“Cleanse Us from All Unrighteousness,” Ensign, Feb. 1986, 19
May I express my appreciation for and confidence in the young adults of the Church? As a special generation, placed here by Divine design at a special time, special chores await you. Collectively, you will be equal to your days in the unfolding history of the kingdom of God on the earth.
If you wonder why we sometimes speak to you with greater emphasis on certain commandments, it has to do with their relevancy to the various seasons of life. Hence the special emphasis on morality and on keeping the seventh commandment, “Thou shalt not … commit adultery … nor do anything like unto it.” (D&C 59:6.)
The experimentation and permissiveness of our age make those last five words—“nor anything like unto it”—ring with even more meaning, do they not?
The gospel and Church of Jesus Christ have a single standard of human conduct. There is but one strait and narrow path for all—men and women; old and young; married and single; black, brown, and white; rich and poor.
It must be so, for we worship a just Lord, and He has vowed to purify unto Himself a peculiar people. (See Titus 2:14; D&C 43:14; D&C 100:16.) Peculiar doesn’t mean odd or eccentric, but, instead, as when Moses wrote, a “special” or a “treasured” people. (See Ex. 19:5; Deut. 7:6.)
Those committed to the keeping of the stern but sweet seventh commandment in a time of increasing immorality will need to be special. Average won’t do now, anymore than average was adequate in the days of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Civilizations as well as souls are at stake. One scholar who studied dozens of civilizations forecast that in “the struggle between nations, those who cling to chastity will, in all likelihood, keep the upper hand”—and a commentator added “ they try to keep intact the family which promiscuity and homosexuality tend to destroy.” (The Human Life Review, Spring 1978, p. 71.)
The seventh commandment is probably “Exhibit A” as to how much The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints differs from the world on basic behavioral issues. The world cares very little about the breaking of this commandment, so long as people appear to be contributive in any other respect.
So much will depend, Brothers and Sisters, upon your developing and using righteous reflexes. Reprocessing the same temptation, again and again, is unnecessary and unwise.
Of Jesus we read, “He suffered temptations but gave no heed unto them.” (D&C 20:22.) We cannot become like Jesus, attribute by attribute, if we display hesitancy as to our purity, or if we are undiscerning between joy and pleasure. Lust is no more like love than itching is to joy, or talkativeness to wisdom, or indulgence to compassion, or passivity to patience.
Henry Fairlie has written perceptively in his book The Seven Deadly Sins Today concerning how “the lustful person will usually be found to have a terrible hollowness at the center of his life” and about “the desert he has made of himself and his life.” (Washington, D.C.: New Republic Books, 1978, p. 187.) “Lust,” wrote Fairlie, “is not interested in its partners, but only in the gratification of its own craving. … Lust dies at the next dawn, and when it returns in the evening, to search where it may, it is with its own past erased.” (Ibid., p. 175.)
Those so drained by sensuality do, in fact, seek to compensate for their loneliness by sensations. However, in the arithmetic of appetite, anything multiplied by zero still totals zero! But the senseless search goes on, just as Samuel the Lamanite bemoaned, “for ye have sought all the days of your lives for that which ye could not obtain … for happiness in doing iniquity.” (Hel. 13:38; see also Alma 41:10; Morm. 2:13.)
So it is that sexual immorality finally causes the isolation of the individual from God, from others, and, yes, even from oneself!
So it is that the laughter of the world is merely loneliness pathetically trying to reassure itself. Immorality is not the verification of one’s existence; instead, it is the shrinking of one’s significance!
Hence, “Whoso committeth adultery … lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.” (Prov. 6:32; italics added.) It may be highly fashionable, but it is dumb and detrimental.
Remember the pleading lines from the hymn, “more used would I be”? The key is “more holiness give me.” (Hymns 1985, no. 131.) Diminished moral cleanliness means diminished service to mankind, because uncleanliness dulls the tastebuds of the soul and renders us less sensitive to others, to the beauties of life, and to the promptings of the Spirit.
God requires of us a capacity to feel. Yet those who wrongly celebrate their capacity to feel soon become “past feeling,” as we are thrice told by Nephi, Mormon, and Paul. (1 Ne. 17:45; Moro. 9:20; Eph. 4:19.)
Sexual immorality is not only wrong itself, but, as few things do, it nurtures the deadly virus of selfishness.
