Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Doctrine and Covenants 133:62

"And unto him that repenteth and sanctifieth himself before the Lord shall be given eternal life."
Doctrine and Covenants 133:62


I like this... very simple and straightforward. We have to repent, which is get rid of our bad actions, and sanctify ourselves, which is get rid of the bad parts of ourselves inside... so purify ourselves, in body and in spirit.  Not so simple and straightforward when you are trying to do it, of course, but a nicely balanced way to think about it.  Repentance is the first step... not doing what we shouldn't.  Sometimes this can just be a matter of willpower, but as we move on to Sanctification, we see that we have to go beyond that, into not *wanting* to sin, even more than just not acting upon those desires.  Thus, we truly become "new" ... I mean, same soul, same body, same quirky sense of humor... but new in the sense that we truly want what God wants, and we no longer find it desirable to go in a different direction... which is huge, and which changes us thoroughly.  Christ gave us that gift, the space to change ourselves that incredibly, with his help. ... to learn and grow and become new.  Today, let's work on those changes... the external ones *and* the internal ones.

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