Ponderize (22-28 May 2016)

The slow stain of the world

  20 I say unto you, can ye think of being saved when you have yielded yourselves to become subjects to the devil?
  21 I say unto you, ye will know at that day that ye cannot be saved; for there can no man be saved except his garments are washed white; yea, his garments must be purified until they are cleansed from all stain, through the blood of him of whom it has been spoken by our fathers, who should come to redeem his people from their sins.
  22 And now I ask of you, my brethren, how will any of you feel, if ye shall stand before the bar of God, having your garments stained with blood and all manner of filthiness? Behold, what will these things testify against you?  Alma 5:20-22

Quotes:

In the October 1995 women's conference President Hinckley said:

"With so much of sophistry that is passed off as truth, with so much of deception concerning standards and values, with so much of allurement and enticement to take on the slow stain of the world, we have felt to warn and forewarn. In furtherance of this we of the First Presidency and the Council of the Twelve Apostles now issue a proclamation to the Church and to the world as a declaration and reaffirmation of standards, doctrines, and practices relative to the family which the prophets, seers, and revelators of this church have repeatedly stated throughout its history". (Gordon B. Hinckley, "Stand Strong against the Wiles of the the World", October 1995 General Conference)

Here is a second quote by Elder Uchtdorf:

     We are created by the Almighty God. He is our Heavenly Father. We are literally His spirit children. We are made of supernal material most precious and highly refined, and thus we carry within ourselves the substance of divinity.
     Here on earth, however, our thoughts and actions become encumbered with that which is corrupt, unholy, and impure. The dust and filth of the world stain our souls, making it difficult to recognize and remember our birthright and purpose. (Dieter F. Uchtdorf, April 2016 general conference)

This quote by Elder Russel M. Nelson points out some of the worldly things that have insidiously and slowly stained many people.

     In the century that has elapsed since the last meeting of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, there have been notable advances in virtually every field of human endeavor. Think of the progress made in transportation, communication, commerce, agriculture, medicine, science, and electronics.
     But spiritual progress has lagged behind. We see evidences of increasing ethnic strife and hatred. Nationalism seems to be taking priority over brotherly love. Violence and civil wars are raging. Divorce and diminishing regard for the sanctity of human life have eroded the strength of the family—the basic unit of society. Immorality, infidelity, and promiscuity—once shunned—are now tolerated and even condoned. We have witnessed the insidious intrusion of pornography, with its attendant denigration of the human soul. And gambling, which preys upon the poor and the compulsive, has crept from the realm of the illegal into the arena of governmental sponsorship.  (Russell M. Nelson, "Combating Spiritual Drift-Our Global Pandemic", Address given at the 1993 Parliament of the World’s Religions, Chicago, Illinois, 2 September 1993)

Questions for additional thought:

• How does sin stain our garments?
• In what ways to we allow the world to slowing stain us?  
• What does it mean to be cleansed from all stain?
• How does Christs blood cleanse our stain and make our garments white?  

Cross References.
Isaiah 63:2-3
D&C 133:48, 59
1 Nephi 12:10
Alma 13:11-13
3 Nephi 27:19-20