More holiness give me

For some time, I have wanted to add a themed element to my blog, meaning that I would have a consistent thing to write about once a week or so. I finally decided what to do. My inspiration is the hymn "More Holiness Give Me" by Philip Paul Bliss. This hymn was written as a prayer. The author was contemplating Matthew 5:48, which says, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." The lyrics of the hymn are a prayer and supplication for God's grace as the singer strives to become better. Every week or so, I will focus on one phrase from the hymn and write a little of what it means to me.

We start then with the first phrase, "More holiness give me." What does holiness mean? According to the LDS Bible Dictionary, holiness describes things or places that were "set apart for a sacred purpose; the opposite of holy is therefore common or profane."

Praying for God to give me more holiness would mean that I am asking for Him to set me apart for a sacred purpose. If I am thus set apart, I am no more common or profane.

One of the first instances of something being set apart as holy is when God rested on the seventh day, following the Creation. "And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made."

At that time, the Sabbath day was made a holy day to God, a day set apart, sanctified, and separated from all of the other days. A day of the week was made holy, and it is our charge to keep it holy. I feel that this is an area where I can improve in my life: By keeping the Sabbath holy, a person can also be made more holy.

I associate being sanctified with being made holy. How is a person sanctified? There is only One who can sanctify or make holy another.

From Hebrews 10: "By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all....For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."

The Old Testament refers often to sanctifying oneself, often to enter into the temple or participate in sacrifices and offerings. 2 Chronicles 29: "And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place."

From modern revelation, Doctrine and Covenants 43: "Purge ye out the iniquity which is among you; sanctify yourselves before me."

So, we conclude that to be holy and sanctified, we must be separate from the common and profane. A person can set themselves apart from the things of this world. We must purge out iniquity and filthiness from our own hearts, through repentance, and accept and embrace the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, who makes possible our personal holiness.

The pleading of "more holiness give me" can seem abstract and unattainable, but certainly a day-to-day increase in holiness is possible. The Book of Mormon prophet, Nephi, counseled, "But behold, I say unto you that ye must pray always, and not faint; that ye must not perform any thing unto the Lord save in the first place ye shall pray unto the Father in the name of Christ, that he will consecrate thy performance unto thee, that thy performance may be for the welfare of thy soul."

I believe that any action I do during the day can serve to increase my own holiness when done with an eye single to the glory of God and a pure heart. Mundane activities like folding the laundry (I'm eyeing it on the bed over there) can be a service to God when instead of making it a chore, I make it a service for my family. Our small actions can be holy, and we can have more holiness in our lives.

My goals for this week: pray for holiness, separate myself a little more from the profane things of this world, consentrate on keeping the Sabbath day holy, and pray that the Lord will consecrate my activities for His glory.