Holiness, Here and Now

I love going to the temple. One of the etchings that adorns every Latter-Day Saint temple is the phrase “Holiness to the Lord.”

The concept of holiness, within our doctrine is generally associated with Christ and the temple. We have been instructed to stand in holy places. But I never thought of holiness as something I could obtain here. Something that would be associated with my mortal life.

Of his life, Brigham Young, the 2nd Prophet and President of the Church, said:

Thirty years’ experience has taught me that every moment of my life must be holiness to the Lord, resulting from equity, justice, mercy and uprightness in all my actions, which is the only course by which I can preserve the Spirit of the Almighty to myself.

How can my life — so studded with sin, fear, self-doubt, and so on — be ‘holiness to the Lord’?

In a 2017 General Conference address, Sister Carol McConkie provided the proper answer:

Holiness is in the striving and the struggle to keep the commandments and to honor the covenants we have made with God. Holiness is making the choices that will keep the Holy Ghost as our guide. Holiness is setting aside our natural tendencies and becoming “a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord.”

Twelve years previous, President James Faust spoke on the same subject:

Holiness is the strength of the soul. It comes by faith and through obedience to God’s laws and ordinances. God then purifies the heart by faith, and the heart becomes purged from that which is profane and unworthy.

Both comments would suggest that holiness is something that we can achieve in mortality. Yet, more importantly, it is not perfection. It is in the struggle that we become holy.

Sister McConkie:

Most often it is the sacrifices we make to keep our covenants that sanctify us and make us holy.

The struggle to obey the commandments. The struggle to keep our covenants. Every time we are presented with a choice to keep or break a covenant, and we keep it, we are strengthening our spiritual side.

A key covenant that all members of the Church have made is their baptismal covenant. Alma teaches the covenant, as found in the Book of Mosiah, chapter 18:

8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;
9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—
10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

Our path after baptism is not to be trod alone. It is to be shared with others. Those that need help. Those that need comfort. It is a life of sacrifice. Sacrificing self interests in place of the needs of others. Sister McConkie echoed this truth:

If we will keep the associated covenants, the sacred priesthood ordinances will change us, sanctify us, and prepare us to enter the presence of the Lord. So, we bear one another’s burdens; we strengthen one another. We retain a remission of sins when we give spiritual and temporal relief to the poor, the hungry, the naked, and the sick.

We are not naturally inclined to this behavior. In the same conference, President Monson admonished the Priesthood holders of the church that charity and kindness are two traits that should be more prominently displayed. This is an apt warning as society seems to hold up a false image of a man as one who is uncouth, uncaring, and not moved by the plight of his fellow man.

Said President Monson:

Brethren, we do not honor the priesthood of God if we are not kind to others.

And to further drive that point home, he quoted Elder Wirthlin:

Kindness is the essence of a celestial life. Kindness is how a Christlike person treats others. Kindness should permeate all of our words and actions at work, at school, at church, and especially in our homes.

Kindness is essential to keeping our baptismal convent of helping and serving others. As we do so, we will find ourselves imbued with a more God-like trait: charity.

Of charity, the Prophet Mormon wrote:

45 And charity suffereth long, and is kind, and envieth not, and is not puffed up, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, and rejoiceth not in iniquity but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
46 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, if ye have not charity, ye are nothing, for charity never faileth. Wherefore, cleave unto charity, which is the greatest of all, for all things must fail—
47 But charity is the pure love of Christ, and it endureth forever; and whoso is found possessed of it at the last day, it shall be well with him.

It is not easy to keep our covenants. We need spiritual strength and heaven-sent help. This comes from one source: Jesus Christ.

It should come as no surprise that the One who lead a perfect life, the One who we call Holy, the very One that was baptized to show us the way, would be our strength and our example.

…if we would be holy, we must learn to sit at the feet of the Holy One of Israel and give time to holiness. Do we set aside the phone, the never-ending to-do list, and the cares of worldliness? Prayer, study, and heeding the word of God invite His cleansing and healing love into our souls. Let us take time to be holy, that we may be filled with His sacred and sanctifying Spirit. With the Holy Ghost as our guide, we will be prepared to receive the Savior in the beauty of holiness.

The Lord has provided a place for us to gain this spiritual strength in spades. It is found in His holy temples. The very places mentioned at the beginning of this post. Stamped with the words, “Holiness to the Lord”. His home on earth.

During these times wherein we are unable to enter into the temple, President Nelson has offered the following guidance:

Brothers and sisters, during times of our distress when temples are closed, you can still draw upon the power of your temple covenants and endowment as you honor your covenants. Please use this time when temples are closed to continue to live a temple-worthy life or to become temple worthy.
Talk about the temple with your family and friends. Because Jesus Christ is at the center of everything we do in the temple, as you think more about the temple you will be thinking more about Him. Study and pray to learn more about the power and knowledge with which you have been endowed—or with which you will yet be endowed.

The reality that holiness is possible here in my mortal life, even amidst all the chaos, is deeply comforting. Christ, keeping the covenants I've made with Him, and His holy temples are key to this process. Holiness will bring needed refuge from the storms of life and protection against the adversary.