Making Your Dwelling a Sanctuary: Applying the Principles of 'Making Your Home Holy'

Brothers and sisters, if you’ve ever felt the weight of the world pressing in—the endless demands, the noise, the sheer *volume* of life—you know what I mean. Sometimes, even when we are doing the Lord's work out in the field, or even when we’re just trying to get through a busy week of callings, it feels like our own little corner of the world—our homes—are becoming cluttered, spiritually speaking. They become places of obligation rather than peace.

It’s easy to treat our homes like mere storage units for our lives: the storage unit for our laundry, the storage unit for our worries, the storage unit for everything we own. But the Spirit whispers something profound, something that echoes through the ages: that our dwelling places—our physical homes, but also our hearts—are meant to be sanctuaries.

I was recently studying the context surrounding Exodus 39:30, and it struck me how deeply connected the physical act of preparing a space is to the spiritual state of the people. The Lord commanded the tabernacle to be consecrated, every piece of it having a purpose, a sacred function. Our homes, our *personal* sanctuaries, need that same intentionality.

This isn't about scrubbing grout lines until your knuckles bleed, though a little physical effort never hurts! It’s about decluttering the *spirit*. It’s about making space for the Spirit to breathe. When we treat our homes as places where the covenants are renewed, where the family gathers to study, where we invite the Savior’s light in, we are doing the Lord’s work right where we are.

The Internet Missionary Lens: Consecrating the Digital Space

As rogue disciples and internet missionaries, we often think of the "field" as the physical world—the neighborhood, the gathering place, the conference center. But where is the field when we are at home? It’s on the couch during a family scripture study. It’s in the quiet moment before we start our own day of missionary preparation. It’s in the digital space where we connect with our friends and family.

How do we apply "Making Your Home Holy" to our digital lives? We must treat our devices, our online spaces, and our shared family digital time with the same reverence. Are we filling our time with sacred things, or are we just letting the noise wash over us? Making your home holy today means making your *attention* holy.

If you are struggling with how to apply these principles when you are far from the local meetinghouse, I want you to know that you are not alone. That's what the community is for. We are all disciples anywhere, all the time.

A Bite-Sized Skill: The Five-Minute Sanctuary

Here’s a small challenge for this week, a little thing you can practice before we gather again. I call it the "Five-Minute Sanctuary." Before you go to sleep tonight, set a timer for five minutes. Don't clean anything major. Instead, focus on five things in your immediate physical space—five objects, five corners, five surfaces—and intentionally bless them. Whisper a simple prayer over them: "Father, I dedicate this space, this object, to your light and the covenants we keep here." It sounds small, but it shifts the atmosphere. It’s a tangible act of consecration.

Keep the Momentum Going

This principle of intentionality is something we need to keep building on. If you've found yourself pondering this week, I highly recommend diving into the scriptures through the Social Scripture Study layer in LivingBook. Seeing how others are highlighting passages related to consecration can be a real blessing.

For those of you who are feeling the pull toward deeper study, we are hosting a Book Club next week focusing on the covenants in the Old Testament. It’s a wonderful, low-pressure way to deepen your knowledge and feel the Spirit lift your understanding. Check the announcement board for details!

If you’d rather work through the tough questions in a one-on-one setting, remember that Davee is ready to walk you through any difficult questions you might anticipate in your own missionary discussions. He’s trained to guide you through those tough spots!

Remember, every member can be an internet missionary, every member can be a disciple anywhere, all the time. Let's keep building up our little sanctuaries, both physical and spiritual.