That Ye Become Holy, Without Spot

In his most recent talk in general conference, Elder Stevenson gave four invitations for how to invite and recognize the promptings of the Spirit: 

Stand in Holy Places

Stand with Holy People

Testify of Holy Truths

Listen to the Holy Spirit 

These encompass where we go, who we are with, what we say, and what we listen to, and these are summarized in the one word that is included in all four invitations: holy. We should strive to be in places that are holy, to be with people that help us be holy, to speak words of truth that are holy, and to listen to that which is holy. This reminds me of what Sister Nelson taught the youth of the Church last year by inviting them to ask themselves this question: “What would a holy young adult do?” If we want the Spirit to be with us then we need to seek holiness in the places we go, the people we interact with, the things we listen to, and in the words that we say to others. If we desire the Holy Ghost to be with us, then we need to strive ourselves to be holy and avoid those things that are unfit for one who is seeking to “follow the enticings of the Holy Spirit” and “[become] a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord” (Mosiah 3:17). As Elder Stevenson encouraged us, “The noise, clamor, and contention prevalent in the world may overpower still, quiet impressions of the Holy Spirit. Find a quiet place, a holy space where you can seek to receive direction from the Spirit.”

                Moroni, the last prophet in the Book of Mormon, lived at a time when his people were anything but holy. Despite the fact that he watched them turn away from God completely into wicked and abominable ways, being destroyed because of it, he wanted to help us who would have his words in the last days to see the need to become holy. Speaking to the unbelievers of our day he questioned, “Why have ye transfigured the holy word of God, that ye might bring damnation upon your souls?... O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ?” (Mormon 8:33, 38) He sought to help us to see the danger of filling our lives with spiritual pollutions. He later questioned as well, “Can ye behold the Lamb of God? Do ye suppose that ye shall dwell with him under a consciousness of your guilt? Do ye suppose that ye could be happy to dwell with that holy Being, when your souls are racked with a consciousness of guilt that ye have ever abused his laws? Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell” (Mormon 9:3-4). God is perfectly holy, and if we want to return to dwell with Him someday, we must learn to be holy as well. In his final chapter, Moroni famously invited us to receive the power of the Holy Ghost in our lives and develop His power through spiritual gifts that we cultivate. In the penultimate verse of the chapter (and the whole book), he summarize the main purpose of the plan for each of us: “And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot” (Moroni 10:33). God wants to make us holy, and that is why He sent His Holy Son to die and atone for our sins, and that is why He has given us the Gift of the Holy Ghost which can sanctify us so ultimately can “become holy, without spot.” That is the great work of the Godhead. That is the reason we should seek each day to cultivate holiness and heed the voice of that Holy Spirit.