Jenni Perkins: Robes of Righteousness

Growing up in the church, I have been constantly told to put on the armor of God, but I was never taught to put on the robe of righteousness. I have found that the robes of righteousness come in many shapes and forms but the similarity is that they are all gifts from God. And just like putting on the armor of God, we must also choose to wear robes of righteousness and take advantage of God’s gift.
The first thought that entered my mind when I thought about robes of righteousness was the temple. Even before entering the temple, we are encouraged to wear our ‘Sunday best’ which to me seems like a robe of righteousness because it reminds me to act as I would on Sunday or at church. Inside the temple we exchange our outside clothing for white temple clothing. Although I have not been through the temple yet and do not understand the full meaning of white robes, I know that by wearing white clothes we symbolize purity and cleanliness. We enter into the House of the Lord and He has a standard for our appearance. We should be grateful for this opportunity to change into something so symbolic and meaningful. We should be like Isaiah and say, “I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness” [1]. Entering the temple, we have a glimpse of salvation and the celestial kingdom but we can only enter and gain the rewards of the celestial kingdom if we are dressed in appropriate attire – a robe of righteousness. Through Jesus Christ, we can dress in the robes of righteousness even though we are not perfect.
Even with our helmet of salvation, breastplate of righteousness and shield of faith, we are still weak and can be wounded by the enemy. Our garments are bloody and “we shall have a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness,” [2] but through the atonement of Christ we are able to be made clean again. And the “righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, yea, even with the robe of righteousness” [2]. Without the atonement of Jesus Christ, none of us could be robed in righteousness because our garments would be forever stained. When I sin, I am unable to function properly until I have repented. My mind replays my sins over and over like a broken record. I have found that the saying “a clean conscience is the best pillow” is true. By repenting I feel clean and I have to spirit to help guide me.
The Holy Ghost is another type of a robe of righteousness. A robe comforts and warms just as the Holy Ghost does. But in order to receive the blessings of the Holy Ghost, we must behave in a way that is conducive to the spirit. If we do, then we have the promise that, “the Holy Ghost shall by [our] constant companion” [3]. If the spirit cannot dwell with us, then our activities must be unrighteous, so we should change actions. I want to have to a robe of righteousness enveloping me, so I try to act in a way that the spirit can be with me. I have walked out of movies and other activities which force the spirit to leave, but I have also stayed in situations where the spirit was not my companion. Without the spirit I do not have peace or comfort, I also do not have the same power and strength to stand for what I believe in. Whether or not the Holy Ghost can be with us is a sign of our righteousness and if we lose the spirit then we need to repent. To use the atonement effectively, we must do all we can which includes following the commandments.
Dressing modestly is a lesson that has been drilled into my head ever since I could walk. But before now I never considered dressing modestly as a robe of righteousness. Robert D. Hales says that “our clothing portrays the beauty and purity of our inner selves,” [4] and in this case he is talking about dressing modestly, but to me modesty in itself is a robe of righteousness. It is an outward appearance of inward commitments. If we dress modestly we are following church leaders and prophets’ counsel and will gain blessings. All throughout my high school years I dressed modestly. I was striving to live righteously and follow the commandments but my peers thought I was being restricted. Members of other religions said that I was “brainwashed” and although I was criticized, I was also blessed. Discussion about my clothing opened up many opportunities for me to share my beliefs. I know that I will continue to be blessed in this life for obeying the commandments, but I will also be blessed in the next life.
The Lord has promised us glorious blessings if we keep His commandments. For example, “our garments may be pure, that we may be clothed upon with robes of righteousness, with palms in our hands, and crowns of glory upon our heads, and reap eternal joy for all our sufferings” [5]. These robes of righteousness are a gift if we do our part. We must be steadfast and immovable in the face of trials and have faith like Moroni’s. I image that Moroni was constantly clothed in robes of righteousness and this gave him the strength to withstand evil. “If all men had been, and were, and ever would be, like unto Moroni, behold, the very powers of hell would have been shaken forever” [6]. If we strive to be like Moroni, we will be clothed in robes of righteousness. And if we ever feel like we are lacking or need help, we can cry to the Lord like Nephi did, “O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness!” [7] Heavenly Father He will enfold us in his robes of righteousness when ours are weak. He wants us to return to live with Him and He gives us robes of righteousness so that we can overcome the world.


[1] Isaiah 61:10
[2] 2 Nephi 9:14
[3] D&C 121:46
[4] Robert D. Hales, “Modesty: Reverence for the Lord,” Liahona, Aug 2008, 18–23
[5] DC 109:76
[6] Alma 48:17
[7] 2 Nephi 4:33