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LDS guided scripture meditations to help you find peace through Jesus Christ, so you can have the Spirit to strengthen you throughout your day. I'm Vauna, and I come from the perspective of my faith as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. These mindful devotionals follow Christ’s simple and beautiful promise in the Book of Mormon where he said, “If ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you.” Let’s contemplate some of the sweetest scripture verses together and remember that God is always inviting us to abide in His love.
Welcome to the O Remember podcast, where we take time to reflect deeply on a passage of scripture. This is episode 2, Be Transformed, a guided scripture reflection on Romans 12:2.
My name is Vauna and I am pleased to share this time with you as we seek more peace in our lives by centering on the true source of inner peace, Jesus Christ. I come from the perspective of my faith as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Here we can follow Christ’s simple and beautiful promise in the Book of Mormon in 3 Nephi 18:7 & 11, where he said, If ye do always remember me ye shall have my Spirit to be with you. Remembering is not easy to do in these distracting and distressing times. So today let’s come together and remember … that our God is always offering us transformation, renewal, and guidance.
You might want to get a journal or notebook to capture any impressions that you get. I find that even strong spiritual thoughts can be fleeting if I don’t write them down so I can return and reflect on them later.
Our scripture verse today is short and powerful, so we will center our thoughts on this passage and really allow the Holy Spirit to teach us as we ponder what it means for each of us in our own unique circumstances right now. We’ll read the scripture four times so you can go a little deeper into it each time.
We’ll get more out of this time if we start by calming our mind and body so we can be open to the quiet impressions of the Spirit. You can close your eyes if you like or if you’re able to where you are. Start to notice your breath and let it become slower and deeper and looser. What would a really loose, easy breath feel like? See if you can feel that ease. Now Notice where there is any tightness or tension in your body. Maybe you can relax your head, your neck, your shoulders and let them drop down and be peaceful and easy. Let’s Take a slow breath that fills you up all the way and then slowly release that breath and pause for just a moment before taking the next slow, deep breath. Keep doing that for a bit. While you’re breathing, notice if there is anywhere else in your body that you can soften even more. Maybe Your hands, your back, your hips, your legs, your feet. Take another slow breath all the way so your lungs and belly are completely filled like a bright balloon and then let it out slowly and feel any tension leave your body with that breath and pause for a moment. Let’s do One more full deep breath, one more complete release of breath and tension.
Now bring your attention to the area of your heart. Move out of your busy mind and into your quiet heart. You might take a moment now to send a prayer asking to sense the presence of God with you now, and as you go about the rest of your day. Dedicate this time to receiving that presence and spirit.
With that intention, let’s go to Romans 12:2 where the apostle Paul is sending a letter to the church members to encourage them to live a holy life. This scripture has been a favorite of mine for many years. I love the hope and promise in this.
As we read this scripture the first time, listen for a word or phrase that speaks to you. Something that stands out and seems important or interesting or maybe even puzzling to you.
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
What word or idea stands out to you? Ponder on that thought and sit with it for a few moments.
As I said this scripture has been a favorite of mine, but I will also tell you that for a long time I had trouble making sense of that last part, that says: that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
With a little research and time, I’ve come to interpret that as meaning, That when you let go of the worlds ways and allow God to transform you and renew your mind, you will then understand and experience God’s wise and perfect plan for you.
Or said in another way, that God will prove to you that His will is to transform you through the renewing of your mind. That is his good plan for you.
Maybe that can help if you were a little stuck on that part of the verse like I was.
And now, let’s listen to this verse again more deeply. What do you notice this time that you missed before?
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Hold on to that idea or word or phrase that stands out to you, plant it and let it grow in your mind and heart. What does it mean to you? How does it apply to your life now? Reflect on that for a few moments.
This third time, be open to what God is saying to you in these words. What could God want you to hear in this scripture?
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Take hold of any thought or impression that is coming to you, it doesn’t have to be big or profound. Just keep it top of mind and center on that for a little bit.
What it would feel like to have your mind so renewed that your thoughts were completely transformed and raised to a powerful higher level? Envision how it would feel for your soul to expand and rise like that. Maybe it would feel like waking up from a state of being half asleep, finally being fully awake and aware of infinite truth and light. Awake in the most refreshing and energizing way. Imagine that for a moment.
Or maybe what would it feel like to be completely free from the bonds and deceptions of the world, that are holding you back from full spiritual light and power? Imagine that total freedom filling you from head to toe and radiating out all around you. The lightness of that freedom.
Those are just a few possibilities present in this verse, you may be guided in a different direction that is just right for you.
Now we’ll read it for the fourth and final time. Contemplate what this verse is beginning to mean to you. What action is God inviting you to take? What will you take away? What do you want to do differently?
