"Unspotted From The World"

I really, really enjoyed an article from the July Ensign titled "Unspotted From The World" and so, naturally, I thought that I'd make you all sit through my ramblings about it. :)

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Julie Thompson wrote the article, and this is what she had to say:

"A few years ago, I arrived at the Bountiful Utah Temple to fulfill a late-night cleaning assignment. The turnout for the assignment was impressive, and I wondered for a moment if some would be sent home. I was more than ready to volunteer to leave early. Then I cynically thought to myself, 'Of course they won't let us go early. They will find menial jobs for all of us, thinking it is their duty to keep us here the entire two hours.' I remembered a previous assignment during which I had dusted for more than an hour, only to return a cloth that looked as clean as it had been when it was given to me. I prepared myself to spend two hours cleaning things that didn't appear to need cleaning. Obviously, I had come to the temple that night out of a sense of duty more than from a desire to serve.

"Our group was led to a small chapel for a devotional. The custodian who conducted the devotional said something that will forever change the way I look at temple cleaning assignments. After welcoming us, he proceeded to explain that we were not there to clean things that didn't need cleaning but to keep the Lord's house from ever becoming dirty. As stewards of one of the most sacred places on earth, we had a responsibility to keep it spotless.

"His message penetrated my heart, and I proceeded to my assigned area with a new enthusiasm to protect the Lord's house. I spent time with a soft-bristled paintbrush, dusting the tiny grooves in door frames, baseboards, and the legs of tables and chairs. Had I been given this assignment on an earlier visit, I might have thought it ridiculous and carelessly brushed over the areas in an effort to appear busy. But this time, I made sure the bristles reached into the tiniest of crevices.

"Because this job was neither physically nor mentally taxing, I was blessed with time to ponder while I worked. I first realized that I never paid attention to such minute details in my own home but cleaned those areas that others would see first, neglecting those known only to members of my family and me.

"I next realized that there were times when I had lived the gospel in a similar fashion-- living those principles and fulfilling those assignments that were most obvious to those around me while ignoring things that seemed known only to my immediate family or me. I attended church, held callings, fulfilled assignments, went visiting teaching-- all in full view of members of our ward-- but neglected to attend the temple regularly, have personal and family scripture study and prayer, and hold family home evening. I taught lessons and spoke in church but sometimes lacked true charity in my heart when it came to interactions with others.

"That night in the temple, I studied the paintbrush in my hand and asked myself, 'What are the little crevices in my life that need more attention?' I resolved that rather than plan to repeatedly clean the areas of my life that needed attention, I would try harder never to let them become dirty.

"I remember my temple-cleaning lesson each time we are reminded to keep ourselves 'unspotted from the world' (James 1:27)."

. . . . .

I don't think I can elaborate much on this without tarnishing it, so I'll keep this short! First of all, I have been blessed with the opportunity to clean the Oquirrh Mountain Utah temple, and while I wasn't enlightened like this sister during my service, I still enjoyed myself immensely. It was a special experience to get to notice all of the tiny carvings and ornate detail that is often missed when one goes to perform works in the temple. It's not often one finds themselves regularly sitting on the carpeted stairs, scooting down step by step so as to polish the railings, after all. :)

I am also guilty of neglecting to 'deep clean the crevices' in my own home and in my own life. I would be convicted by a jury on both counts! hahaha! My excuse for the build-up of dust in my house is that it's difficult to keep up on everything I'm expected to do each day and clean the bathroom baseboards with a Q-tip. . . but that got me to thinking of what we each actually-really-honest-to-goodess need to do each day, and what we have convinced ourselves we need to do.

Is it possible we could each work at simplifying our lives to make room for the important little things that may get pushed to the side?

Now, that's not to say that I think Heavenly Father is going to ask us why we didn't whitewash our entire house each spring before allowing us to dwell with him in Celestial Glory. It's not reeeeally that important.  But spending time cleansing our 'natural man'-- preparing us to enter into God's presence-- is important. We must put aside the natural man, after all {for and excellent talk given on that subject, click HERE}.


So, what crevice in YOUR life needs to be attacked with a soft-bristled paintbrush and a little soapy water?

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If you're anything like me, you get to tallying up everything that needs to be done and you just want to lay down in a hole for a while. The only advice I can give myself {and you} is that we need only worry about one thing at a time. I can handle working on changing ONE area, and not worry too much over the rest of them for a bit.  


The important thing is that each of us keeps trying. Despite our best cleaning attempts, we will never arrive at the Judgement Bar of God perfect. We can be clean through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, our Savior, but we will not be perfect. But we do need to be trying. We should arrive with our paintbrush in hand, so to speak.


So let's get busy!