Holiness

Photo: In Mormonism, we believe in building temples. These are holy places for worshiping the Lord. This is a picture of me and some of the other missionaries at the Oakland temple last week.

Holiness

If something is holy, it is pure, sanctified, and consecrated. It rises above all that is base, lewd, and unclean.

In the Bible the Lord tells Moses,

 "Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel and say unto them, Ye shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy." (Leviticus 19:2) 

Later in the Bible King David writes,

" Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?" (Psalms 24:3)

To be with God is to be in a holy place. The Lord has commanded us to be holy so that we can be with Him. How can we make ourselves holy?

My favorite description of what we can do to become holy is in Isaiah.

"Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well, seek judgment [justice], relieve the oppressed, ...plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land." (Isaiah 1:16-19)

I like the feeling that comes from being clean, or obedient to the Lord's commandments. That is what I like about following Jesus Christ: it makes me holy. That is how we become holy. We follow Jesus Christ and rise above the world.

Champion Good! Become holy!

 

Things We Learn from The Princess Bride

Inigo "Hello! My  name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."

If we were to have four sentences define who we are and what we are looking to accomplish in life, what would they be? "Hello! My name is Sister Biggs. I believe you and I are part of God's eternal family and I love you. Prepare to be happy." These couple of sentences work for me because right now I'm a missionary. What works for you? Is God or championing good a part of it?

Buttercup "I shall never love again."

When Buttercup thinks Westley has died, she declares that she will never love again. In other words, nothing will ever mean as much to her as Westley did. I can only say that I feel that way about a very few things: God and my family. God, because He brings me purpose and true happiness; my family, because I love them. What about you?

Westley "Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while."

We are all part of God's family. He loves us perfectly. We all form relationships here on earth that are based off of love. Love is meant to last. Relationships are meant to last. God's family, us, is meant to be together in love and happiness for eternity.  Death and sin, the only things that separate us from God and each other, were conquered by Jesus Christ. So, if we follow Christ, death [and sin] really cannot stop true love. "All it can do is delay it for a while." That makes me so happy!

Champion Good! Love people! Know your purpose! Live your purpose!  

Bonus quote: Westley, "You mean, you'll put down your rock and I'll put down my sword, and we'll try and kill each other like civilized people?"