Appetites, however cleverly expressed or fashionably clothed, are still appetites. No wonder Alma said that we must bridle all our passions, so that we can be “filled with love.” (Alma 38:12.) If such passions were actually true love, they would not need to be bridled or replaced.
Furthermore, when we read of those whose hearts are set upon the things of this world, this includes sensual things. When hearts have become so set, they must first be broken in order for the new heart to be made: “Cast away from you all your transgressions … and make you a new heart and a new spirit.” (Ezek. 18:31.)
Knowing beforehand how we are determined to respond to temptation is vital. When Joseph resisted the entreaties of Potiphar’s predatory wife (Gen. 39:7–12), he was prepared, and he firmly declared his loyalty to Potiphar, but chiefly to God: “How … can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Gen. 39:9.) Joseph’s obedience was an act of many-splendored loyalty—to God, to himself, to his future family, to Potiphar, and, yes, even to Potiphar’s wife, perhaps sick from her sensual searchings.
The inconsistency of immorality with caring about other matters may be illustrated thusly. What if our increasing care and concern for the environment of nature around us were applied to human nature? Anyone about to commit adultery or fornication or a homosexual act would first be required to submit an environmental impact statement. The rippling consequences of what was about to be done would be assessed and set forth beforehand so the predatory and the misled could at least contemplate, in part, what they are about to inflict on themselves and others.
In one of those rare, sustained periods of human righteousness, there was an absence of sexual immorality “and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.” (4 Ne. 1:16.)
Could those in that society, or in the city of Enoch, have had all their material goods in common if the virus of selfishness had been present?
When we breach the seventh commandment, can we really be said to love God with all our heart, if we love a moment of pleasure more? When we breach the seventh commandment, can we say that we truly love that “neighbor” as ourselves? Do we not also then bear false witness as to what really matters in this life? Is not the breaching of the seventh commandment an act which dishonors one’s father and mother?
Even a glimpse of the ecology of God shows this interrelatedness of the commandments. A steady gaze tells us even more!
Peter wrote about how the conversational filthiness of Sodom and Gomorrah actually vexed Lot. (2 Pet. 2:7–8.) Surely you, as today’s “children of light,” know what it is like to be so vexed, whether in conversation, music, film, or print. I even wonder if such an oppressive environment will not become another reason for the Saints of latter-days to pray, as we will, unceasingly, for the Lord to come!
Jesus prophesied of the last days, that because iniquity will abound, the love of many will wax cold; there will be less and less real love to go around. (See Matt. 24:12.) Because of increasing iniquity, there will also be, said Moroni, increasing human despair. (See Moro. 10:22.) Desensitized man is thus robbed of hope, and through immorality he loses faith and love. What then of faith, hope, and charity? (See D&C 42:23.)
When we breach the seventh commandment, we thus hurt ourselves and others, too. When we are unhappy with ourselves, other people suffer. In this sense, there is no sin which is private! Furthermore, lust prevents the development of true love and thereby blocks us from keeping the first and second great commandments.
My friends, you cannot go where you must go and do what you are to do except you be increasingly pure. Purity becomes you and helps you to become!
If mistakes have been made in the past, hear these marvelous assurances for those who confess and desist.
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (Isa. 1:18.)
“All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.” (Ezek. 18:22.)
Hear what Elder James E. Talmage wrote: “The ordinances of the endowment embody certain obligations on the part of the individual, such as a covenant and promise to observe the law of strict virtue and chastity.” (The House of the Lord, Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1968, p. 84.)
It is significant that the covenants the Lord requires of us in the holy temple do not include, for instance, specific covenants to keep the Sabbath day holy or to honor our fathers and mothers, though these commandments are very important.
The stress on the seventh commandment is special!
My beloved friends, you are the vanguard of the righteous spirits to be infused into the Church in the last days. Back beyond time, it was so determined, and you were prepared—before the foundations of the world—to help save others in the latter-day world.
You cannot keep that resplendent rendezvous if you become like the world! Make your righteous marks on the world instead of being spotted by the world.
Be true, now, to your emotions of long ago when, as the Lord set in motion His plan of salvation and laid the foundation of this earth, “The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” (Job 38:7.)
www.lds.org
Parallel Verses
New American Standard Bible
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
King James Version
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Holman Bible
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
International Standard Version
If we make it our habit to confess our sins, in his faithful righteousness he forgives us for those sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
A Conservative Version
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous so that he will forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from every unrighteousness.
