Removing and Overcoming Smells

I recently bought something online, and, being frugal, I bought it used. When it arrived, it soon became obvious that the item's previous owner had been a smoker, and apparently, a fairly heavy one. So, over the past several days, I've been applying a few odor-removing techniques. I've put it in a small, airtight container with a bowl of baking soda, I've aired it out outside, and I've added a dryer sheet to the small container, so a good smell could help overpower the bad one.

And such it is with us and sin. We need to do all we can to remove sin from our lives. And yet, none of us is perfect. We will still have vices that stubbornly cling to us, no matter how hard we try to remove them. That's why it's also important to cultivate virtues, so our positive traits can overpower our negative ones.

When dealing with sin, it makes sense to be as thorough as possible. We should do all we can to remove the stain of sin, including, of course, asking Christ to help us remove them through the power of His Atonement, but we can't just leave it at that. We also need to do good deeds to help us make up for the bad we've done. Just as good smells can help overpower bad smells, so too can good acts and habits help us overcome bad acts and habits.

With both smells and acts, it's best to both decrease the bad and increase the good.