On Sanctification

Much of my ponderings, of late, have been directed toward the subject of sanctification. While sanctification is one of the key things which a person must attain in preparation for our inheritance in that eternal kingdom where we may dwell with the Father and the Son in endless joy and increase, it is not as frequent a topic of discussion, instruction, or study as one might assume a subject of such importance should be. The mainstream interpretation of the meaning of sanctification seems most often to be synonymous with cleansing. While both cleansing and sanctification are necessary, they are separate and individual steps through which we must pass in order to qualify for the celestial realms.

Cleansing, or to be cleansed, is, in gospel terms, either an event or condition of the soul where the stains of sins and transgressions are wiped from the records of heaven, guilt is assuaged, and a person stands clean before God through the redeeming blood of Christ the Lord. Baptism by immersion at the hands of a legal administer in the Priesthood of God is the first experience by which men and women are cleansed. From that day to the end of the probationary time extended to each man, he may experience again and again the miraculous cleansing power of the Atonement of Christ, granting to him forgiveness and peace. The emblems of the body and blood of Christ, administered to those who have sought forgiveness of sins by witnessing before God that they are willing to take upon them the name of Christ, burying the old man of sin in the waters and arising a new man in Christ, brings in the partaking thereof a renewal of that covenant and the assurance of forgiveness to the faithful and penitent. Thus, by the humble prayer of contrition and the regular renewal of covenants, man may begin the path which leads to eternal life by way of Gethsemane's grove, Golgotha's cross, and the empty tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.

But this cleansing is only the beginning of that which needs to take place in our souls to be prepared to return to God. The scriptures plainly teach that we must be cleansed and sanctified. And what is this sanctification? Sanctify, a word of latin origin (sanctus or sanctificare) meaning to make holy or consecrated. The suffix "tion" means the process of, or the process by which. Thus sanctification literally means the process by which a thing is rendered holy and consecrated. Consecrate (also derived from the same Latin root) is to dedicate or set apart for particular purpose; once consecrated, the object or person ought only to be used in pursuit or support of that thing for which they have been consecrated. A sanctified person, then, is one whose life is dedicated and set apart to living a holy life; a life for God and his Christ. A truly sanctified person has learned to live in the world but not of the world, forsaking every evil, unclean, or base thing which the devil and his angels have to offer. They have learned to live in the Spirit of the Lord, doing only his will. The sanctified soul has learned to give their present and future to Christ as well as the sins and mistakes of the past.

Cleansing, as a condition or event, is the end result of the process of repentance. Sanctification is a process through which we must pass, and by which we become perfect in Christ. The process of repentance, being equal in its importance to the process of sanctification, deserves its own exploration, which I do not intend to do here, and shall therefore leave the subject of repentance for another day. Since sanctification is a process through which we all must pass, and by which we prepare to meet God, those who desire it will also desire to understand all they may about the process by which sanctification occurs in ones life.

At the heart of the matter of becoming sanctified are our desires. Our desires govern our thoughts and words and actions, and are therefore crucial in the process of sanctification. How is this done? How do we effect change in the things for which we desire? Said Elder Maxwell "educating and training our desires clearly requires understanding the truths of the gospel." (According to the Desire of [Our] Hearts, Neal A. Maxwell, Oct. 1996 General Conference) And President Brigham Young said "All who would understand the things of God must understand them by the Spirit of God." (Discourses of Brigham Young, p. 50) "Now note this statement: “Could you gaze into heaven five minutes, you would know more than you would by reading all that ever was written on the subject.”(Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 324.) I think our concern is to get personal revelation, to know for ourselves, independent of any other individual or set of individuals, what the mind and the will of the Lord is as pertaining to us in our individual concerns and to receive confirmation of his mind and will as pertaining to his church." (How to Get Personal Revelation, Elder Bruce R. McConkie, New Era June 1980)

Now, for a moment, consider the state of a child who has never learned or been taught that anything more can be bought with his hard earned dollar than gum balls. In his current condition, he is incapable of desiring to save and spend his money on anything more rewarding or consequential than gum balls. At first, he is sure to enjoy the sugary taste and the challenge of learning at first to blow bubbles, and then at length to blow larger and larger ones. But just as surely, he will, in the end, become board with the balls of sticky delight, lose interest, and unless he learns about some new thing on which he might spend his money, he will likely cease to be industrious, his desires dying.

