I’d like to share a talk with you that means a lot to me.  It’s called “Our Refined Heavenly Home” by Elder Douglas L. Callister.  Perhaps you’ve read it.  It was originally given at a BYU devotional in 2006 and was subsequently reprinted in BYU magazine in full and in the June Ensign in part.

Photo by Bradley Slade

Why does this talk mean so much to me?  It puts into eloquent words many lessons and truths that the Spirit has taught me over the years — lessons and truths that in some cases I have been able to articulate but in many cases I have not, though I have made sense of them in my mind and felt them in my heart.

I’ll let you read the talk on your own, but here is one paragraph that describes the purpose of it:

Today I would like to peek behind the veil that temporarily separates us from our heavenly home and paint a word picture of the virtuous, lovely, and refined circumstances that exist there. I will speak of the language, literature, music, and art of heaven, as well as the immaculate appearance of heavenly beings, for I believe that in heaven we will find each of these in pure and perfected form.

And here is one of Elder Callister’s most important teachings:

The nearer we get to God, the more easily our spirits are touched by refined and beautiful things.

I believe this teaching to be true.  And it’s not something a person understands until they experience it themselves.  The nearer we get to God, the more we know Him, and the more we become like Him, the more we recognize, appreciate, and seek after the good, the pure, the virtuous, the tasteful, the profound, the beautiful, and the refined in all aspects of life.

Please take a few minutes to read or listen to this talk.  I think you’ll find it to be inspiring and enlightening.

What do you think?

I recently read a talk by Elder Maxwell that reminded me of something that happens to me often.  He said,

“Some of us…have encountered a particular fragrance which has awakened memories deep within us of things which once were.  In such moments we have felt a deep yearning — as if we were temporarily outside something to which we actually belonged and of which we so much wanted again to be a part.”  Neal A. Maxwell, “Patience,” 1979

Do you ever smell a fragrance that reminds you of a person, place, event, or thing from your past?  I do — all the time.  Here are some examples of olfactory association that occur often in my life:

• Bleach.  Whenever I smell bleach, I’m reminded of my two years working fast food.  I worked in the kitchen and rinsed dishes and towels in bleach water almost every day.
• Cigarette and cigar smoke.  Whenever I smell cigarette or cigar smoke, I’m reminded of my two years on a mission in Italy.  Growing up in Utah, I rarely smelled smoke, but in Italy I talked to people who were smoking every day.  Even though I don’t like to smell or breathe in smoke, doing so creates a positive association in my mind because it reminds me of my mission.
• Water chestnuts.  One day, a long time ago, I ate stir fry that was baked inside of a pumpkin.  The stir fry contained water chestnuts, which made me feel sick.  Now, whenever I smell water chestnuts I negatively associate their fragrance with that pumpkin stir fry.
• Lotions and perfumes.  Sometimes I smell a lotion or perfume that someone is wearing which reminds me of a person from the past who wore the same lotion or perfume.  The association can be positive or negative depending on the type of fragrance and who the person was.

Olfactory association can have a powerful influence in a person’s life.  Associating fragrances with people, places, or events of the past can have positive or negative effects on how a person feels about their present circumstances.  Then again, maybe it’s just me.

What do you think?  Have you noticed the power of olfactory association in your life?