LDS Church President, David O. McKay, stated that, “Meditation is one of the most secret, most sacred doors through which we pass into the presence of the Lord.” In this webinar with Phil McLemore, you will learn why meditation, as spiritual practice, is the deepest form of prayer and the key to spiritual rebirth and oneness with God.
I know some of you readers requested that you get some help with meditation. If you weren’t among them, let me suggest that you should learn about it and begin a practice. As novice as I am with it, I have noticed a positive difference when I consistently do it. It is a form of communion different than regular prayer.
Several years ago I went through a course on meditation that Phil McLemore had prepared online. I’ve read papers he’s written and he is an expert. Here is a brief bio.
Philip McLemore was the LDS Institute of Religion Director at Auburn University and the University of Georgia from 1977-1984. He then served as an active-duty US Air Force Chaplain until retirement in 2005. Philip worked as a Hospice Chaplain from 2005-2012. He currently lives in Eagle Mountain, UT, with his wife Kim. They have 4 children, 14 grandchildren, and a large family of dogs, cat, chickens, rabbits, and goats.
After a serious injury, Philip began a meditation practice in 1999, for chronic pain and stress management. He soon discovered that meditation was originally developed as a practice for spiritual awakening and embarked on an in-depth study and practice with world-renowned meditation masters. Philip is an expert in ancient and modern forms of meditation and contemplative prayer. He is the author of numerous magazine and journal articles on inner awakening and spiritual growth. He has been teaching meditation as spiritual practice throughout the Western and Southern States since 2005.
In the video below, it goes over 2 hours as follows.
0:00 Introduction
6:05 Part 1 – Doctrine and Philosophy of Meditation
57:12 Part 1 Q&A
1:10:15 Part 2 – Instruction in Meditation
1:52:08 Part 2 Q&A
Webinar Handouts:
Abiding in the Presence of God (PDF)
Current Meditation Instructions (PDF)
Other Articles by Phil:
The Yoga of Christ – June 2007
Hindering the Saints – Sept 2012
Becoming The Beloved – Winter 2016
Other: Another resource I found related to this post is a collection of statements by prophets on pondering and meditation, which was organized by Brother Satterfield at BYU-I.
Pondering and Meditation (PDF)
One question that came up in the webinar was, “what is the difference between pondering and meditation?
Phil responded that pondering is deep thinking about something, while meditation is a method of stilling the mind into a state of deep focus and seeking for the presence of God to change us. We are in essence trying to abide in God’s presence to enhance our own divine nature so that we can eliminate the “natural man” aspects from our soul.
Does he ever teach meditation courses or hold events. I haven’t finished all of this video yet, but I love it! I would love to learn more from him in person (I learn better that way). Thank you for bringing him on as a guest. I’m so interested in meditation as a form of prayer and a way to get revelation.
It started when I got a profound answer to prayer many years ago while in a stake yoga class, at the end in corpse pose. And again, another vision type experience in yoga (I believe, it’s been so long ago now I can’t remember where I was). And it was so unexpected. I’d been praying for 2 years for this particular answer. And I feel drawn to this for my life. I know it will be beneficial if I could stop being so distracted and develop a regular practice.
I’m not sure he does live events.