Distilling Doctrine

"Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God; and the doctrine of the priesthood shall distil upon thy soul as the dews from heaven." (D&C 121:45) How can God's doctrine distill upon our soul? Distillation is the process of separating out compounds in a liquid by essentially boiling the liquid and then allowing the steam to condense back down into a purer form. So for example, you can boil salt water and then let the steam condense and you'll have fresh water. It is important that we are constantly studying the word of God every day. We need to always be adding to that reservoir of faith and commitment to seeking the truth, because we will face trials and hardships and the crucible of tribulation will cause our well of faith to heat up and boil over. This is a necessary part of the process, because after the heat of our trials, it is easier to separate the doctrine of truth from the lies and half-truths that are holding us back. We will understand the scriptures and God's will in ways that were not possible before the trial of our faith. We will understand God's doctrine in a purer way because it will have distilled upon our souls. After the heat and the boiling, we are given peace and rest and a chance to cool down and to allow that steam to cool and condense and drip down and soothe our weary souls.