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Take a moment to let that idea that is forming to become clear and settle in your heart. This could be a good time to write the essence of it down so you can remember it and return to it again. Send a prayer of gratitude and praise to let God know you recognize His hand in your life today.
Heavenly Father, thank you for your word in scripture and for the Spirit that brings enlightenment as we contemplate your word. Please help me renew my mind. Help me turn away from the soul-deadening ways of the world. Help me let go of the imperfect thoughts that are holding me back. Transform my soul from dull and dim to bright and radiant. Help me live your beautiful and perfect plan for me.
One of the things I love about this verse so much is the contrast between the concept of being conformed to this world compared with the idea of being transformed in this world and filled love and light. It’s interesting that both words – both conform and transform - have the root word “form”. We can either allow our form, which is our very soul made of both our body and spirit, to succumb and be shaped by the shallow and very short-sighted and self-serving ideas that abound in the world, or we can allow our form to be changed in the most miraculous and radiant way, to become more like our Heavenly parents.
Let me share an analogy that I think of When I think about conforming to this world. imagine you had a big block of potter’s clay, if you took a big chunk of it and put it on a potters wheel and smooshed it out into a flat round dinner plate with a raised edge, all smooth and beautiful, and then you lifted it up carefully and carried it to your garage and opened up your biggest garbage can and laid the damp clay plate carefully on top of the garbage in there. Right there on top of the pile of greasy chicken bones and carrot peels and the broken glass and the crumpled paper. and you left it sitting there for a day. When you came back and raised the lid, what would you see in there? would the plate still be nice and flat and smooth? No The form of your clay would show the imprint of the junk right? It would have drooped and sagged and conformed to the shape of the garbage.
Now imagine a different scenario. you make your smooth lovely dinner plate out of clay, but this time you let the clay dry hard and then you fire it in a kiln, then glaze it with your favorite colors and fire it again so that your plate is hard and smooth and glossy and beautiful. Imagine holding that in your hands, how it would feel. The weight and texture of it. Then you take it carefully out to your garbage can and set it on top of your garbage for a day. The same greasy smelly mess. When you go back the next day, what would you see? You would open the lid of the garbage can and there your plate would be, still a beautiful treasure lying there on top of the junk and just as flat and smooth and hard as when your left it there.
That’s what I think of when I hear be not conformed to this world. There is a lot of garbage in this world. Maybe this world does seem like a garbage can sometimes. Life is messy as we all remind each other often. Some of the ways of the world are complete trash and even downright toxic. If I’m not careful to follow the process and do the work to fire my soul into the form that God and I want it to be, I will probably sink into the shape of the garbage around me. Sometimes I do. But with God’s grace and guidance, we can be transformed into beautiful resilient souls who stay bright and true to form regardless of the garbage surrounding us.
And the lovely thing is that just like clay, if we realize that we’ve been sagging into the form of garbage for a time, the good potter can smooth us out and even gather us up and start over and still make us into a perfect and beautiful fired and finished plate. Even a hard, finished plate that was broken can be repaired and renewed through the practice of kintsugi, the art of enhancing broken pottery with lacquer and gold seams into something uniquely beautiful. I’m sure you’ve seen examples of lovely kintsugi pots. So even if we have conformed to this world or been broken by it in some way, God is still eager to transform us and renew us. Always always always.
And I want to finish up with a few thoughts about renewing our minds. I’m continually learning the power of taking charge of our mind and not letting our thoughts run off in any direction they want to. I love Jody Moore’s description of an unmanaged mind being like letting a toddler run wild with a sharpie. Our brains are designed to react to anything and everything around us but that doesn’t mean that those reactionary thoughts are true or helpful. Being able to mentally step away to observe our thoughts and consider if we want to keep them or change them is transformational. It’s a life-long pursuit that we won’t completely master in this life, but I think it’s one of the most important things we can work on. Maybe it comes down to Which do I want most? Do I want Conformation or transformation?
The process of renewing our minds is most powerful when we do our part and also allow God in to inspire, guide, and enlighten us in ways that are obviously, way beyond our own ability. Great gratitude for the grace and generosity of God. It is a process of co-creation that is marvellous and miraculous.
Remember we are children of our Heavenly Parents. They created your mind and they still have access to it. The more we cooperate by developing greater mastery over our thoughts and by inviting them in to renew our minds, the more we will see their divine purpose and plan for us. The more YOU will see the divine destiny eagerly offered to you.
Again, I encourage you to write down the thoughts that have come to you during this time. What will you do to become that treasure in the trash that keeps its beautiful form no matter what forces try to distort it?
Remember, remember that our God is always lovingly offering us transformation, renewal, and guidance.
I look forward to coming together next time when we will consider what we can learn from the miracle of manna from heaven. That wonder that kept the Israelites nourished for forty years.
Until then, O remember Christ, that you may have his Spirit to be with you.