Clearing Out Debris

In his first talk this General Conference, President Russell M. Nelson spoke of the ongoing Salt Lake City Temple renovation and how it was necessary to clear out old debris and infrastructure. He then related this process to us and spoke of how it's necessary to clear out the old debris in our lives.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of repentance. Because of the Savior's Atonement, His gospel provides an invitation to keep changing, growing, and becoming more pure. It is a gospel of hope, or healing, and of progress. Thus, the gospel is a message of joy. Our spirits rejoice with every small step forward we take.

Naturally, making such progress isn't easy, and it isn't painless. Some of us have grown rather attached to our debris, or it to us. Like weeds, sins and imperfections can be difficult and painful to remove. Yet, once the debris has been removed, we can build something much better in its place: our ideal selves. Just as the Salt Lake Temple will be greatly improved by the renovations going on there, we too can be greatly improved by the changes the gospel of Jesus Christ works in our lives. We can become better than we currently are, and we and our spirits will be much happier when we do.

Clearing out our debris through repentance is a necessary step in becoming better, happier, more fully realized people. In the short term, it will be painful, messy, and difficult, but in the long term, it will help us gain an infinite amount of joy.