I was reading the book Miracle of Forgiveness and towards the end of one section about thoughts I found a lot of really great passages that has helped me out a lot.

“As a man thinketh, so does he. The time to protect against the calamity is when the thought begins to shape itself.”

    I have found this to be true. It is a lot easier to fight the temptation of a thought than it is to fight the temptation of a fully formed thought. I have been applying this in my life by focusing on getting rid of bad thoughts as they develop and not let them grow inside of me. Before I would harbor them because I thought that they would just stay in my head but I have learned that thoughts never just stay in my head.

“Men alone, of all creatures of earth can change his thought and become the architect of his destiny.”

    I really really liked this because I want to be a better person - both spiritually and temporally. I can design my future and fulfill it but this is only through my thoughts. Whether I think I can or cannot I am right.

    “Sow a thought, reap an act;
    Sow an act, reap a habit;
    Sow a habit, reap a character;
    Sow a character, reap an eternal destiny.”

    There are many things that I want to do but that main goal is an eternal destiny. Working backwards I can see that first I need a strong character that allows me to live the Gospel and be worthy. In order to do that I need to have strong consistent habits that make me more disciplined. A habit starts out by one lone act repeated.    

The only way that I can preform an act is by having it start out as a thought.
I think that this can also be looked at at a different angle:
   
    “Sow a bad thought, reap a sin;
    Sow a sin, reap a bad habit;
    Sow a bad habit, reap an addiction;
    Sow an addiction, reap eternal misery.”

    All of this could be changed if I don’t first sow a bad though and instead sow a good thought instead.

    I have started going to institute and have enjoyed attending a lot. The class that I attend is studying the Book of Mormon. I can’t remember what scripture in the Book of Mormon prompted this but the teacher brought up an interesting point. She said that the only thing Jesus Christ ever cursed as recorded in the New Testament was a fig tree. This was because the fig tree had leaves but was not producing any fruit rendering it worthless.
    The teacher then reminded us that it was the fig tree leaves that Adam and Eve used to cover themselves up in the Garden of Eden. She then said that these fig leaves could represent things of the world being used to cover up our sins. Just like the fig tree that Jesus cursed things of this world are fruitless and are worthless. Using these things to cover up our sins is useless and pointless.
    After Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden the Lord gave them a coat of skins to cover them up. This time instead of using things of the world to cover themselves up they were using something given from the Lord - or as it could symbolize the Atonement.
    There are many things that we could try and use to cover our sins. We could use our financial standing to justify why we work on Sundays, we can follow the dog-eat-dog world mentality to justify our ethics in dealing with people, or claim that it is love why we are immoral. Whatever it is that we do - we are using things of the world to cover up our sins. The only real thing that can cover our sins is the Atonement of Jesus Christ.