“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.” (Matt. 5:8)
The wording in 3rd Nephi is a little different. It reads: “Blessed are ALL the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
Being pure in heart does not necessarily mean that you are worthy. It does not mean that you are righteous, certainly not by the way the Lord measures things. Yes, you can be worthy of certain blessings; you can be worthy in many things (Matthew 10:10-11), but being worthy to see God, to live with him, to be reconciled with Him–you will never measure up to the standard required by the heavens in this life (John 1:27). Many think they are righteous because they have performed a list of requirements and keep specific commandments, but they are fooling themselves.
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one…They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10, 12)
The ninety-nine sheep of the flock thought themselves righteous, but the shepherd could do nothing with them. So he left the flock and sought out the one sheep that separated himself from the flock seeking the true path. (Luke 15:1-7) “Righteousness”, at least the way the world reckons it, has never accounted for much with the Savior.
So, what does it mean, then, to be poor in heart? The etymology of the English word “pure”, translated from the Greek “katharos”, and the Latin “puros”, means to make clean from dirt, filth, or contamination like metals being refined by fire until they were free from impurities. A secondary meaning is to be unmixed, having no double allegiance. In Matthew 6:24, Jesus says, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” Psalms 24 has, “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.” From these two scriptures we are beginning to get an idea of who the Lord is describing as “pure in heart”. It seems that if your heart is too much in love with the things of the world and the comforts that it gives you, your heart is not pure. The things that we set our hearts on can be the idols described in Psalms. If we have idols that motivate our actions, our daily pursuits, they will be stumbling blocks to achieving spiritual activation. This is because idols become habitual and act counter to the Lord’s instruction to us to look to Him for comfort, for light, and for solace. What is it that truly motivates you? When you become discouraged, or wrung out from the daily grind where do you turn for peace? How do you spend your precious solo free time when not attending family, taking care of essential worldly tasks, or working?
Alma declares a test that we can perform on ourselves to see if we truly are pure in heart.
“And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? (the first five of the beatitudes hint at this) Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts? Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption raised in incorruption, to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body? (Alma 5:14-15)
Here is the kicker, the real test, that, if you can pass honestly, you are candidate for receiving the blessing of seeing God: “…can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth? Or do ye imagine to yourselves that ye can lie unto the Lord in that day, and say–Lord, our works have been righteous works upon the face of the earth–and that he will save you?…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? (Alma 5: 16-19)
If you are really honest with yourself you will dig deep to ascertain if you have divided loyalties between God and the world. Do you have any idols? You know, those activities, addictions, or objects that occupy your time, attention and focus; the things that distract you from fully preparing to meet God.
Alma goes on, “And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now? Have ye walked, keeping yourselves blameless before God? Could ye say, if ye were called to die at this time, within yourselves, that ye have been sufficiently humble? That your garments have been cleansed and made white through the blood of Christ, who will come to redeem his people from their sins? Behold, are ye stripped of pride? I say unto you, if ye are not ye are not prepared to meet God. Behold ye must prepare quickly; for the kingdom of heaven is soon at hand, and such an one hath not eternal life. (Alma 5: 26-28)
Remember what the Lord tells us in D&C 4: “O ye that embark in the service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind, and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day…And faith, hope, charity, and love, with an eye single to the glory of God, qualify him for the work.“
A so-called “righteous” person, one who assumes they fulfill the commandments, will probably never subject themselves to a vigorous self inspection that Alma talks about. They think they have checked all the boxes and are justified because of the many good works they have done. But an honest self inspection, as Alma insists, is absolutely necessary to prepare yourself to meet God. When you perform this self evaluation, and you come to realize that you will never qualify by your efforts, never be able to keep all the commandments, and then you cry out to the Lord for mercy in abject despair, then maybe, just maybe there is hope for you.
The first five beatitudes describe the steps that lead to having your baptism of fire; being born again. In those first steps you repent and shed the worldly desires and appetites and assume higher spiritual cravings and aspirations. Obtaining a pure heart means that you are focused now on spiritual pursuits; you do not have a divided mind. The world has little hold on your loyalties. You will be single minded seeking the Lord’s guidance, straining to hear and discern His voice and becoming like the Savior. You practice living the virtues the scriptures teach you about. It is difficult to believe that someone as worthless and inconsequential as you can obtain the presence of God, but because of the promises that have been made to the Fathers, and the spirit coaxing and leading you on, you believe and have faith that you can see God.
Remember what the Book of Mormon has Christ saying: “ALL the pure in heart…shall see God”. That is as good a promise as you can receive. What that means to me is that if my eye is single to God, then everything else will assemble together through grace, and heaven and earth will be moved to make good the Lord’s promise for me–all in good patience.