Like much advice from the great font of wisdom that is Mormonism, it takes a miracle to follow it let alone be benefited, er blessed by it.

Here is something not so useful in my opinion.

Boyd:
Second, we can replace the negative idea with a wholesome thought or activity. For example, President Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has suggested memorizing a favorite hymn as an “emergency channel,” a place for thoughts to go when inappropriate subjects come to mind.2 Keeping handy a list of possible replacement activities may also be useful.
https://abn.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2009/04/think-about-what-you-are-thinking-about?lang=eng&adobe_mc_ref=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2009/04/think-about-what-you-are-thinking-about?lang=eng&adobe_mc_sdid=SDID=458040162F1220E4-5DABDFF0AD9B20C9|MCORGID=66C5485451E56AAE0A490D45%40AdobeOrg|TS=1664932021

And here is the possiblity that attempting the advice above is just instilling fear of these thoughts.

Live Science:
"When we suppress a thought, we're sending our brains a message," Magee said. This effort labels the thought as something to be feared. "In essence, we're making these thoughts more powerful by attempting to control them." A 2020 analysis in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science(opens in new tab) of 31 different studies on thought suppression found that thought suppression works — in the short term. While participants tended to succeed at thought-suppression tasks, the avoided thought popped into their head more often after the task was over.
https://www.livescience.com/suppress-unwanted-thoughts

It cuts two ways. By taking Boyd's ignorant advice and memorizing a hymn to suppress "bad" thoughts, the brain learns to associate that hymn with those thoughts. And so when that hymn is played or sung in a church meeting, those associated "bad" thoughts will automatically come to mind.

Packer may have been the most hopelessly stupid individual ever called as a church leader, although Kimball and Fielding make it a tight race.

Smartphones help us avoid thinking, pondering, wondering...

A properly regulated smartphone can make passage into eternal bliss a lot easier.

In short, the church doesn’t want you to get romantically involved with anyone but another church member. Don’t think about sex and don’t masturbate until you get sealed in the temple and then bang away kids! Multiply and replenish the earth!

When I first saw this thread, I thought that the RfMers would jump all over it. After all, "recovery from Mormonism" suggests that there is something, namely Mormonism, that people here are striving to recover from, which would include, again presumably, thoughts, feelings, etc. instilled or caused by Mormonism that adversely were affecting one's continuing post-Mormon life. I further assumed that RfM was somehow about replacing such thoughts and feelings with something more positive. I didn't think of RfM as a vehicle in which 'recovery' was achieved by an incessant wallowing in negative anti-Mormon thoughts, while encouraging others to do the same, without some vision for a better worldview. My bad.

In any event . . .
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"Here is something not so useful in my opinion. . . . [W]e can replace the negative idea with a wholesome thought or activity."

COMMENT: Why would anyone have a problem with replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts? You may disagree with what is 'positive' or 'negative' but the basic psychological principle that we can replace destructive thoughts with more positive ones, and thus to some extent alleviate stress, anxiety, and related harmful behavior, is well-established. After all, this is the gist of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) which although theoretically controversial has an impressive track record. (I expect all the clinical psychologists out there (or their clients) to chime in with their emphatic support for CBT (although I will not hold my breath)!
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"And here is the possibility that attempting the advice above is just instilling fear of these thoughts. Live Science: 'When we suppress a thought, we're sending our brains a message,' Magee said. This effort labels the thought as something to be feared. 'In essence, we're making these thoughts more powerful by attempting to control them.'

COMMENT: In the first place, this belies common sense and common experience. Moreover, as mentioned, such a pseudoscientific 'theory' or idea flies in the face of the well-established empirical results of cognitive therapy; as one example, where obsessive-compulsive thoughts bring about compulsive irrational and harmful behavior. In OCD therapy, such harmful thoughts are mitigated by willed, directive control of one's thoughts. (i.e. suppressing (refusing to entertain) the negative thoughts and replacing them with positive thoughts) Such suppression does NOT reinforce the negative thoughts they are intended to displace, and do not make matters worse, as claimed here. Otherwise CBT would not be so popular!

