I've been busy this past week or so. Silly Jesse went and actually accepted an invitation to speak in church today. (Okay, honestly, I would have said yes, also, but since he's the one who did it, I can give him a hard time about it!!) It just so happened that Melinda was assigned to give a talk in Primary today, too. So for more than a week, the majority of my free time has gone to preparing for my talk. Jesse was kind enough to help Melinda with her talk (although, truth be told, that wonderful girl came up with most of it on her own! And read it all by herself in Primary, too!!).
Since I haven't really blogged lately, I thought I'd go ahead and share my talk here. And, why not, Melinda's too! I'd share Jesse's, but he only jots down notes and then fills it in sort of on-the-spot. I can't function like that. I *have* to have the whole thing written out, or I'll be one giant mess.
I should note that this was my first talk in what I'm guessing has been about 8 years. The last time I was asked to give a talk, it was here in Louisville. How did I manage to go 6 years in one ward without ever giving a talk? I don't know... but I sure felt lucky. ;) I was afraid I'd be paralyzed by nerves, but I did alright. Talked a little faster than I should have, maybe, but not terribly so. It just made my almost 20-minute talk into a more reasonable 16-minute talk. Anyway. Here you go! I hope you enjoy these thoughts.
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Today my topic is “Blessed Are the Pure In Heart”. I know there are a couple different ways to interpret the phrase “pure in heart”. One is to take it to convey a meaning more in the direction of virtue, chastity or innocence. But I immediately knew that I wanted to go the other direction – more in the way of our inner thoughts and desires.
The Apostle Paul, as recorded in Ephesians, referred to something called the “inner man”. The inner man can be described as our motives, desires, and attitudes which each affect our actions and choices in life. Our motives, desires and attitudes are each interdependent, and are often summarized in the scriptures with a single word: Our heart. The word heart occurs more than a thousand times in the standard works, usually referring to our motives, desires and attitudes. These things are not visible to the eyes or identifiable by our other senses. They seem almost intangible. But that certainly doesn’t mean that they aren’t important to our eternal welfare.
The hidden thoughts of our minds, our attitudes and desires, are just as important as our works and our actions, when it comes to how God will judge us after this life.
Psalm 24:3-4 says, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart.” Similarly, in Alma 5:19 we read: “I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands?”
We can see through these two scriptures that we not only need to refrain from sin in action during this life, but we also need to work to keep our hearts pure. Otherwise, we cannot expect to live with God again someday. We can’t simply go through life, working through a checklist of righteous acts, and expect to be fully welcomed by our Father in Heaven. No, if we wish to achieve exaltation- to see God- in addition to keeping the commandments, we must also purify our hearts: we need to make sure our motives, our desires, and our attitudes are acceptable before Him.
In the final judgment, we will be held responsible for the thoughts of our hearts.
1st Samuel 16:7 says “…the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”
Ammon taught his people that God “knows all the thoughts and intents of the heart; for by his hand were they all created from the beginning”.
And Mormon wrote, “for none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart.”
I like the way that Elder John Taylor describes this concept. He said, “He knows our thoughts and comprehends our desires and feelings; he knows our acts and the motives which prompt us to perform them. He is acquainted with all the doings and operations of the human family, and all the secret thoughts and acts of the children of men are open and naked before him, and for them he will bring them to judgment.”
I’m sure we each struggle with various issues within our own hearts. We have to work our way through pride, through selfishness; we have to remind ourselves to keep from wrongfully judging the people around us; we have to come to terms with our own possessions and status, and keep from coveting the things our neighbors have; we have to dig deep to make sure our motivation to keep the commandments isn’t for the sake of our reputation or outward appearance, but for truly bringing ourselves closer to God, and working towards becoming more like Him.
Lord Byron Buckingham said, “Make my heart transparent as pure crystal, that the world jealous of me, may see the foulest thought my heart does hold.” It’s frightening to imagine the world being able to judge each of us as a person based solely on what our hearts might hold at any moment.
But, we don’t have to worry about our Father in Heaven judging us instantly and permanently based on the impurities that are currently in our hearts. It’s comforting to think that we aren’t expected to perfect this process of purifying our hearts in this lifetime. It is simply enough to take it one step at a time, to do what we can to improve ourselves little by little. Each bit of improvement we make brings us ever closer to our Father in Heaven, and gives us the strength we need to make the next step possible. But it won’t happen by itself. We must make a conscious choice to purify our hearts.
