Condition of our Hearts

"For behold, if a man being evil giveth a gift, he doeth it grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift; wherefore he is counted evil before God."
Moroni 7:8

This scripture passage has to do with the condition or state of our heart. Giving a gift to somebody or doing something for someone in a resentful manner is wrong. I'm sure that resentful and begrudging attitudes can be applied to normal daily activities too. Last night as I was in bed trying to sleep I heard my boys out of bed and running around. I yelled at them from my room to get in bed. I was too lazy to get out of my warm bed and escort each child to their own room and bed. I felt resentful that I even had to deal with this regular occurrence.

The best attitude would be to rejoice in my children and understand that they are still in need of love and instruction from me. I wonder if I can really do that? It comes back to the condition of my heart, even when I am tired. Am I willing to let the little distraction go in place of my much more important role as a mother and teacher?

And Their Hearts Were Swollen With Joy

"And their hearts were swollen with joy, unto the gushing out of many tears, because of the great goodness of God in delivering them out of the hands of their enemies; and they knew it was because of their repentance and their humility that they had been delivered from an everlasting destruction." 3 Nephi 4:33

The people of Nephi were so happy and grateful that they cried. They understood that their delivery from ememies was due to their own humility and repentance. A few verses earlier we are told that they "did not fear them (the robbers); but they did fear their God and did suplicate him for protection.. they were prepared.. in the strength of the Lord.." 3 Nephi 4:10

What does it take to be prepared in the strength of the Lord? I think to fear God is to look to Him as the one with all power that can deliver us. To suplicate means to pray earnestly and often for His guidance and protection. This can meaningfully be done when I am humble before the Lord. I must also recognize my sins or those things that offend Him and repent or forsake them, causing a change of heart.

Trust in the Lord with all Thine Heart

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. " Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust means believe or hope enough to do what is required. I need to depend or rely on the Lord without understanding all the reasons behind the instructions. And he asks me to trust Him with all my heart, not just part of my heart, but with my complete and entire heart. Giving complete trust can sometimes be scary. But that is what the Lord asks of me. He knows me, He knows all things, He knows how I feel and what I need. Trusting the Lord allows Him to lead me to what will give me joy and happiness.

Him That Knoweth To Do Good

In our hearts we all have an understanding of what is morally right. When we go against what we know deep inside to be right, we betray ourselves. Self betrayal is a sin. "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." James 4:17 A hard heart resists the promptings from within. In fact a hard heart will even proceed to justify to himself and to others why he can not do the good thing. Now a soft heart will simply do the right thing and not give it another thought. A soft heart is at peace finding no need to justify. Anytime I find myself making excuses or justifying my actions I am reminded that my heart is not right.

The Heart is a Tender Place

"The heart is a tender place. It is sensitive to many influences, both positive and negative. It can be hurt by others. It can be deadened by sin. It can softened by love...God allows us to be the guardians, or gatekeepers, of our own hearts. We must of our own free will, open our hearts to the Spirit, for He will not force Himself upon us." Elder Gerald N. Lund, Ensign May 2008

I love this conference talk about opening our hearts. Elder Lund teaches us about the power of outside influences on the heart. He says that "the condition of our hearts directly affects our sensitivity to spiritual things." He asks us to open our hearts to the influence of the Hoy Ghost. We all need what the Holy Ghost can give. Elder Lund states that "the Holy Ghost comforts, teaches, warns, enlightens, and inspires us." We allow the Holy Ghost to enter our hearts as we remove the impurities that are found within.

Healing the Heart

"He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them."
John 12:40

The correlation found in this scripture is helpful for me to understand. A hardened heart and blindness to the truth are conditions for failure to true understanding and conversion. In other words, understanding with the heart leads to true conversion or change. And true change or conversion allows my savior to heal me. The implications of being healed are so great! I would do anything to be healed, not physically but spiritually.

"He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up thier wounds." Psalms 147:3

He heals the broken heart! The pains from within that cannot be seen on the outside, are mended through personal conversion. This kind of conversion or realignment of direction is meant to occur often, maybe even daily. I have great control over the healing process. By my actions I determine whether or not the savior will be allowed to heal me.

Song of the Heart

"For my soul delighteth in the song of the heart; yea, the song of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads. Wherefore, lift up thy heart and rejoice, and cleave unto the covenants which thou hast made." D & C 25:12-13

The song of the heart seems to be a rejoicing heart. A rejoicing heart could also be a heart filled with graditude and this kind of heart is a prayer that is answered with blessings. In order to ensure blessings our heart must be rejoicing or grateful. What causes me to rejoice? I rejoice in my family! Which exists eternally through temple covenants I have made. Other things that cause me to rejoice: sunrise, watching snow fall, kindness shown by one family member to another, and of course every time I recognize that my Heavenly Father is specifically mindful of me. I am most grateful when I look for His hand daily in my life.

Heart of Stone, Heart of Flesh

"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh." Ezekiel 36:26

I read a great book called, "The Peacegiver". One of the core messages contained with in the book is the idea that we need to have humble hearts. In other words we need to have a "fleshly heart", a heart that is soft, easily directed and influenced by God's will. This was a little bit new to me, but I was familiar with the converse idea that a hard heart is unyielding and will not be moved or changed.

I tried to teach my children about this concept so that they can recognize when their heart is right and when it is not. I will often ask them how their heart is feeling. I've gotten many responses like happy and sad. The one response surprised me when a child said, "My heart is as hard as a diamond!". He was angry with another sibling at the time.

