Elder Dallin H. Oaks on the eternal perspective of our lives

President Dallin H. Oaks (born August 12, 1932) served as president of BYU from 1971-1980.  He was then appointed as a justice of the Utah Supreme Court, and resigned when he was called to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in 1984. He became President of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles and also 1st Counselor in the First Presidency in January 2018.

"The pure in heart have a distinctive way of looking at life. Their attitudes and desires cause them to view their experiences in terms of eternity. This eternal perspective affects their choices and priorities. As they draw farther from worldliness they feel closer to our Father in Heaven and more able to be guided by his Spirit. We call this state of mind, this quality of life, spirituality. 

"Spirituality is a lens through which we view life and a gauge by which we evaluate it.... To be spiritually minded is to view and evaluate experiences in terms of the enlarged perspective of eternity." 

- Dallin H. Oaks, "Pure in Heart" (Deseret 1991), pp. 111-112; see also Dallin H. Oaks, "Spirituality," Ensign, November 1985, pp. 61-63
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Somehow, it seems to be a challenge for many of us to view our more challenging experiences "in terms of eternity." Instead, our tendency is to forget eternity in the midst of trials and difficulties. But Elder Oaks points out that the "pure in heart" find that perspective easy to maintain. The more we are able to separate ourselves from worldliness, the more we can be guided by God's influence and can see things in eternal perspective.

As we become more "pure in heart" wewill see that our way of looking at life changes, and the eternal perspective is much more natural. Spirituality allows us to view everything that occurs to us "in terms of theenlarged perspective of eternity." What a blessing, and what an advantage! That should truly be our quest.

(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2021)
March 9, 2015

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin on having righteous hearts

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin (1917-2008) served as a Seventy from 1976 to 1986, then as a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles from 1986 until his passing in 2008 at age 91.

"One of the major messages of our Lord and Savior was to be righteous within our hearts. Jesus, who knows with complete clarity and compassion all the diverse ways of sin, spoke with special intensity and passion about the soul-destroying effects of hypocrisy. He despised hypocrites—those who feign righteousness and make a public display of it but are in reality shams and frauds. Jesus intoned, 'Ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity' (see Matthew 23:27–28).

"The antithesis of hypocrisy is integrity, with its connotation of wholeness of spirit and completeness of personality. How glorious is integrity! Those who have it display a constancy of character. Their behavior is the same in private as in public. Their goodness is not dependent on whether someone is watching. Their actions are based on principle, not expediency. Perhaps that is what Jesus had in mind when he said, 'He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me' (John 14:21; emphasis added).

"A true measure of whether one has integrity, therefore, is provided by an honest answer to the following question: Am I righteous when no one is watching? Your answer to that simple query tells much about your true character....

"Our behavior, both public and private, does not happen by accident. It is the product of conviction, resolution, and habitual practice. We become what we believe; we practice the principles that are etched upon our souls. When the moment of decision is upon us, we act according to the principles that have become internalized in our hearts and minds."

- Joseph B. Wirthlin, "Being Righteous in Our Hearts," BYU devotional, January 21, 1997
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Some of the Savior's strictest warnings and condemnations in the New Testament record were against individuals Elder Wirthlin describes as "those who feign righteousness and make a public display of it but are in reality shams and frauds." This is a stern warning, since we all face the temptation or tendency now and then to put on a façade of outward commitment or obedience when we are struggling with something in our personal life.

The contrast between hypocrisy and integrity is a dramatic one. Elder Wirthlin goes on to describe the "glorious" nature of a soul with true integrity:

Elder Wirthlin suggests that the private moments, when we think no one is aware of us, are a sign of our true state of heart. Do we live with integrity when no one is watching? Does that make any difference to us in our decisions and actions? There is always One who watches and knows, and that should be all that matters to us.

Elder Wirthlin suggests that we develop integrity through efforts of "conviction, resolution, and habitual practice." It's a gradual process; a pure heart is the result of pure actions, which follow sincere desires.

(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2018)

Dallin H. Oaks on the eternal perspective of our lives

Elder Dallin H. Oaks (1932- ) was sustained to the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in 1984.

"The pure in heart have a distinctive way of looking at life. Their attitudes and desires cause them to view their experiences in terms of eternity. This eternal perspective affects their choices and priorities. As they draw farther from worldliness they feel closer to our Father in Heaven and more able to be guided by his Spirit. We call this state of mind, this quality of life, spirituality. 

"Spirituality is a lens through which we view life and a gauge by which we evaluate it.... To be spiritually minded is to view and evaluate experiences in terms of the enlarged perspective of eternity." 

- Dallin H. Oaks, "Pure in Heart" (Deseret 1991), pp. 111-112; see also Dallin H. Oaks, "Spirituality," Ensign, November 1985, pp. 61-63
Click here to read the full talk

Somehow, it seems to be a challenge for many of us to view our more challenging experiences "in terms of eternity." Instead, our tendency is to forget eternity in the midst of trials and difficulties. But Elder Oaks points out that the "pure in heart" find that perspective easy to maintain. The more we are able to separate ourselves from worldliness, the more we can be guided by God's influence and can see things in eternal perspective.