BE HOLY
\nOne day the guard in front of the Guatemala Missionary Training Center came in with a note to me as the MTC president. The note was from our next-door neighbor, a medical doctor, with his phone number and a request to call him. When I called, he said that the previous night his wife had been frightened with sounds of something striking the side of their house and their windows, and they were about to call the police. The doctor investigated and found about ten foreign coins. He realized that some of our elders were throwing coins at their house (for what reason, I can\u2019t imagine).
The next day I gathered the elders and asked who had been throwing coins at the neighbor\u2019s house. No one moved. I asked three times. Finally some hands started going up. I told them how I felt about having to go over to our neighbor and try to explain why some of our missionaries would be doing such an immature thing. They were ordained representatives of the Lord Jesus Christ and committed to behaving with quiet dignity. There is nothing dignified about tossing coins at the neighbor\u2019s house!
\nIt turned out to be a lesson in spiritual maturity. What is our ultimate goal? To get to the celestial kingdom? No, not just to get to a place. Rather, it is to become like Heavenly Father and our Savior, and the place will take care of itself.
\nOur Heavenly Father and our Savior are holy, and they expect us to become holy also. We can learn something profound from the book of Leviticus, the handbook of the Levitical priests who served former-day Saints in the Mosaic dispensation:
\n\u201cYe shall be holy; for I am holy\u201d (11:44).
\n\u201cYe shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy\u201d (19:2).
\n\u201cBe ye holy: for I am the Lord your God\u201d (20:7).
\n\u201cYe shall be holy unto me: for I the Lord am holy\u201d (20:26).
The Lord clearly has great expectations for those who are called and set apart for his work.
\nThe next day I received a note from one of the guilty missionaries. The note itself shows why I love these humble missionaries, who are learning and growing. The elder wrote (my translation):
\n\u201cWhen you called us elders into the general meeting room because of the foolish thing we had done the night before, and then talked with us like a father, I felt pretty bad because I had disappointed not only my Heavenly Father but also you. Because of the sadness I felt last night when I went to bed, I cried half the night until I finally felt at peace. President, I love you and Hermana [Sister] Ogden as my father and mother. The feelings I have for you come from my heart, not just my lips. I wrote to my mother also about the foolish thing I had done, and as I wrote, tears fell on my letter to her.\u201d Then he bore his testimony of Jesus Christ and how he loves and forgives.1
\nOur Redeemer has taught us how to be holy, and he has shown us the way.2 By immersing ourselves in his words and sincerely talking each day with our Heavenly Father, along with giving selfless service to our brothers and sisters and offering faithful service to God in his House, we can be holy\u2014like Jesus.
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