Something happens inside of us

This post is part of the General Conference Odyssey. This week covers the Priesthood Session of the April 1996 Conference.

I'm so familiar with the story about Joseph F. Smith saying to Joseph Smith in his dream, after Joseph reproved him for being late, "Yes, but I am clean, I am clean." I don't know why I've heard it so often; it must have been in other talks too. Anyway, the story must have been one of President Hinckley's favorites. This whole talk is about what it means to "be clean."

Here's what President Hinckley quotes Joseph F. Smith as saying to sum up his dream:

[When I had this dream] I was alone on a mat, away up in the mountains of Hawaii—no one was with me. But in this vision I pressed my hand up against the Prophet, and I saw a smile cross his countenance. …“When I awoke that morning I was a man, although only a boy. There was not anything in the world that I feared [after that]. I could meet any man or woman or child and look them in the face, feeling in my soul that I was a man every whit.

Then President Hinckley says:

The result of that dream was that a boy was changed into a man. His declaration “I am clean” gave him self-assurance and courage in facing anyone or any situation. He received the strength that comes from a clear conscience fortified by the approbation of the Prophet Joseph. 

There is something in this for every man and boy assembled in this vast congregation tonight. 

Are you beset with doubts and fears? Has discouragement pulled you down? Do you need added wisdom and strength to go forward with your life? 

I call to mind the words of Tennyson’s Sir Galahad, “My strength is as the strength of ten, / Because my heart is pure”. 

Everything looks better when there is cleanliness. In Joseph F. Smith’s dream, he could look into the eyes of the Prophet and say, “I am clean.”

I like the idea that being clean and following the commandments gives us confidence. It reminds me of the scripture (which President Hinckley quotes later) in Doctrine and Covenants 121:45. “Let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God." But even more than that, I like the idea that it's our efforts to become clean that change us. President Hinckley gives an example:

It is amazing what courtesy will accomplish. It is tragic what a lack of courtesy can bring. We see it every day as we move in the traffic of the cities in which we live. A moment spent in letting someone else get into the line does good for the one who is helped, and it also does good for the one who helps. Something happens inside of us when we are courteous and deferential toward others. It is all part of a refining process, which if persisted in, will change our very natures.

It's encouraging to think that it's not so much BEING perfect or avoiding mistakes that makes "something happen inside us"—it's the cleansing and refining process. It's repenting and making more of an effort and turning back toward God. I like imagining my heart changing and softening inside me as I make those efforts.