Church leaders tell us to perform the Youki-tsutome daily. They tell us that we are asking God to help us sweep our dusts or negative thoughts with this special prayer. But God already tells us how to sweep our negative thoughts in the Ofudesaki.  God tells us to calm our minds, and ponder our own minds when obstacles or suffering appears in our lives. God tells us that these sufferings come from our own souls. The soul monitors our behaviors and distributes our punishments or rewards. We reap what we have sowed because of our own souls.  If we understand the soul, we can purify our own minds by not acting upon our negative emotions or temptations, when obstacles occur.

Then what does the Youki-tsutome do?  First this Service is not the Yoki-tsutome, it is the You-ki-tsutome. The word yoki is translated as joy in English. This is why Tenrikyo people think this Service is called the Joyous Service. But you or juuyou is translated as workings, benefits, or blessings. In the Ofudesaki, these you (juuyou) are blessings of God placed on people we have spread the truth of the soul. These blessings are illness as guidance to help these people understand the soul. So we are praying to God, to save others, not ourselves when we perform the Youki-tsutome.   This is a prayer that helps us spread the truth of the soul. When the world undferstands the soul, there will be peace and prosperity,   heaven on earth!