Moreover, consider the danger of advocating a view that people (and our teen-age children) they cannot suppress and thereby overcome negative, unhealthy thoughts, and thereby improve their lives. Do you really want some teenager who obsessively thinks about shooting up his school to continue to harbor such feelings because, after all, he is powerless anyway; or do you want him to seek professional help?

Here is a nice quote:

"In the absence of effort, the OCD pathology drives the brain's circuitry, and compulsive behaviors result. But mental effort, I believe, generates a directed mental force that produces real physical effects: the brain changes that follow cognitive behavioral therapy for OCD. The heroic mental effort required underlines the power of active mental processes like attention and will to redirect thoughts and actions in a way that is detectable on brain scans. . . . With practice, however, the conscious choice to exert effort to resist the pathological messages, and attend instead to the healthy ones, activates functional circuitry. Over the course of several weeks, that regular activation produces systematic changes in the very neural systems that generate those pathological messages -- namely, a quieting of the OCD circuit." (Jeffrey M. Schwartz, *The Mind & the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force.)

Finally, just because some idea has a Mormon flavor does not make it wrong, and just because some idea has a scientific flavor does not make it correct. I don't think 'recovery' is served by slamming Mormonism in every context imaginable, while invoking whatever 'science' can be mustered to support that knee-jerk reaction. It seems to me that the actual merits of positions, doctrines, theories, and arguments should not always be secondary to the desire to debase and humiliate. After all, such 'obsessive' motivations are NOT indications of recovery, but indications of the problem. (IMO)

Two things. One this isn't any therapy thread nor is it about being OCD.

Packer says repeat mantras with music in your head to avoid thinking bad thoughts. The secular article says that works in the short term but comes back with a vengeance. If you read the article it says just let the bad thoughts come and go. It is more positive.

But you and your agenda can't be bothered I suppose.

I did read the whole thing! Here is the very last statement:

"A 2020 analysis in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science(opens in new tab) of 31 different studies on thought suppression found that thought suppression works — in the short term. While participants tended to succeed at thought-suppression tasks, the avoided thought popped into their head more often after the task was over."

COMMENT: CBT is about long-term positive effects. As such, this statement undermines CBT, as I noted.
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"In the end, it might make more sense to take a mindful approach to these unwanted thoughts and simply wait for them to pass rather than avoiding them — just like the thousands of other thoughts that drift through your head each day, Fradkin said. "We can allow these thoughts to just be in our minds, not sort of holding on to them too tightly and not trying to fight them."

COMMENT: CBT is about aggressive thought suppression and redirection, not about 'mindfulness.' So, again, this article undermines CBT.

CBT is empirically grounded in actual results, not merely a handful of 'psychological tests' having questionable value as support for any theoretical conclusion or clinical recommendations. Mindfulness is therapeutic as a vehicle to relieve stress, but it does not directly address over-coming compulsive negative thoughts, which thoughts of themselves prevent effective mindfulness meditation.

I think it was Robert Kirby that said on his mission, every time he started to have lewd thoughts he would start humming "Love at Home" and singing it in his head. He said to this day he can't hear that song without becoming aroused.

I wonder how many men jizz their pants in church when their “don’t think dirty thoughts” hymn is sung.

It seems like these guys are very immature sexually and emotionally. I’ve seen more T&A than the stars in the sky and I’m fine. I never cheated. I’ve had a long happy marriage and before that I had some nice relationships with girlfriends.

It’s called having class and being decent. I can look at naked woman and go yeah that’s nice but I’m not going to ruin a great relationship over it. I looked at dirty magazines, I masturbated, I watched porn but hey it’s like eating junk food. Too much becomes a problem and is not good but you can enjoy Some junk now and then.

So basically treat others like you would like to be treated and use moderation. Boyd sounds like he was a sex maniac desperate to do anything to stop him from going on a wild sex binge. Maybe sex addiction is a thing.

You're obviously suffering from chronic maturity!!!

This is a great article on meditation. It is anti Packer. You might want to read it just for that reason.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2022/09/29/meditation-tips-awareness/