Verily, this is fasting and prayer, or in other words, rejoicing and prayer. (D&C 59:14)
Fasting is not meant to be a negative experience. It is more than just refraining from eating.
Fasting is as much about attitude as about action. It refocuses our hunger and thirst on the spiritual life, rather than on the temporal or physical life.
In the scriptures, fasting is a synonym for rejoicing. It is a celebration of coming to know for yourself that the spiritual life is not just a theory or a hope, but an essential reality.
Abstinence could be considered a form of continual fasting and as such could also be considered a state of continuous celebration, rejoicing in the triumph of the spiritual over the physical. Rejoicing in our abstinence, however, is not something we can will ourselves to do. This spirit of humility and gratitude that fills us and takes away our cravings is a gift from God. He eagerly waits for us to desire this gift more than we desire our addiction.
The truth is, we can choose to let our abstinence feel like a burden and an excuse to be depressed—or we can choose to believe in and request our abstinence from God as a blessing and a gift. The choice of how we experience our abstinence is up to us.
~Colleen H.
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