Physically Dirty, Spiritually Cleansed

Often times the sacrament isn’t given the necessary importance it deserves. In Alma 5:19 it says, “I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up, having the image of God engraven upon your countenances?” 

If a person was to be physically dirty, like coming home from trek for example, do they ever feel guilty for wanting to take a shower? The answer is usually no. Getting rid of the accumulation of sweat and dirt feels relieving! The sacrament is a similar cleansing, except for our spirits. How come we sometimes feel guilty to repent? Or even when we are dirty, why don’t we have that same urgency to repent? The sacrament usually is only 15 minutes long, a similar time frame for taking a shower. Do we partake of the sacrament, but don’t turn on the water? We need to desire the sacrament with the urgency as if we were physically dirty because we are equally spiritually dirty. We need the sacrament so that we may look to God with a pure heart and clean hands. The sacrament is real because our Savior, Jesus Christ atoned for our sins. It is by Him and through Him that we can become clean.