It is a very similar condition in which the children of Heavenly Father find themselves when they have never learned or been taught the things of God. For a time they are satisfied with the sugar coated lusts of this world. But they too, at length, fail to be satisfying. In the absence of some light brought to them either by the whisperings of the Holy Ghost or the words of Gods corporeal servants upon the earth, they become like the child, incapable of desiring greater things because of ignorance. In this state they begin to despair, to yield to their grosser natures, and enslave themselves in the bonds of iniquity from which they cannot break free, having no hope of a better world or a redemption. The truth of the word of the Lord is made clear when He said "It is impossible for man to be saved in ignorance." (D&C 131:6)

Because what we know determines what we desire, the amount of truth and light which we know is directly proportional to how aligned our will and desires are with God, and also largely determines our ability or inability to break free from the chains of bad habits and patterns of living, even addictions. "It is our own desires which determine the sizing and the attractiveness of various temptations. We set our thermostats as to temptations." (According to the Desire of [Our] Hearts, Neal A. Maxwell, Oct. 1996 General Conference) Therefore, the importance of seeking and following personal revelation becomes paramount in the lives of the saints; for it is largely by this revelation that they have power to throw off the natural man, and become saints.

Joseph Fielding Smith taught "Through the Holy Ghost the truth is woven into the very fibre and sinews of the body so that it cannot be forgotten." This is the mechanism by which the spirit works. When we exercise our agency correctly, we allow the Holy Ghost to be our constant companion and teacher. When he testifies to us and teaches us truth, weaving it into the fabric of our souls, he literally begins the process of changing us from the natural man to a saint; elevating our thoughts, and reshaping our desires to match God’s. This reshaping of our desires is the first step in sanctification. Consider what happens to the people of King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon.

From his tower, constructed for the purpose of a great conference with his people, King Benjamin taught the gospel and testified to them of the things which he taught. As he spoke, the Spirit of Revelation was upon the people and revealed to them the truth of the things spoken by their King. As the Holy Ghost infused their souls with light and truth, He literally began reshaping and refashioning them; changing them from the natural man into saints. Their desires had been changed by the infusion of light and truth in their souls which had elevated their thinking and desires sufficiently that they cried out saying "the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent... has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually." (Mosiah 5:2) These people had experienced the first phase of sanctification; they desired only for righteousness.

This first critical step in the process of sanctification was also manifest in the lives of three hundred of the Lamanites who, after imprisoning the Nephi and Lehi and depriving them, going "many days without food, behold, [the Lamanites] went forth into the prison to take them that they might slay them... And it came to pass that Nephi and Lehi did stand forth and began to speak unto them, saying: Fear not, for behold, it is God that has shown unto you... that ye cannot lay your hands on us to slay us... And it came to pass that they were overshadowed with a cloud of darkness, and an awful solemn fear came upon them. And it came to pass that there came a voice as if it were above the cloud of darkness, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, and seek no more to destroy my servants whom I have sent unto you to declare good tidings. And it came to pass when they heard this voice, and beheld that it was not a voice of thunder, neither was it a voice of a great tumultuous noise, but behold, it was a still voice of perfect mildness, as if it had been a whisper, and it did pierce even to the very soul— And notwithstanding the mildness of the voice, behold the earth shook exceedingly, and the walls of the prison trembled again, as if it were about to tumble to the earth; and behold the cloud of darkness, which had overshadowed them, did not disperse— And behold the voice came again, saying: Repent ye, repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand; and seek no more to destroy my servants. And it came to pass that the earth shook again, and the walls trembled. And also again the third time the voice came, and did speak unto them marvelous words which cannot be uttered by man; and the walls did tremble again, and the earth shook as if it were about to divide asunder. And it came to pass that the Lamanites could not flee because of the cloud of darkness which did overshadow them; yea, and also they were immovable because of the fear which did come upon them. Now there was one among them who was a Nephite by birth, who had once belonged to the church of God but had dissented from them. And it came to pass that he turned him about, and behold, he saw through the cloud of darkness the faces of Nephi and Lehi; and behold, they did shine exceedingly, even as the faces of angels. And he beheld that they did lift their eyes to heaven; and they were in the attitude as if talking or lifting their voices to some being whom they beheld. And it came to pass that this man did cry unto the multitude, that they might turn and look. And behold, there was power given unto them that they did turn and look; and they did behold the faces of Nephi and Lehi. And they said unto the man: Behold, what do all these things mean, and who is it with whom these men do converse? Now the man’s name was Aminadab. And Aminadab said unto them: They do converse with the angels of God. And it came to pass that the Lamanites said unto him: What shall we do, that this cloud of darkness may be removed from overshadowing us? And Aminadab said unto them: You must repent, and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall have faith in Christ, who was taught unto you by Alma, and Amulek, and Zeezrom; and when ye shall do this, the cloud of darkness shall be removed from overshadowing you. And it came to pass that they all did begin to cry unto the voice of him who had shaken the earth; yea, they did cry even until the cloud of darkness was dispersed. And it came to pass that when they cast their eyes about, and saw that the cloud of darkness was dispersed from overshadowing them, behold, they saw that they were encircled about, yea every soul, by a pillar of fire. And Nephi and Lehi were in the midst of them; yea, they were encircled about; yea, they were as if in the midst of a flaming fire, yet it did harm them not, neither did it take hold upon the walls of the prison; and they were filled with that joy which is unspeakable and full of glory. And behold, the Holy Spirit of God did come down from heaven, and did enter into their hearts, and they were filled as if with fire, and they could speak forth marvelous words. And it came to pass that there came a voice unto them, yea, a pleasant voice, as if it were a whisper, saying: Peace, peace be unto you, because of your faith in my Well Beloved, who was from the foundation of the world." (Helaman 5:22-47)

