[We got a short letter from Sister Lindberg this week, but she sent us a copy of her talk so I thought I'd share that instead. She's doing so well!]
The Saviour taught, “And blessed are all the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
I would like to share a story and then share how we can each become pure in heart.
The story, from Elder L. Whitney Clayton says,
“Walking down a beach in the Caribbean one sunny morning some years ago, my wife and I saw several small fishing boats that had been pulled up onto the sand. When we stopped to look at the boats, I learned something about fishing that I have never forgotten. Instead of using nets, lines, or hooks, the local fishermen used simple traps made of wire mesh. Each trap was shaped like a box. The fishermen cut vertical openings about eight inches long on each side of the trap and then bent the cut wires inward, creating narrow slots through which fish could enter.
You can probably guess how a trap worked. The fishermen took a baited trap out to sea and lowered it to the bottom. When a dinner-sized fish came near the trap and sensed the bait, it would find an opening on the side of the trap and swim in, just squeezing between the cut wires. Then, when a trapped fish tried to swim out, it would discover that it was one thing to squeeze past the cut wires to get into the trap, but it was an entirely different thing to swim against those sharp ends to get out—it was caught. When the fishermen returned, they hauled the trap out of the water, and the trapped fish soon became a fresh seafood dinner.”
We can each find ourselves figuratively in similar traps that prevent us from being free to experience the joy and happiness this life can bring. 3 Nephi 27:20 tells us how we can escape these traps and become pure in heart so we can feel that happiness and joy. “Now this is the commandment: Repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost. That ye may stand spotless before me at the last day.”
The basic principles outlined in this scripture are essential for us to understand and apply in our lives. First is repentance, “a turning of the heart and will to God, and renunciation of sin.” As we appropriately seek for and receive the spiritual gift of faith in the Redeemer, we then turn to and rely upon the merits, the mercy, and the grace of the Holy Messiah. Repentance is the sweet fruit that comes from faith in the Saviour and involves turning toward God and away from sin. We must eliminate the individual tendency to selfishness. We must be focused on God, not on the riches of the world. 3 Nephi 6:15 says, “now the cause of this iniquity of the people was this, Satan had great power, unto the stirring up of the people to do all the manner of iniquity and to the puffing up with pride, tempting them to seek for power and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the world.”
Unfortunately we live in a world that largely rejects the values of Zion and focuses instead on worldly pursuits. Babylon has not and never will comprehend Zion. The Lord revealed our times to the prophet Mormon, who recorded this statement in a closing chapter of the Book of Mormon:
“Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But … Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.
“For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted.”
This state of affairs stands in marked contrast to the Zion the Lord seeks to establish through his covenant people. Zion can be built up only among those who are the pure in heart, not a people torn by covetousness or greed, but a pure and selfless people. Not a people who are pure in appearance, rather a people who are pure in heart. Zion is to be in the world and not of the world, not dulled by a sense of carnal security, nor paralyzed by materialism. No, Zion is not things of the lower, but of the higher order, things that exalt the mind and sanctify the heart.
The world today is full of people searching for riches, fame, power, and recognition and approval of man rather than the approval of a Heavenly Father. We must first turn from these pursuits ,“every man seeking the interest of his neighbor, and doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God.” before we can begin to become truly pure in heart. We must turn our hearts and will to God and leave the world behind.
The risen Lord next explained the importance of coming unto Him. He invited the Nephites to literally come unto Him, feeling the nail prints in His hands and feet. He taught them to come unto Him through sacred covenants. In a similar manner, you and I are admonished to turn toward and learn from Christ and come unto Him through covenants and ordinances of His restored gospel. In Moroni’s closing words written toward the end of the Nephite civilization, he said, “Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him,… and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you”
We must lay upon the altar and sacrifice whatever is required by the Lord. We begin by offering a “broken heart and a contrite spirit.” We leave behind our worldly pursuits and turn fully to the Lord. We remember Alma’s counsel: “Let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever. Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings” As we give, we find that “sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven!” And in the end, we learn it was no sacrifice at all.
Those who are committed to Christ “stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places” that they may be in “even until death”. They “retain the name” of Christ “written always” in their hearts. They take upon themselves “the name of Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end”
When we live a Christ-centered life, “we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ”. We “receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love”. Even when Nephi’s soul was grieved because of his iniquities, he said, “I know in whom I have trusted. My God hath been my support”
“Remember, remember,” said Helaman, “that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, … that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, … [they] shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery”
We will eventually and ultimately come to know Him in His own time, in His own way, and according to His own will as did the people in the land of Bountiful.