American Standard Version
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Amplified
If we admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness .
An Understandable Version
if we confess our sins , He is faithful and righteous , and will forgive us of those sins and cleanse us from all of our wrongdoing.
Anderson New Testament
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, so that he will forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Bible in Basic English
If we say openly that we have done wrong, he is upright and true to his word, giving us forgiveness of sins and making us clean from all evil.
Common New Testament
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Daniel Mace New Testament
if we confess our sins, as he is faithful and just, he will forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all iniquity.
Darby Translation
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Emphatic Diaglott Bible
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Godbey New Testament
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous that he may forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Goodspeed New Testament
If we acknowledge our sins, he is upright and can be depended on to forgive our sins and cleanse us from everything wrong.
John Wesley New Testament
If we confess our sins, he is faithful, and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Jubilee 2000 Bible
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Julia Smith Translation
If we acknowledge our sins, he is faithful and just that he let go sins to us, and cleanse us from all injustice.
King James 2000
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Lexham Expanded Bible
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, so that he will forgive us sins and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Modern King James verseion
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Moffatt New Testament
if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, he forgives our sins and cleanses us from all iniquity;
Montgomery New Testament
But if we confess our sins, faithful is he and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all wrong-doing.
NET Bible
But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.
New Heart English Bible
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Noyes New Testament
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Sawyer New Testament
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
The Emphasized Bible
If we are confessing our sins, faithful, is he and, righteous – that he should forgive us our sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Thomas Haweis New Testament
If we confess our sins, faithful is he and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Twentieth Century New Testament
If we confess our sins, God may be trusted, in his righteousness, to forgive us our sins and purify us from all wickedness.
Webster
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Weymouth New Testament
If we confess our sins, He is so faithful and just that He forgives us our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.
Williams New Testament
If we confess our sins, He is to be depended on, since He is just, to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from every wrong.
World English Bible
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Worrell New Testament
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Worsley New Testament
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness:
Youngs Literal Translation
if we may confess our sins, stedfast He is and righteous that He may forgive us the sins, and may cleanse us from every unrighteousness;
Interlinear
English(KJV)
Strong’s
Root Form
Definition
Usage
and
and,
alsoevenboththen
, so,
likewise
, not tr., , vr and
and,
alsoevenboththen
, so,
likewise
, not tr., , vr and
Usage: 0
Usage: 0
Apo
from
, of,
out
of,
foroff
, by, at, in,
since
9, on, not tr., .
Usage: 490
Pas
allall thingseveryall menwhosoevereveryonewholeall manner
of,
every man
, no
Transevery thinganywhatsoeverwhosoever
9 ,
alwaysdailyany thing
, no , not tr,
Usage: 704
bible.knowing-jesus.com
By Brad Andres
Praying with the dying can be an intimidating thing. The time nearing death can be a very stressful and scary time for families and friends of the ill.
Let’s go over some of the basics of praying for someone who is nearing death. We’ve also included some sample prayers for the dying below to help guide you through this process.
If you do not know the individual, then spend some time getting to know them as a person. Ask them about their family, about their life. Find out what they are proud of, ask if they have any regrets. Discover what they believe the afterlife is going to be like.
(Read Bible Verses about Death, and Bible Verses about Heaven)
Once a rapport is established, albeit however small, then you can move onto the praying part. People need to know you care about them before you pray for them, and taking the time to ask about their life is one way to do that.
Therefore, following establishing a relationship, here are a few things to remember which will help guide you when saying prayers for the ill.
1. Do they know Jesus?
This is the most important question which you need to answer before praying with someone as they are about to pass onto the next life. If they do not know Jesus, you need to introduce them to each other as soon as possible.
In all actuality, if they do not know Jesus, then there is not much point in progressing further. Yes, you will still pray with them, for God’s comfort, peace, and rest, but if they are not going to inherit the free gift of eternal life, then what is the point? The point of praying those things is that maybe something will click, possibly the Lord could grab ahold of their hearts before death, and they may encounter Jesus before their passing. And besides, it is just courteous to bless someone in their dark hours of life.
Prayer To Know Jesus Before Dying
Lord Jesus,
Come into my life.
I believe you died and rose from the grave.
I believe you live eternally in heaven.
Cleanse me from all unrighteousness.
Forgive me of all my sins.
Move into my heart.
