Good morning brothers and sisters, my name is Kyle K. I’ve been asked to speak about what it means to have clean hands and a pure heart. In Psalms chapter 24:3-4 reads, “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.”
According to this scripture in order to enter the Kingdom of God we have to have clean hands and a pure heart. Well, what does it mean to have clean hands and a pure heart? I think clean hands means doing good actions. Some good actions include reading
scriptures everyday, saying prayers every night, inviting friends to church or church activities, and choosing your time wisely. Sometimes we don’t always choose right and as a result have unclean hands. If our hands are dirty from dirt or germs we wash them with soap and water to make them clean. When our hands are dirty, because of our actions we need the Savior to make them clean again. Through the Atonement of Christ, we can be made clean again through our repentance.
I believe having a pure heart means that we desire to be like Christ. If we want to be like Christ we will follow His example by being baptized, keeping the commandments, loving our neighbors, attending church and taking the Sacrament each week.
Every month my mom and I go to the Newport Beach Temple with friends to do baptisms. Each time I go, I look forward to feeling the Spirit in the Lord's house on Earth. We usually take family names and one time I got to do 3 brothers. The spirit was so strong and I could feel their joy surrounding me. Knowing that I am worthy enough to enter the temple and be baptized for the dead feels very good inside. The last time I went to the temple I got to do 21 family names. The Spirit and my ancestors were very
happy and made me feel very special. I felt for the rest of the night excited that they now had an opportunity to follow Christ and choose His gospel.
After Jesus was resurrected He came to the Nephites in America and taught them His gospel. He said in 3 Nephi 27:20, “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.”
If it's our goal to stand spotless before Christ at the last day, we need to have clean hands and a pure heart. In that scripture Jesus tells us that if we repent, come unto Him, be baptized, and receive the Holy Ghost, we will be able to achieve our goal.
Elder David A. Bednar in the October 2007 talk called “Clean Hands and a Pure Heart” said, “ 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. “
While it is hard sometimes to always turn our mind and actions towards God, I know it is worth the effort. I enjoy playing tennis, hanging with friends, watching tv, and playing video games. But when I choose to spend time focusing on Christ, like when I go to
the temple or church activities, I always feel lighter, happier and just better.
I want to bear my testimony, that I know this church is true and that miracles do happen. I'm thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ and know He will come again. I’m thankful for the Atonement of Christ that allows me to be forgiven when my hands are unclean. I'm thankful for the Spirit that teaches, comforts, and purifies my
heart. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.