D&C 112:28 But purify your hearts before me; and then go ye into all the world, and preach my gospel unto the very creature who has not received me.

Ezra 7:10 For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it;

We have a book called “Pure in Heart” by Dallin Oaks, (who incidentally Dallin was named after. He was president of BYU at the time Mike and I were there.) This book is mostly made up of two separate conference addresses and one devotional address at BYU. And was a great resource for this subject.

The Lord has said, “For this is Zion,–the pure in heart.” D&C 97:21..

President Harold B. Lee said, “When we understand more than we know with our minds, when we understand with our hearts, then we know that the Spirit of the Lord is working upon us.”

At the beginning of his sermon, King Benjamin challenged his people: “Open your ears that ye may hear and your hearts that ye may understand, and your minds that the mysteries of God may be unfolded to your view. (Mosiah 2:9)

Elder Oaks said, “The pure in heart have a distinctive way of looking at life. Their attitudes and desires cause them to view their experiences in terms of eternity. This eternal perspective affects their choices and priorities. As they draw farther from worldliness they feel closer to our Father in Heaven and more able to be guided by his Spirit. We call this state of mind, this quality of life, spirituality.”

So purifying our hearts is becoming more spiritual, and this spirituality makes it possible for each of us to be guided by his spirit in all that we do.

I imagine there are countless times when the spirit tries to speak to us and our hearts are not pure enough to hear or to interpret the spirit. There is one time I would like to share with you when I heard the distinct promptings of the spirit and I will be forever grateful. And it is a Dallin story.

I was very concerned and frustrated a few years ago. Dallin had stopped taking seminary, stopped going to church, and was convinced he had never felt the spirit. We had had many talks and didn’t seem to be getting anywhere with him. This had been going on for some time. It was in the middle of the summer and one day I had a very tangible, distinct feeling or impression that we should send Dallin to Especially for Youth. It was one of those promptings that I couldn’t ignore. I talked to Mike, and we talked to Dallin, and I was a bit surprised that he finally agreed to go, without any friends. It turned out to be much harder than I had imagined. There was nothing open in the remaining EFY’s across the country, except one opening Washington. We knew how much it would cost just to fly him there and then didn’t know how to arrange getting him to the right city. So we kept checking, the internet, hoping there would be a cancellation somewhere closer. It was time for me to go to Girls Camp, nothing had turned up, and there were only two weeks of EFY left. I was puzzled but didn’t have much time to worry about it with camp preparations, and so I went off to camp, thinking maybe his only chance had been in Washington. I assumed Mike had given up too, but he had not. When I returned home I found that one spot had opened up for a male in Dallin’s age group for the next week, the last EFY of the summer. I took him down and dropped him off in the same hall that I had spent my freshman year, many years ago. He didn’t want to wear his name tag because he didn’t want anyone to know that he was from Utah. I was not surprised, but I was very humbled when Dallin called on the Thursday night of EFY from BYU. He was obviously very high and very happy. He kept saying, “My roommates think I need to tell you something. And it didn’t take long for him to tell me. (But I had to promise him that I wouldn’t tell his Dad yet.) He said it had been testimony meeting that night, that he had been one of the first to get up and bear his testimony and he had felt the spirit so strong. I kept asking “Dallin, are you sure?” just so I could hear him repeat it.

At home we started seeing some signs that Dallin was changing. When he referred to our bishop as Bishop Pete instead of ignoring him or trying not to refer to him at all, I knew his heart was changing. (And that also had a lot to do with the efforts of the Bishop).

Elder John Taylor showed his purity of heart, or his level of spirituality in these words as he reported his mission to Europe almost 150 years ago:

Some people have said to me, sometimes, Are you not afraid to cross over the seas, and deserts, where there are wolves and bears, and other ferocious animals...Are you not afraid that you will drop by the way, and leave your body on the desert track, or beneath the ocean’s wave? No. Who cares anything about it? What of it, if we should happen to drop by the way? ...These things don’t trouble me, but I have felt to rejoice all the day long, that God has revealed the principle of eternal life, that I am put in possession of that truth, and that I am counted worthy to engage in the work of the Lord. (Journal of Discourses 1:17)

How do we become the “Pure in Heart”? The Laurels in my class would tell you it is the same standard answer that answers many of the questions we ask them: : and Elder Oaks agrees: it is through faith, repentance, baptism, through fasting and prayer, through righteous desires and pure thoughts and actions. Service to our fellow men, feasting upon the scriptures, and the teachings of the prophets. Through forgiveness one of another, through making and keeping covenants with the Lord. He said, “Spirituality is not acquired suddenly. It is the consequence of a succession of right choices. It is the harvest of a righteous life.

Matt. 5:8, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

(September 15, 2000)

by Sally O Meservy