A challenge that many face when navigating the paths of spiritual growth lies in finding an accurate barometer by which we can gauge the direction our spirituality is heading. From time to time I read certain scriptures that talk about righteousness, or the state of the wicked and ask myself if I share any of the conditions or characteristics described. Most of the time I seem to have a desire to convince myself that I fall short of being either righteous or wicked. I often feel like I should be floating somewhere in the middle, and yet there is something about being in this kind of lukewarm middle that seems incomplete.

One such barometer came to me in the form of a scripture, D&C 84:80.

And any man that shall go and preach this gospel of the kingdom, and fail not to continue faithful in all things, shall not be weary in mind, neither darkened, neither in body, limb, nor joint; and a hair of his head shall not fall to the ground unnoticed. And they shall not go hungry, neither athirst.

I take a verse such as this and ask myself, “Am I weary in mind?” (What is weary in mind anyway?) “If so, does that come from something that I am not doing right spiritually? I could be less weary than I have been, perhaps that is an indicator that I am heading in the right direction.” From there I seek to appraise myself, my spirituality, and ask what I can do more fully, or start doing?”

What spiritual barometers do you use?

What scriptures help you assess where you are at in life as well as motivate you to do better?