“For the Lord giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding.”  (2 Ne. 31:3).

The Lord not only speaks unto men according to their language, but also according to their experience, that His instructions may be plain, straightforward, and understandable.

For example:

My life has been spent on a farm.  Rubber boots are a necessity on a farm.  There is irrigating to be done, and mud to be slogged through.  There are animals to be fed in muddy barn lots.  Every farmhouse has a mud room, or an entry other than the main one, where you come in when you have dirt and mud on your feet.  Boots and mud are things that I understand.

When I knew that I was going to be called to be an ordinance worker in the temple I paid particular attention to the little details in my life that weren’t right.  I wanted to be totally worthy to serve in that holy place.  At the beginning of January I began attending the temple weekly.  I participated in every ordinance, and paid close attention to what the ordinance workers did and said.  I memorized and mimicked.  But most of all I worked on my inner self, cleaning, polishing, and shining.  By April, because of my preparation, shortly after my call, I was performing like a veteran ordinance worker in no time.  I loved the work.  I loved being with the saintly men who were my co-workers.  I loved being in that sacred place for hours on end where I could bathe in that holy atmosphere.  It was a great privilege to be able to dedicate one day per week to the service of the Lord, and to be receiving so much more than I gave.

I was at peace with the world.  I was more worthy than I’d ever been because I’d been concentrating so heavily on making myself so.  It was in that setting, and in that frame of mind, that the Lord gave me a dream.

In the dream, which I can still vividly see in my mind, I was standing in the Boise Temple outside the administrative offices where everyone passes by.  I was dressed in my new white coat and pants, white tie and belt.  I was feeling proud of my whiteness, worthiness, and ability to be in that holy place.  I happened to glance down at my feet, and was horrified to see that I’d neglected to take off my muddy irrigation boots.  I’d carefully wound my white pants legs around my legs and had stuffed them inside those awful boots.  I was standing there in the temple looking white, clean, and worthy from the knees up; but from the knees down there was nothing but black boots and mud.

The Lord had spoken to my understanding.  He was telling me that it was possible for me to bring filth into the temple.  He explained it to me in a way that was easy for me to understand.  He was telling me how I would feel, when I came to stand before Him, if I was not cleansed every whit from my iniquity.