Blessings For the Pure In Heart
Happy Easter! Today is not the typical Easter Day you envision when considering this memorable holiday. There are few Spring flowers, no sunshine, and it is cold. But that does not dampen the spirit of Easter because the promise of better days comes out of days like this.
My message will combine the hope of the resurrection with some thoughts on the third chapter of Jacob in the Book of Mormon.
On the third day, after the leaders of the Jews got what they wanted by having Jesus crucified, their efforts to destroy him, along with the hope of his followers, were destroyed spectacularly. Not only did they not erase him from history, but they also found themselves with a Messiah who rose from the dead to claim an everlasting victory. You would think that would have given them a change of heart, but because their hearts had been so thoroughly corrupted, they went after the witnesses of the risen Lord.
My thoughts today revolve around the blessings of having purity of heart. The first three verses of Jacob chapter 3 contain a short chiasmus demonstrating how having a pure heart, or not, will result in justice for enemies of the pure in heart or the destruction of those who have corrupted hearts. They read, “But behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart. Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead your cause, and send down justice upon those who seek your destruction. O all ye that are pure in heart, lift up your heads and receive the pleasing word of God, and feast upon his love; for ye may, if your minds are firm, forever. But, wo, wo, unto you that are not pure in heart, that are filthy this day before God; for except ye repent the land is cursed for your sakes; and the Lamanites, which are not filthy like unto you, nevertheless they are cursed with a sore cursing, shall scourge you even unto destruction.”
First, I think it would be helpful to review the concept of purity. We all have heard the expression, “That is pure gold,” in relation to something that is as good as it can be. One of the characteristics of gold is that it does not corrode when it is pure. Purification involves enough heat to burn away the impurities. Once gold is pure, it remains that way. Our hearts can become pure gold when we refuse to let corruption in.
Having a pure heart also involves a purification process involving the metaphorical fire of the Holy Spirit, which burns away corruption and filth. Purification is only possible with our consent and effort. The covenants and promises we make in the holy temple involve what we must do to prepare ourselves to receive a remission of sins that the Savior offers us. We must covenant to obey the commandments, sacrifice the desires of the ‘natural man,’ live the law of the gospel of Jesus Christ, live the law of chastity, and give our consecrated efforts to build the kingdom of God on the earth. There is no magic involved in repentance and covenant-keeping. It is a process of purification that can happen in no other way. The gift of repentance is a miracle in and of itself that we should take advantage of daily.
Jesus taught that the pure in heart will see God. This begs the question of how we can see Him. Consider a few verses of scripture that shed light on the subject.
Psalm 19:8, “The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.”
Psalm 24:3-4, “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. (These verses refer to the temple.)
1 Peter 1:22, “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:”
Moroni 7:48. “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, 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 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. Amen.”
Doctrine and Covenants 97:15-16, “And inasmuch as my people build a house unto me in the name of the Lord, and do not suffer any unclean thing to come into it, that it be not defiled, my glory shall rest upon it; Yea, and my presence shall be there, for I will come into it, and all the pure in heart that shall come into it shall see God.
If we are pure in heart, there are other ways that we see God. We can see him in the faces of ourselves and others, in the creations of the earth, and in fine art and music. Those with impure hearts see others as objects to be taken advantage of. A hard heart makes us unteachable and unable to see beyond ourselves, stifling our progression toward eternity and assuring everlasting destruction.
I hope we can pause and think of ways to purify our hearts and minds so that the Spirit of the Holy Ghost can burn away the impurities in our thoughts and actions.