Staying Spiritual on the Road

After moving our family to San Diego, California, I began working for a new company that required considerable out-of-town travel, even on weekends. Due to an onslaught of new temptations and experiences resulting from my being away from home and alone, I realized I needed to set for myself the following guidelines for maintaining my spiritual reserves while traveling.

1. Maintain contact with the Church and reinforce my identity as a Latter-day Saint by:

   • Attending Sunday Church meetings whenever possible, even in foreign countries.

   • Carrying a Book of Mormon and being willing to talk to people about it as occasion permits.

   • Appropriately sharing Church standards with business contacts so they understand why I do not participate in some activities.

   • Attending the temple if there is one in the city where I am visiting.

2. Pursue a program for ongoing self-improvement by:

   • Reading uplifting books.

   • Keeping a personal journal.

   • Studying languages, history, and geography in connection with my travels.

3. Build spirituality by:

   • Reading from the scriptures daily and memorizing selected passages.

   • Offering multiple daily personal prayers, as necessary.

   • Avoiding inappropriate movies, magazines, books, and hotel room television.

4. Serve others by:

   • Staying in touch with my family and encouraging them through letters, postcards, or telephone calls.

   • Sending uplifting postcards to friends, shut-ins, and missionaries.

   • Writing to my home teaching families and staying informed of their needs.

I also found that by having a personal prayer before leaving on a trip and specifically recommitting myself to living gospel standards and the above guidelines, I was able to avoid temptations, boost my spirituality, and always remember my love for the Savior and his gospel and for my family.—Paul McMullin, San Diego, California