Repenting and coming unto Christ through the covenants and ordinances of salvation are prerequisite to and preparatory for, being sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost and standing spotless before God at the last day. The purpose of our mortal journey is not merely to see the sights on earth or to expend our allotment of time on self-centered pursuits; rather, we are to “walk in newness of life”, to become sanctified by yielding our hearts unto God, and to obtain “the mind of Christ”
President Marion G. Romney taught that the baptism of fire by the Holy Ghost “converts [us] from carnality to spirituality. It cleanses, heals, and purifies the soul. … Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, and water baptism are all preliminary and prerequisite to it, but [the baptism of fire] is the consummation. To receive [this baptism of fire] is to have one’s garments washed in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ”
Ultimately, we are to stand spotless before God. The gospel of Jesus Christ encompasses much more than avoiding, overcoming, and being cleansed from sin and the bad influences in our lives; it also essentially entails doing good, being good, and becoming better. Repenting of our sins and seeking forgiveness are spiritually necessary, and we must always do so. But remission of sin is not the only or even the ultimate purpose of the gospel. To have our hearts changed by the Holy Spirit such that “we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually” (Mosiah 5:2), as did King Benjamin’s people, is the covenant responsibility we have accepted. This mighty change is not simply the result of working harder or developing greater individual discipline. Rather, it is the consequence of a fundamental change in our desires, our motives, and our natures made possible through the Atonement of Christ the Lord. Our spiritual purpose is to overcome both sin and the desire to sin, both the taint and the tyranny of sin.
Psalm 24:3-4 tells us of the importance of this, avoiding and overcoming bad and doing good and becoming better. “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; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully”
It is possible to have clean hands, but not have a pure heart. But notice that both clean hands and a pure heart are to ascend into the hill of the Lord and to stand in His holy place. Hands are purified as we put off the natural man and by overcoming evil influences in our lives through the Saviour’s Atonement. Hearts are purified as we receive His strengthening power to do good and become better. All our worthy desire 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 strengthening and sanctifying power that helps us to become better than we ever could by relying only on our own strength. The infinite Atonement is for both the sinner and the saint in each of us.
In the Book of Mormon, we find the masterful teachings of King Benjamin concerning the mission and Atonement of Jesus Christ. The simple doctrine he taught caused the congregation to fall to the earth, for the fear of the Lord had come upon them. “And they had viewed themselves in their own carnal state, even less than the dust of the earth. And they all cried aloud with one voice, saying: O have mercy, and apply the atoning blood of Christ that we may receive forgiveness of our sins, and our hearts may be purified; for we believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who created heaven and earth, and all things; who shall come down among the children of men”
Some may think this spiritual progress is not attainable in their lives. We may believe these truths apply to others but not to us. We will not attain a state of perfection in this life, but we can and should press forward with faith in Christ along the strait and narrow path and make steady progress toward our eternal destiny. The Lord’s pattern for spiritual development is “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little” (2 Nephi 28:30). Small, steady, incremental spiritual improvements are the steps the Lord would have us take. Preparing to walk guiltless before God is one of the primary purposes of mortality and the pursuit of a lifetime; it does not result from sporadic spurts of intense spiritual activity.
As I look back on my 20 years of life, there are times that stick out as times when my heart was being truly purified and prepared. I did not become the person I am today from one event, but rather from many moments. One such time was as I watched my Grandma endure breast cancer and a brain tumor with unflinching grace, and unfailing faith and trust in our Father’s plan. I saw the hope that the knowledge of the truths of this Plan can bring, even in the darkest of times as my hero slowly slipped away into the eternities. My heart was truly purified as I turned to my Saviour for support and comfort in a time that there seemed to no light, a time that the world viewed as the end. Because of the knowledge of His plan, I knew it wasn’t, it was merely a beginning.
I continued to turn towards and rely on Jesus Christ as I chose to serve a mission. The process of preparation, then as I left my family and came out here to serve The Lord, and now as I continue to serve, with bumps and hurdles along the way, have all greatly humbled me and made me more pure in heart. I have experienced a mighty change of heart.
These moments have changed me for the better, even though sometimes I may wish I didn’t have to go through the pain and heartache, I am better because of them.
Doctrine and Covenants 58 says, “Ye cannot behold with your natural eyes, for the present time, the design of your God concerning those things which shall come hereafter, and the glory which shall follow after much tribulation.
“For after much tribulation come the blessings. Wherefore the day cometh that ye shall be crowned with much glory; the hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand. …
“Behold, verily I say unto you, for this cause I have sent you—that you might be obedient, and that your hearts might be prepared to bear testimony of the things which are to come…”
I bear testimony that the day will come when we reach perfection, when we will look back and see how we were changed by the tribulations, the sacrifices, and the hurdles and be “crowned with much glory.” I know the Savior will strengthen and assist us as we strive to make sustained, paced progress. The example in the Book of Mormon of “many, exceedingly great many” in the ancient Church who were pure and spotless before God is a source of encouragement and comfort to me. I suspect those members of the ancient Church were ordinary men and women just like you and me. These individuals “were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God”. And these principles and this process of spiritual progress apply to each of us equally and always. I bear testimony of a loving and caring Heavenly Father and Saviour who are right by our side as we turn to them and strive to be purified, line upon line. Precept upon precept. Moment by moment. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Not cool. 
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