Sabbath Devotional: How's Your Heart?"
"And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?" (Alma 5:14)
I love talking about hearts!
The scriptures are FULL of heart references: a willing heart, a broken heart, a pure heart, a childlike heart, a proud heart.
My dad taught Seminary and Institute for over 30 years and if you had had him, you would’ve heard him talk about hard hearts and soft hearts! He was my seminary teacher my senior year of high school and as all good seminary teachers do, he had these great visual aids of hearts.
A soft squishy heart and a little hard heart. He would hold them up and ask “how’s your heart?” Whenever he taught a scripture story or principle, he’d say “how’s your heart”? This became something I’ve thought about a lot throughout my life!
There are so many hard heart and soft heart scriptures:
1 Nephi 17:30: "And he led them through the wilderness by his own power; and they were nourished with manna from heaven. . . and they hardened their hearts and blinded their minds, and reviled against Moses and against the true and living God."
Mosiah 11:29: King Noah and his priests "hardened their hearts against the words of Abinadi" and sought to take his life.
1 Nephi 2:16: "And it came to pass that I, Nephi. . . did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers."
Alma 24:8: "And behold, I thank my great God that he hath given us a portion of his Spirit to soften our hearts, that we have opened a correspondence with these brethren, the Nephites."
When our hearts are HARD — nothing can get in. We are unwilling to listen when someone sees things differently. We might become defensive, hold tightly to resentment, judgment, or a desire to be right. We might have difficulty seeing another person's perspective or pain, even at times resisting the opportunities God gives us to change!
When we have a soft heart, we are teachable, humble, compassionate, and receptive to the Spirit. It’s saying "I don’t know everything, and I am willing to let the Lord change me." A soft heart says “I am willing to let God reveal what I can become.”
How do we actually get a soft heart?
President D Todd Christofferson said:
“Yes, it requires a consistent and sustained effort on our part, but remember, it is not simply a matter of our striving. The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ is that we, each of us, can call on the grace of Jesus Christ to help us. With our baptism and confirmation, He promises us the companionship of the Holy Ghost, the messenger of His grace. Through the Holy Spirit, we receive His influence and spiritual gifts, “the power of godliness” in our lives. This transformative power produces a mighty change of heart and the character qualities that accompany it.”
Because of the atonement of Jesus Christ, we can change! We can repent and be made clean. We can change and become better. Ultimately, this is just about how willing we are to let God, the Holy Ghost, and other people change us.
Years ago, I heard a powerful analogy about justification versus sanctification. I used to get hung up on those big words, never quite understanding what they actually meant. Think of an abandoned lot full of weeds and junk. Christ comes in, pulls all the weeds, and removes all the trash. This is justification. But he doesn’t stop there. He then plants that empty lot with beautiful flowers! This is how we are sanctified.
Christ doesn’t want to simply remove our weeds, He wants to turn us into something beautiful.
And what’s easier to plant in? Hard soil or soft soil? If you’ve ever planted anything, you know what a massive difference soft ground makes. Through the atonement, we are not only healed and made clean but we are also empowered and strengthened! As President Christofferson said, this is Grace! This is how we become new creatures, more like Jesus Christ.
I love this quote from Elder Edward B Rowe from the last General Conference:
“While the Savior’s Atonement is infinite, His invitation is individual. He invites you and me to accept Him as our personal guide. He suffered not just for humanity — He suffered for each of us individually. He knows you personally and thus how to guide you based on your distinct strengths, weaknesses, and circumstances.”
It will look different for all of us. He will do different things in each of our lives to help us become more like Him. And sometimes, this is really painful!
But when we have a soft heart, a soft garden to plant in, we are saying, “Lord, you can have this ground. Show me what needs to be removed, and show me what you want to grow here.” Often, I have found in my own life, just having a willing heart can make all the difference. The Savior will take that willing heart and allow for beautiful things to bloom.
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Image via Unsplash
Julie Spilsbury is the faithful root director and director of women building peace at Mormon Women for Ethical Government.