Ezra Taft Benson said: “You are the one who must decide whose thoughts you will entertain. You are free to choose- but you are not free to alter the consequences of those choices. You will be what you think about – what you consistently allow to occupy the stage of your mind.”
Our motives and desires are so important to our eternal progress. The scriptures make it clear that doing the right thing for the wrong reason is worthless at best, and sometime even counted for evil. When the Apostle Paul preached about charity, he said: “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing”. Clearly, unless motivated by pure love, even the most generous gifts of earthly treasures is worthless. As Paul later counseled Timothy: “Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.”
Mormon similarly taught the people of his day: “For behold, God hath said a man being evil cannot do that which is good; for if he offereth a gift, except he shall do it with real intent it profiteth him nothing. For behold, it is not counted unto him for righteousness.”
So how can we take action to purify our hearts, to make sure our desires, our motives, and our attitudes are things that are pleasing to God? What can we do to help this process along?
First, we can realize that this mortal life is designed to help us along this path. Our life is a time of trial and testing, just as the Lord tested Israel for forty years in the wilderness. The purpose of that testing, the Lord explained to them, was to “humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no”
The hardships we endure as mortals can deprive us of the power to act. But at the same time, hardships can be the means of eternal growth in attitude and desire. If we endure our trials with the right attitude and pair them with righteous desires, our suffering and deprivation can be the source of great growth in our spirits. Not only is this evidenced in the Book of Mormon, when various societies are humbled and brought closer to God through their trials, but I have seen this at work in my own life. When times get challenging, there are generally two choices: To lose yourself in despair or anger, or find great comfort and strength in trusting God to direct your life. It’s during those times that we’ve been without work, or facing other significant challenges, that it becomes so much easier to stretch myself spiritually, to lean a little more on my Father in Heaven, and learn to trust Him more fully that things will work out. Maybe things won’t work out the way I always envisioned them, but I’m certain that the Lord’s plan for me will allow myself and my family the opportunity to increase our testimonies and mold our hearts to God’s will for us. When we understand the eternal purpose of hardships, it becomes easier to adjust our attitudes as well.
To become pure in heart – to achieve exaltation – we must alter our attitudes and priorities to reflect an eternal perspective; we must control our thoughts; we must reform our motives; and we must perfect our desires.
We can begin by questioning ourselves. Stripping away our pretenses and our false fronts, probing honestly and deeply within our inner selves, we should seek to identify our true attitudes and priorities. We should ask ourselves the same questions that Alma asked: “Are ye sufficiently humble? Are ye stripped of pride? Is there one among you who is stripped of envy? Is there one among you that doth make a mock of his brother?” Really take some time to sit down and meditate on the current state of your inner self. What needs improving? What isn’t quite in line with God’s will for you? Once you have an idea of an area that isn’t quite pure, you can then decide on what sort of action to take. As we take these issues to God in sincere prayer, we will find the inspiration and strength we need to truly change our inner selves.
If we are struggling with pride, it is important to think about things beyond ourselves, and give service. When we serve others, it swings our priorities away from ourselves, and puts the spotlight on others. I have some experience with this: Not long before we moved away from Maryland, I was assigned to visit a sister in our ward who was having a particularly hard time in just about every aspect of life. At the time, I was pretty wrapped up in thoughts and worry about how our own life was unfolding, with Jesse’s job stability gone, and our life in general upheaval, but the minute I would step in her door and talk to this sister about her problems, my own problems seemed to pale in comparison, and it was easy to shift my attitude to one of thanks for the blessings I still had, instead of desiring circumstances to be different. I became eager to help her in any way I could, and to ease her burden, and my other concerns were much easier to deal with. Service has a powerful ability to help us see with a more eternal perspective, and develop love for those around us.
The thoughts that go through a person’s mind generally help determine what their desires, motives and attitude will be. Therefore, it’s important to learn how to control our thoughts, because we will then be able to adjust our motives and perfect our desires. The prophet Alma taught his faithful son Helaman: “Let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever”.
It can be a tricky thing to change or control the thoughts that enter your mind. They often seem to come unbidden and unexpectedly. How can you possibly learn to control a thought, when you didn’t even know it existed before you actually thought it? It’s almost a paradox, isn’t it? To control something, it has to first exist. But despite the seeming paradox, we can train our minds to accept only positive thoughts. We are taught to replace evil thoughts that enter our minds with good ones. The act of replacing evil thoughts will allow the Spirit to strive in our hearts, as well as teach our minds to only accept positive, uplifting thoughts to enter. There are different ways we can achieve this replacement.