I make you my Lord and Savior.
Thank you for your sacrifice.
I accept your gift of eternal salvation.
Amen.
2. Pray for God’s peace.
Death can be frightening for some, and for others, death can be completely natural. Some who know Christ will face death fearlessly, while some others will be terrified. The same goes for those who are not in a relationship with Christ; some will be unafraid and some will be frightened.
As stated earlier, it will be good practice to pray for God’s comfort and peace regardless of that person’s level of relationship with Jesus.
A Comforting Prayer for the Dying
God,
Help discover your peace.
Let them receive your comfort.
Help them to be at rest knowing that you care for them,
and that you love them.
Calm their soul as they move into the afterlife.
May they spend eternity with you;
may they live forever in your presence.
Amen.
3. Pray for the Family
Just as death may be hard or easy for an individual, so can it be the same for any remaining family or friends. Sometimes when you have the opportunity to pray with the dying, you will be alone. Othertimes, family and friends will be present. Regardless, even if you pray this as you leave, it is still thoughtful to pray for those who will be mourning the person’s passing.
A Prayer for the Family of the Dying
God,
Bring this family peace.
Provide them with your comfort.
Let them know you tenderly care for each and every one of them.
Lead them to be reunited with their loved one some day.
Sit with them in their mourning.
Let your presence provide rest.
Thank you, for the gift of life that brought to the world.
May he rest peacefully with you for eternity.
Amen.
A final note to remember is that this time is an emotional and stressful time for all associated with the dying person. Therefore, you may be given a chance to pray, and you may not be given a chance to pray. Remember to respect all people’s wishes, and know that as you walk with God into the room, you are inviting His presence into the situation. If you pray these prayers on your way back home alone, it still carries power to allow God into the situation.
And we will finish with my prayer for you.
A Prayer for Those Going to Pray with the Dying
God,
Give this person strength.
Grant this person confidence.
Allow them the opportunity to discover if the passing person knows you.
Give them wisdom to know when to speak and what to say.
Let them bring your presence into the room.
Let them carry your love into the situation.
Encourage them with a special gift or your presence.
Amen.
If you’d like to submit a prayer request for someone who is ill, please do so below.
Brand Andres is a licensed minister and his passion is to help people understand the Bible and maximize
their God given potential for life.
Find him at BradAndres.com, and follow him on Twitter and Google.
www.praywithme.com
I grew up in a fine Christian home where we were tough to honor Christ and follow His ways, Sunday school and Church were very important and my relationship with God was strong But I think back at what I was tough and there is a problem, I feel there was alack for teaching how important It is to come to God on a daily basis to ask for Him to forgive me of my sins and that lead to sins piling up and deceit came in to the picture. Isaiah 59:1-2 says this: The Lord arms are not to short to save nor His ear to dull to hear, but your sin has caused The Lord to hid face from you.
This has happened to me where God was not answering my prayers for Twenty years God was more a less silent He finally started to break me down. In 2014 three things happened, my daughter got married in 2013, and in 2014 my mother passed away and a week later I had full knee replacement. Those three things were so painful and I did some things that were causing my sin to build even more. One night my husband and I had a big blowout and my deceitful self went to bed saying everything will be okay in the morning, but that was not Gods plan. I went to bed and tried to go to sleep, but something was making me feel stressed. I started to think about some of the things I have done that were not pleasing to think about. I tried to think of all the wrong things that I did and ask God to forgive me, but that did not work. Then I started to question if I was really saved (at 13 years old I asked Christ into my heart) I began to feel real doom.
And I cried out there in the dark Lord Bring me Peace! And then The Trinity came to me in a mighty way. I started to remember the Bible verses that I learned in Church, – if we confess our sins He is faithful and jest to forgive our sin and cleanse us from all Unrighteousness – the song Jesus payed it all, all to him I owe sin had lift a crimson stain He wash and made me whole, then I remembered what Jesus said on the cross Lord for give them they know not what they do, God was tilling me that I don’t have to remember all my sins I ever did and that is what I was trying to do. All I have to do is say Lord I am really sorry, please forgive me, peace that passes all understanding blow over me like never before. And God wonderful face was looking down on me. People we have to be willing to ask Him every day to forgive and when we do He dose mighty things in our hearts and uses us. He has asked me to be a prayer Warrior and He has told me to pray for His people, I love when he speaks to me.
www.lyricsmode.com
