Delight

    Scaffolds outside, strength within—light and gladness in the heart. Updates: base isolation for earthquakes; expanded capacity (new instruction rooms, more sealing rooms); two baptistries in the annex; endowment now in single-room film presentations in multiple languages.

    Intro
    I’ve been thinking about how a day can change the temperature of a soul. “There’s a day when I cast off the world… and find myself in prayer.” That line isn’t about running from life—it’s about choosing a place where God can reach me. Another line says, “a day to rediscover the vision, clear and bright.” Rediscover is the key word. The light was there all along; the day simply gives me permission to see it again. After weeks of early prayers and late-night temple time, this song feels less like nostalgia and more like instruction: set the day apart, and the day will set you apart.

    Day of Delight (full lyrics, 1979 Gates of Zion Seminary Album)

    There’s a certain kind of happiness,
    a certain kind of glow,
    a special warm sensation—
    I love to feel it flow.

    I love the sweet reminder
    of other things to do,
    the hopes and dreams inside myself—
    I know they can come true.

    There’s a day when I cast off the world,
    untouched by problems there;
    a day when I can grow and learn
    and find myself in prayer;

    a day to rediscover
    the vision, clear and bright;
    a day of light and gladness—
    a day of my delight.

    Who knows what treasures—
    Was for me the freedom,
    and the peace, new reaches,
    fresh and unexplored—
    Lord, where faith and love,

    far beyond the ordinary,
    past the ways of man;
    the beauty of this day was set
    before the world began.

    There’s a day when I cast off
    the world, untouched by problems there;
    a day when I can grow and learn
    and find myself in prayer;
    a day to rediscover the vision,
    clear and bright—
    a day of light and gladness,
    a day of my delight.

    Final Reflection
    Why would a Seminary writer in 1979 pen “Day of Delight”? My sense: to teach that holiness isn’t grim—it’s glad. Youth didn’t need a heavier rulebook; they needed language for joy. The song reframes a set-apart day as fuel, not escape: “I love the sweet reminder of other things to do… I know they can come true.” That’s a hidden gem—the holy day doesn’t pause your life; it powers it. Another is, “the beauty of this day was set before the world began,” quietly tying delight to covenant memory: this rhythm was written into us long before our calendars.

    What I hear now
    • Delight is chosen. The day doesn’t chase me; I step into it.
    • Prayer is discovery, not performance. I “find myself in prayer.”
    • Joy precedes action. Warmth first, then the “other things to do.”
    • Covenant memory steadies the week. If it was set “before the world began,” I can trust it to reset me now.

    © 2012–2025 Jet Mariano. All rights reserved.
    For usage terms, please see the Legal Disclaimer.

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