Marion G. Romney said, “I am persuaded, my brothers and sisters, that it is irrational to hope to escape the lusts of the world without substituting for them as the subjects of our thoughts the things of the Spirit, and I know that the things of the Spirit are taught with mighty power in the Book of Mormon…
And so, I counsel you, my beloved brothers and sisters and friends everywhere, to make reading the Book of Mormon a few minutes each day a lifelong practice.”
Boyd K. Packer suggests choosing a favorite, uplifting hymn, and to think of it anytime you discover a wayward thought in your mind. And once you find your thoughts improving, he counsels to make sure you change your environment as well, to ensure that your mind will be inspired with things that are good, rather than bombarded with evil influences. Finally, if we keep ourselves busy with righteous endeavors, our minds will be able to be filled with good things.
One of the biggest ways we can change our motives is by seeking charity. I’m convinced that having true charity is a life-long process for the overwhelming majority of us. But to seek charity, we need to first begin by praying for love, and we need to do it constantly, each day of our lives, to continually improve and get closer to the goal.
Moroni 7:48 says: “Wherefore, my beloved bretheren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become like the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure.”
As we pray and rely on the Savior, we will find ourselves able to improve, and able to make our hearts pure, one step at a time. We can perfect our desires. God commands us to do so, and he will strengthen us in this effort if we seek his help. George Q. Cannon taught: “No man ought to say, “Oh, I cannot help this; it is my nature.” He is not justified in it, for the reason that God has promised to give strength to correct these things, and to give gifts that will eradicate them. If a man lack wisdom, it is his duty to ask God for wisdom. The same with everything else. That is the design of God concerning his Church.”
Elder Bednar also emphasizes the Savior’s role in the process of purifying ourselves. He taught us that “hands are made clean through the process of putting off the natural man and by overcoming sin and the evil influences in our lives through the Savior’s Atonement. Hearts are purified as we receive His strengthening power to do good and become better. All of our worthy desires and good works, as necessary as they are, can never produce clean hands and a pure heart. It is the Atonement of Jesus Christ that provides both a cleansing and redeeming power that helps us to overcome sin and a sanctifying and strengthening power that helps us to become better than we ever could by relying only upon our own strength. The infinite Atonement is for both the sinner and for the saint in each of us.”
As we strive to obtain pure hearts, we are promised great blessings. An ancient saying says, “If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him.” It may not be scripture, but I agree with it. If our hearts are pure, we will truly be able to endure all things, and nothing will be able to destroy us. We will see through the perspective of eternity, and gain strength and power as our hearts become one with our Father in Heaven.
One blessing of striving for a pure heart means that we will be rewarded for our righteous desires. If our desires are right, we can be forgiven for the unintended errors or mistakes we will inevitably make as we try to carry those desires into effect. What a comfort for our feelings of inadequacy!
Doctrine and Covenants 56:18 also shares the blessings of a pure heart. It says:
But blessed are the poor who are pure in heart, whose hearts are broken, and whose spirits are contrite, for they shall see the kingdom of God coming in power and great glory unto their deliverance; for the fatness of the earth shall be theirs.
Thomas S. Monson, in 1983, said:
“May we look upward as we press forward in the service of our God and our fellowmen. And may we incline an ear toward Galilee, that we might hear perhaps an echo of the Savior’s teachings: “Do not your alms before men, to be seen of them.” “Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.” And of our good deeds: “See thou tell no man.” Our hearts will then be lighter, our lives brighter, and our souls richer. Loving service anonymously given may be unknown to man- but the gift and the giver are known to God.”
Again the scriptures tell us, Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Brothers and sisters, may we each be able to find it within ourselves to strive towards purifying our inner selves. If we work to bring our hearts closer to God, to emulate the love and concern that our Savior showed for others when He walked the earth, to practice true charity, to seek after the things of the eternities rather than the things of the world, and to perform all our good works with sincerity, we will be richly blessed and comforted throughout our lives, and we will surely be able to live with our Father in Heaven again.
I leave my testimony that these things are true,
In the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, amen.
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Melinda's talk:
I know that Heavenly father and Jesus Christ love me.
They sent me to earth to learn to use my body.
They gave me the chance to choose right or wrong.
Heavenly father sent Jesus to save us from death and sinning.
Jesus taught us how we should live.
If we don’t follow what he taught we will not live with Heavenly Father.
Jesus loved us so much that he died for us.
John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
I know that Jesus loves us. Even though we can’t remember I know that we knew Jesus before we came to earth and we still know him.
I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
