Upon my house....

UPON MY HOUSE SHALL IT BEGIN

Those who truly follow Christ and understand what Zion really is, hope, pray and long for those glorious days to come. But what will it take to get there? What is required of us… individually?

Consider the Lord’s statement about the needed spiritual cleansing which will be required as found in D&C 112:25 – “And upon my house shall it begin, and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord.”

Have you read or considered that statement as if it applied to you personally? If Zion is to be established, then it needs to begin in my house… my own personal house and home… and within my own physical temple.

Zion cannot begin for me until it begins within me! And then from me unto the rest of my own house. And then outward from there.

In today’s world, the adversary has stirred up so much division that he makes it easy and enticing for us to look elsewhere towards others, institutions, governments and point a finger of blame and fault. And surely there is plenty to go around. But if we find ourselves caught up in pointing the finger of accusation at others, then we have fallen into deception with the great accuser… the adversary himself.

Perhaps if we want change in the world, we should be more focused on making the needed changes, beginning more thoroughly within our own heart and home.

“Zion will not come until the members of the Church are willing to keep their covenants and walk unitedly, for until the members learn to walk in full accord and in obedience with all the commandments, this day cannot come. It may be necessary in order to bring this to pass for the Lord to use drastic measures and cleanse the Church from everything that offends.” – Joseph Fielding Smith

Will we submit willingly to letting God prevail? Or will we need to be the recipients of some of those drastic measures Pres. Smith was talking about in the above quote?

Certainly, we will all need to undergo some additional transformations into greater Charity and spiritual clarity. But if we can only lift others to our own level of conversion, then how can we lift others and prepare the world to become Zion if we aren’t yet there ourselves.

What does it mean to be Zion – the pure in heart? What does it mean to Let God Prevail?

Perhaps I could illustrate by sharing a personal experience I had several years ago. This isn’t to bring any attention to myself, but rather to illustrate the principle behind what I am talking about.

SORTING WITH THE SAVIOR

I had an interesting dream, during which the Savior was sitting with me in my home. I was overjoyed that He was there spending a few moments with me, and I expressed this great joy and excitement with Him. I could sense that He wanted to be with me more often, but I realized something was preventing Him from doing so.

I then felt prompted to ask Him, “What are some of the things that prevent you from being with me more often?”

He smiled tenderly and then reached over and opened a drawer and pointed to some music CDs, which I had forgotten were even there. I hadn’t thought of them as necessarily being bad, but I realized that if listened to wouldn’t allow the Spirit to stay in my home. He held them up and asked me what I wanted Him to do with them. I told Him that if they prevented Him from being with me more often, then I would want to get rid of them. He smiled and then tossed them into a nearby garbage can, where as they entered, they simply disappeared.

He then pulled out some movie DVDs from our entertainment center and held them up for me to see. Again, He asked me what I would like Him to do with them. I again asked that if they prevented Him from being with me, then I would want Him to throw them away. He tossed them towards the garbage can and, like the CDs, they disappeared completely before hitting the bottom.

He repeated this process pulling out not only various physical items, but also hidden parts of my soul, such as incorrect thought processes, unbelief or false beliefs, or various small sins of commission or omission that I was failing to recognize were there.

Each time He politely asked me what I wanted Him to do with each these things, and He waited patiently and unbothered for my reply. I knew He completely respected my agency and if I had asked Him to keep something, He would have replaced it to its prior spot and left it there for me. There were some things that remarkably, I hesitated about. But in His presence and beholding Him, and realizing that there was nothing more I desired than to have Him be with me, I felt empowered to ask Him to discard them for me. Each time He smiled and did so with love, and I felt a hidden burden being lifted from my soul.

After a time, He paused, smiled His wonderful smile and said, “It is enough.” I clearly understood that it wasn’t actually any items or habits He had actually been concerned about, but His statement “it is enough” was more concerned with the state and condition of my heart to yield to His will. He smiled and my soul began to fill with joy knowing that He could now come and dwell with me. It was at this moment that I awoke from my dream.

As I pondered over this experience, I felt in wonderment over it. It was so symbolic of our mortal experience. I truly believe that His greatest desire is to be with us! But He respects our agency and choices completely as well. He waited for me to ask Him what it was that was preventing Him from being with me. As He revealed those things to me, He again asked what “I” wanted “Him” to do about it. And when I chose to give it away, it was “Him” who removed that burden or sinful part of my life from me. But He did not force this process in any way shape or form, the choice was always mine to make.

I realized upon awakening that there are still things in my life, both temporally and spiritual that I need to turn over to Him and ask for His help in removing, and feel blessed that such awareness is part of what will allow Him to be with me more literally and frequently.

Wonderful lessons to consider, ponder upon, pray over and seek to implement more fully into my life.

As you can see from this experience from my journal, I think the house we need to focus on cleansing isn’t going to be found by pointing out flaws in others, no matter who they are or what institutions they may represent. Instead, it will begin as we invite and allow the Savior to begin cleansing our hearts and our homes.

In establishing Zion, are we willing to sincerely ask the Lord, “Upon my house let it begin”?