In D&C 121:45, we read: let?Ǭ†virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly. I?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ve heard people interpret that to mean that we should have virtuous thoughts always. I don?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t think constantly having virtuous thoughts is a bad thing, but I was pondering this scripture today.
Garnish means ?¢‚Ǩ?ìto decorate?¢‚Ǩ¬ù or ?¢‚Ǩ?ìto enhance in appearance?¢‚Ǩ¬ù. In cooking, garnishes are used to bring out the beauty of prepared dishes.
With this in mind, I wonder if garnishing our thoughts with virtue is similar ?Ǭ†to garnishing a roasted chicken breast with sprigs of parsley. The parsley doesn?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢t take the place of the chicken, but it does enhance its presentation; virtue may not always be what our thoughts are, but it could enhance our thoughts.
Likewise, no matter how much parsley you use, you can never enhance the appearance of a dried-out, burnt chicken breast. No matter, how much virtue is used, it will never be able to enhance selfish, cynical, or unkind thoughts.
I believe that in order to effectively enhance something, that thing must be of good quality to begin with.
