3 Nephi 12:8 - The Pure in Heart Shall See God
3 Nephi 12:8 – And blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (see also Matthew 5:8)
One of the beatitudes of the Savior that he taught on the Sermon on the Mount and again to the Nephites in the new covenant world was purity in heart. “Blessed are the pure in heart,” the Lord taught, “for they shall see God.” This is a beautiful teaching, though perhaps misunderstood. For some, the beatitudes are blessings meant for future delivery (meaning after death). For others, perhaps they see these as a little more superficial (abstractly seeing God or his presence). For me, I see this as part of the Lord's invitation to behold his glory while I am in the flesh.
Do we have to be in the temple to see God? No…and yes. Records of the prophets show very few were in the temple when they beheld God. Yet if you think about it, though you don’t have to be within the walls of the temple to see the face of God, you are a temple of God, and God “doth not dwell in unholy temples” (Alma 7:21). So if you want to see God, your temple needs to be pure and holy. This is why only the pure in heart will see God.
Do you want to see God? Ask yourself these questions: Do I have the image of God engraven upon my countenance? Am I pure in heart?
One of the beatitudes of the Savior that he taught on the Sermon on the Mount and again to the Nephites in the new covenant world was purity in heart. “Blessed are the pure in heart,” the Lord taught, “for they shall see God.” This is a beautiful teaching, though perhaps misunderstood. For some, the beatitudes are blessings meant for future delivery (meaning after death). For others, perhaps they see these as a little more superficial (abstractly seeing God or his presence). For me, I see this as part of the Lord's invitation to behold his glory while I am in the flesh.
Pure in Heart
Does the Lord really mean the pure in heart can behold God? Is it literal?
Yes indeed! Keep in mind that God reveals himself when he is ready, not necessarily when we are ready. Just because someone has not yet had the opportunity to see and behold the face of God does not mean they are not pure in heart. But purity of heart is an absolute criteria to see God.
Alma asks the brethren of the church at Zarahemla, “Have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenance…? 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” (Alma 5:14, 19). Becoming pure in heart means having his holy image engraven upon you. It is not that his image simply overshadows you, but is an irremovable part of you, it is you. One has to be spiritually born of God. It is not enough to do righteous things. One has to become righteous in the process. In other words, one must become like God.
To be pure in heart requires that we become perfected in Christ. “Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness” (Moroni 10:32). In the process of becoming perfected in Christ through the grace of Christ, we can also through the grace of Christ become sanctified. We start by forsaking our sins, or “denying ourselves of all ungodliness”, and coming unto Christ. Then we grow in love, obedience, and sacrifice.
To be pure in heart requires that we become perfected in Christ. “Come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness” (Moroni 10:32). In the process of becoming perfected in Christ through the grace of Christ, we can also through the grace of Christ become sanctified. We start by forsaking our sins, or “denying ourselves of all ungodliness”, and coming unto Christ. Then we grow in love, obedience, and sacrifice.
It also requires that we are willing to sacrifice all things to the Lord. To a group of early saints in Jackson County, Missouri, the Lord proclaims, “Verily I say unto you, all among them who know their hearts are honest, and are broken, and their spirits contrite, and are willing to observe their covenants by sacrifice—yea, every sacrifice which I, the Lord, shall command—they are accepted of me” (D&C 97:8).
As we turn our hearts to God, he in turn sanctifies us, and purifies us. Becoming pure in heart is a gift granted by God as we do our best to become like him. As we become more pure and holy, we become more like Jesus Christ. Moroni shows that one of the pinnacle characteristic aspects of the pure in heart is charity, the pure love of Christ. “Pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love…, That when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (Moroni 7:48). God is love, and if we want to become pure in heart, as he is, then we must love as he loves.
Seeing the Face of God
Once we become pure in heart, we can have the privilege of beholding the face of God. This is the whole point of the temples of God. The purpose of temples is to teach men and women how to come to Jesus Christ and pass through the veil in the flesh and receive all the blessing and promises that go along with that. The Lord counseled the early saints of Zion in Missouri to build a house unto him and promised that if they built it and did not allow “any unclean thing to come into it, that it be not defiled, my glory shall rest upon it; yea, and my presences shall be there, for I will come into it, and all the pure in heart that shall come into it shall see God” (D&C 91:15-16, emphasis added). That temple was never built, but that promise still holds true.
“Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am” (D&C 93:1, emphasis added). God is no respecter of persons. He does not hold back heaven’s greatest gifts and blessings from us. All are invited to come and behold their God. Speaking in Commerce, Illinois, to a group of saints, Joseph Smith told them, “When the Lord has thoroughly proved him [any person] and finds that the man is determined to serve him at all hazard, then the man will find his calling and election made sure. Then it will be his privilege to receive the Other Comforter which the Lord hath promised the saints as is recorded in the testimony of St. John” (Willard Richards Pocket Companion, 27 Jun 1839).
“There is one Comforter [the Holy Ghost] and another Comforter [Jesus Christ] to abide with you forever. Reach to things within the vail [sic], know that you are sealed. If you get it, it will stand by you forever. How is it obtained? Keep my commandments & I will pray, etc. It is a privilege to view the Son of Man himself. He dwelleth with you and shall be in you; his spirit shall be in you… God is not a respecter of persons, we all have the same privilege. Come to God. Weary him until he blesses you, etc. We are entitled to the same blessings” (Discourse by Joseph Smith “before 8 August 1939” recorded in Willard Richards Pocket Companion).
As we turn our hearts to God, he in turn sanctifies us, and purifies us. Becoming pure in heart is a gift granted by God as we do our best to become like him. As we become more pure and holy, we become more like Jesus Christ. Moroni shows that one of the pinnacle characteristic aspects of the pure in heart is charity, the pure love of Christ. “Pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love…, That when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (Moroni 7:48). God is love, and if we want to become pure in heart, as he is, then we must love as he loves.
Seeing the Face of God
Once we become pure in heart, we can have the privilege of beholding the face of God. This is the whole point of the temples of God. The purpose of temples is to teach men and women how to come to Jesus Christ and pass through the veil in the flesh and receive all the blessing and promises that go along with that. The Lord counseled the early saints of Zion in Missouri to build a house unto him and promised that if they built it and did not allow “any unclean thing to come into it, that it be not defiled, my glory shall rest upon it; yea, and my presences shall be there, for I will come into it, and all the pure in heart that shall come into it shall see God” (D&C 91:15-16, emphasis added). That temple was never built, but that promise still holds true.
“Verily, thus saith the Lord: It shall come to pass that every soul who forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am” (D&C 93:1, emphasis added). God is no respecter of persons. He does not hold back heaven’s greatest gifts and blessings from us. All are invited to come and behold their God. Speaking in Commerce, Illinois, to a group of saints, Joseph Smith told them, “When the Lord has thoroughly proved him [any person] and finds that the man is determined to serve him at all hazard, then the man will find his calling and election made sure. Then it will be his privilege to receive the Other Comforter which the Lord hath promised the saints as is recorded in the testimony of St. John” (Willard Richards Pocket Companion, 27 Jun 1839).
“There is one Comforter [the Holy Ghost] and another Comforter [Jesus Christ] to abide with you forever. Reach to things within the vail [sic], know that you are sealed. If you get it, it will stand by you forever. How is it obtained? Keep my commandments & I will pray, etc. It is a privilege to view the Son of Man himself. He dwelleth with you and shall be in you; his spirit shall be in you… God is not a respecter of persons, we all have the same privilege. Come to God. Weary him until he blesses you, etc. We are entitled to the same blessings” (Discourse by Joseph Smith “before 8 August 1939” recorded in Willard Richards Pocket Companion).
Do we have to be in the temple to see God? No…and yes. Records of the prophets show very few were in the temple when they beheld God. Yet if you think about it, though you don’t have to be within the walls of the temple to see the face of God, you are a temple of God, and God “doth not dwell in unholy temples” (Alma 7:21). So if you want to see God, your temple needs to be pure and holy. This is why only the pure in heart will see God.
Do you want to see God? Ask yourself these questions: Do I have the image of God engraven upon my countenance? Am I pure in heart?