As Moses stood, stunned, before a bush that appeared to be on fire but was not consumed, he heard the voice of God saying, “Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5).
Removing his shoes was symbolic of a deeper spiritual reality: As we approach God, we must set aside any worldly impurities which may have accumulated on our souls. Elder Ulisses Soares observed:
I have always found it instructive and even inspiring that one of the first things we do upon entering the temple and preparing ourselves to participate in the sacred ordinances there is to remove our shoes and change into our white clothing. Like Moses, if we are intentional, we can recognize that taking off our worldly shoes is the beginning of stepping onto holy ground and being transformed in higher and holier ways.
“Reverence for Sacred Things,” General Conference, April 2025
In four revelations received in June and August 1833, the Savior emphasizes the significance of sacred spaces and the blessings we can receive if we approach them in holiness:
- A new printing office in Kirtland, Ohio “shall be wholly dedicated unto the Lord … to be holy, undefiled” (Doctrine and Covenants 94:12).
- The Kirtland temple, which He calls “mine holy house” (Doctrine and Covenants 96:2), will “be dedicated unto me for … the offering up of your most holy desires unto me” (Doctrine and Covenants 95:16).
- His glory will rest upon a new temple in Missouri, “inasmuch as my people … do not suffer any unclean thing to come into it, that it be not defiled, … and all the pure in heart that shall come into it shall see God” (Doctrine and Covenants 97:15-16).
In each of these passages, the Lord instructs His people to remove impurities as they approach Him in holy places. We show respect for Him by removing impurities from our lives, as much as possible.
A few years ago, as a friend of mine was driving to the temple, she became irritated with another driver. As she pulled into the parking lot of the temple, she realized that she could not enter the house of the Lord with feelings of bitterness, so she sat in her car for a few minutes, praying for the ability to forgive and let those feelings go so that she could worship God unencumbered. She took the time to remove her “shoes” spiritually so she could stand on “holy ground.”
Of course, we can’t make ourselves holy. We remove our shoes and we repent of our sins to demonstrate our desire for holiness. As Moroni explained, the holiness comes through the Atonement of Jesus Christ:
Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.
And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot.
Moroni 10:32-33, emphasis added
Today, I will strive to approach God in holiness. As I worship Him in sacred spaces—including my home—I will remember the imagery of removing my shoes and seek to eliminate impurities so that He can make me holy.
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