Lifting Our Thoughts/good story

MANY YEARS ago someone wrote, "A man can rise, conquer,
and achieve only by lifting his thoughts.., he
established that a particular train of thought persisted in, be it
either good or bad, cannot fail to produce its results on the
individual's character and circumstances.

Mental impurities need to be cleaned up. We are careful to
bathe our bodies, to brush our teeth, to keep our scalp and hair
clean, but how often are we careless about the cleansing of our
mind.

 The story is told of a group of businessmen, some of
whom were church members, who had just finished a dinner
in a private dining room of a large hotel in a big city. As soon
as the last dish had been removed, an executive of one of the
large department stores leaned forward and said, "Have you
heard the story of the Scotchman—?" and proceeded to tell an
off-color story that evoked laughter from all present, except one.
Then a doctor told another, eagerly followed by a lawyer.
Finally the president of the largest corporation in that state
stood to his feet. "May I be excused?" he asked in a soft tone.
"Why?" said the lawyer who had just finished the off-color
story. "I surely didn't think you were a prude."
"/ don't think I am, either," said the corporation president
firmly, "but I do try to be logical. As an engineer, I've learned
that a machine works better when it is clean, and the mind is
the most delicate and most valuable machine I know. I have
enough trouble trying to keep my thoughts clean without deliberately
filling my mind with dirt."