The experience of this group of Lamanites clearly demonstrates that they had had enough truth taught to them by Nephi and Lehi, and their brethren who had come before them, that when they were brought to a condition where they were humble enough to seek after God and His truths they received a witness and testimony woven into their souls by the power of the Holy Ghost sufficiently so that they too experienced the same kind of sanctification as the people of King Benjamin in their day. These murders turned saints manifest immediately, by their words and their works, that they too had no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually. Departing from the prison they at once began the work of spreading the Word to their brethren, bring about a great conversion in the land of the Lamanites.

Many of God's children on the earth have had experiences which parallel, in varying degrees, the experiences of King Benjamin's people and the Lamanites at the prison with Nephi and Lehi. Many of us yet have some desires for those things which are not right and good. In these cases, one of the most potent antidotes available to us is revelation. It is all well and good to ask God to take poor desires away from us. But as with all of the baser parts of our nature, when we seek to change and forsake the natural man we must not only abandon bad things, but embrace good things. Therefore, rather than asking only for strength against temptation or asking that desire for sin be taken or purged from us, let us ask that we be led to understand those things which, if we understood, would reshape our desires sufficiently that those evils which once were appealing might now be only abhorrent.

Now, this process of having your hearts changed such that you only desire to do good continually is only half road to sanctification; and if we are honest with ourselves, it is almost always the easier part. Accompanying revelation is a responsibility to live according to that which has been revealed. Following their first step into sanctification, the people of King Benjamin were then responsible to set about changing their lives to bring them into harmony with those things which they now knew by the power of the Holy Ghost. Undoubtedly the Lamanites, who experienced a mighty change of heart, needed time and much practice to overcome habits and patterns of living formed over a life time. Bringing our actions into harmony with the truths of eternity and the will of our Father in Heaven is a challenge for most of us. At one time or another each of us has likely felt like the author of the hymn "the flesh was weak, my blood ran chill, but my free spirit cried 'I will'."

Having our will in harmony with God, and then always living up to that understanding, this is sanctification. Moroni taught that this kind of living, wherein we have no more disposition for evil, and have learned to live accordingly, will eventually lead one to be beyond the power and temptation of Satan. To arrive at this level of living is to be "sanctified in the flesh." (3 Nephi 28) Having put off the natural man, rejecting all the temptations and lures which the devil and his angels have to offer, we become the brethren of the people of the City of Enoch who, having been cleansed and sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, were taken up out of this mortal probation to wait with God until that day when all things shall be fulfilled and the great Jehovah shall say "the work is done." This is the meaning and intent of the injunction to be cleansed and sanctified.

Much attention and great import are given to the power of Christ to cleanse us, and rightly so. But the Christian whose focus is solely on the cleansing power of the atonement of Christ is like the man who looks only backward to the past. That man is able to take only stumbling, backward steps toward God, willing always to turn over his past to Him, eager to seek forgiveness for his sins and mistakes, but struggles to forsake. The power of the atonement is not limited to our cleansing only, but through the grace of God, bought by suffering and death of Christ, we have access to the enabling power of the atonement and the revelations of heaven. Lets us face forward. Turn to Christ; yielding to Him all that we have, our present and our future as well as our past. And by the light of revelation, let us change from the natural man, becoming sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, even until we shall be perfected in Christ.