Clean Hands and a Pure Heart

These principles are essential for us to apply in our lives

1. Repentance
• This is the fruit of Faith in Christ and . . .
2. Come unto Christ
• We do this by making covenants with Him
3. Sanctified by the Holy Ghost
4. Stand Spotless

Remission of sin is not the ultimate mission of the gospel. Having our nature changed to be more like God is our purpose.
It is possible for us to have clean hands but not have a pure heart.

Our own works can never produce clean hands and a pure heart – those require the Atonement of Christ which is for both the sinner and the saint in each of us.

Repentance is the sweet fruit that comes from faith in the Savior and involves turning toward God and away from sin.

The Savior also taught the people to come unto Him through sacred covenants, and He reminded them that they were “the children of the covenant”. He emphasized the eternal importance of the ordinances of baptism and of receiving the Holy Ghost. In a similar manner, you and I are admonished to turn toward and learn from Christ and to come unto Him through the covenants and ordinances of His restored gospel. As we do so, we will eventually and ultimately come to know Him, “in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will.”

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” (Learning for the Eternities, comp. George J. Romney [1977], 133)

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,” 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.

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.

The requirement to put off the natural man and become a saint, to avoid and overcome bad and to do and become good, to have clean hands and a pure heart, is a recurring theme throughout the Book of Mormon. In fact, Moroni’s concluding invitation at the end of the book is a summary of this theme.

He who is without spot redeems us from sin and strengthens us to do good and to become better.