In her talk “Look toward Eternity!” Sister Elaine S Dalton speaks about the importance personal worthiness. She begins her talk by sharing her experience when her first grandson was born. The spirit the family felt was very strong. She leaned over to her youngest son, and asked him if understood why it was important to stay pure and clean. He responded that he did.
Sister Dalton then goes on to talk about the Plan of Salvation. She reminds us that we chose that plan and defended it before we came to Earth. We were prepared and understood the importance of staying personally worthy in order to return to live with our Father again.
Sister Dalton then goes on to talk about what worthiness is. She says:
“To become worthy, we make choices that will enable us to return to our Heavenly Father’s presence. We do those things, which will qualify us to claim all the blessings that He has in store for us. This is the reason we are here on the earth—”to see if [we] will do all things whatsoever the Lord . . . shall command.” It is through our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that we can resist temptation. Our faith will enable us to shun evil. It will be repulsive to us because “light cleaveth unto light” and “virtue loveth virtue.”
“To become unspotted from the world requires not only faith but repentance and obedience. We must live the standards and do those things which will entitle us to the constant companionship and guidance of the Holy Ghost—for the Spirit cannot dwell in unholy temples.”
Sister Dalton says that many people believe that it is too difficult to remain worthy while living in the world. She then tells about others who make the hard choices that are necessary so that they can live worthy lives and return to live with Heavenly Father again. She reminds us of the importance of taking the Sacrament each week.
Sister Dalton goes on to share some advice that President Hinckley gave her when he married her and her husband years ago. He counseled them to pray together, as a couple and a family, to pay their tithing, and read the scriptures. He also counseled them to remain worthy so that they could receive the blessings that they needed.
Sister Dalton encourages us to continue to attend the temple. She encourages the youth to set their goals on being able to attend the temple when the time comes. The blessings of the temple will help us return to Heavenly Father.
This is a wonderful talk. It really is important to stay worthy. The little things that we choose each day will help us to continue to feel the spirit and work on staying worthy of the blessings that the Lord has in store for us. As we do the little things, the bigger things will fall into place. I hope that you will take the time to read this wonderful talk.
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