So I read an awesome quote today that Brigham Young said regarding the importance of maintaining a pure heart and having the Spirit in your life. How true is this quote below though? How many times in your life have you noticed the absence of the Spirit and the difference that it makes? In my own personal life, as I lead others, give talks, conduct business, etc... I've noticed that I am able to do so more effectively and clearly when my heart is pure and when I am close to the Spirit. Yet, the natural man gets everyone of us and we slip and fall. That's the beauty though of the Gospel. It's a Gospel of forgiveness and growth.

“In addressing a congregation, though the speaker be unable to say more than half a dozen sentences, and those awkwardly constructed, if his heart is pure before God, those few broken sentences are of more value than the greatest eloquence without the Spirit of the Lord and of more real worth in the sight of God, angels, and all good men. In praying, though a person’s words be few and awkwardly expressed, if the heart is pure before God, that prayer will avail more than the eloquence of a Cicero [a first century b.c. Roman orator]. What does the Lord, the Father of us all, care about our mode of expression? The simple, honest heart is of more avail with the Lord than all the pomp, pride, splendor, and eloquence produced by men. When he looks upon a heart full of sincerity, integrity, and child-like simplicity, he sees a principle that will endure forever—‘That is the spirit of my own kingdom—the spirit I have given to my children.’ ”