Over the past 2 years or more I have tried to really consider the state of my heart. Sometimes I feel like it is fleshly and willing to be influenced, other times I run across hard diamond spots. These diamond spots are usually painful and difficult to give up. Recognizing the hard spot is the first step to change.

Pure in Heart

"Who may abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap. And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." 3 Nephi 24: 2-3

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." Matthew 5:8

Sometimes I feel like my heart is being purged of all its impurities. The refiner's fire is intense, the process is painful. I know the end result will be a pure heart, and a pure heart will bring me to God. My greatest desire is to return to my Heavenly Father. Of course not alone, but with my family. Yet, I find opposition daily in my efforts to do the things that will bring me and my family closer to Him. I wish that doing the right thing was a little easier.

Mighty Change

"And now behold, I ask of you, my brethern of the church, have ye been spiritually born of God? Have ye recieved his image in your countances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts? Alma 5:14

The change must take place within the heart or center. A change from the core would affect the whole. Change implies a different course or direction, but I also think that it can mean drastic or radical, even extreme. This scripture states that the change is "mighty". We are changed from something old to something new. Change is uncomfortable. Even if it is for the good.

I've experienced some small changes that have allowed me to gain new perspectives. As I look I see things through different lenses. What I thought I understood before alters before my eyes as I apply the new insight or changes I have made within.

I desire to have the image of God engraven on my countenance. I can tell that the change which would allow me to reflect God's countenance must be great. The question is am I willing to be uncomfotable and embrace the mighty change.

Patience and Afflictions

"Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongest thy brethern, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give you success." Alma 26:27

Sometimes I feel like I am on a difficult path. As I reach obstacles I stop and consider giving up or not going any further. My heart is tired and I feel spent. This scripture is exactly what happens to me. The Lord comforts me, but does not take the challenge away. Instead I am told to return to my path and "bear with patience mine afflictions" and then the blessing of joy will come.

Bear..endure, patiently..with a humble heart. I've noticed that patience is often coupled with afflictions in the scriptures. In Romans 5:3-5 it says "..but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed broad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."

Okay, I'm not there yet. I do not glory in tribulations, but I see that is the attitude I need, because tribulations will help me develop patience, another christlike quality I need. Right along side developing patience I will find experience and then hope! Hope allows the love of God to enter into our hearts! This is the path that I need. It's time to get up and get going.

Delight in the things of the Lord!

Yesterday, I felt compeled to attended the temple. I was troubled by something and I knew that I could find peace in the temple. As I entered the Holy Temple the Spirit washed over me and comforted me. Durning my visit simple truths about the covenants I made were revealed to me. These revelations astonished me. I had heard the words hundreds of times yet never knew that I didn't really understand the meaning of certain phrases. I left the temple feeling uplifted, enlightened and blessed.

My soul delighteth in the things of the Lord! I am grateful for the many opportunities I am given to become close to my Lord and Savior. I feel blessed at the continual reminders of His presence in my life.

"Behold, my soul delighteth in the things of the Lord; and my heart pondereth continually upon the things which I have seen and heard." 2 Nephi 4:16

Isaiah teaches, that as I delight in the things of the Lord I will have reason to ponder the miracles of His presence in my life. I testify that as we ponder the seemingly normal lives we live, we will see evidences of the Savior's love for us. The key is not to let it all pass by in a frenzy before we take notice. Which leads me back to the heart. Pondering continually in our hearts the things which we have seen and heard. This does not refer to extraordainary things, I think it refers to the daily personal miracles found in each of our lives. I am blessed.

Do I need glasses?

"But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him; for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart". 1 Samuel 16:7

As I get older it has become clear to me that my eyesight is changing. I like to sew and watch a DVD at the same time. About 2 years ago I noticed that it was difficult to focus on something far away like the TV screen, especially after I had been focusing on details close, like my sewing. This experience bothered me so much that I went to have my eyes examined. The nice doctor explained to me that I was getting older and a change in my eyesight was normal. So I wanted glasses to fix the problem. I was told my eyes weren't that bad. So, now when I have trouble focusing on something in the distance I know I'm missing the details. Everyone else is sees clearly, but I'm missing the complete picture.

"..man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart", according to this scripture I was missing seeing things clearly when I thought I saw everything. I'm glad that I am older and maybe a little bit wiser. At least now I know I don't get the whole picture. The key is not the eyes and what is seen by them, but the heart and what is seen from within. I need to look to the heart of another and overlook the distractions on the outside. Those are the glasses I want, the kind that allow me to see the heart clearly.

Looking on the heart is one of the Savior's qualities. I am so grateful that my Savior looks on my heart! He sees my soul and knows who I really am.

Access to God

"But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul". Dueteronomy 4:29

From this point forward I can have access to God if I but seek him with all my heart, soul and being. I am not alone. I have the promise that he will allow me to find him. My part of the bargain is that I must seek him with my whole soul, which is symbolized by my heart.

What does it mean to seek something with one's heart and soul? Seek implies a journey not a destination. Seek is an action verb. If one seeks, one looks and inquires and searches for something. Is "seeking" an attitude? Yes, but I think seek means something more, like thirst, hunger or desire. Almost as if there is an intense inner drive that motivates action. Could "seeking" be a way of being?

Title - The Heart

The heart is very symbolic. We use the heart to represent love or deep affection. To me the heart signifies the very soul or being of a person. As I study the scriptures, I am drawn to the passages including the word heart. Today I will begin with a simple straightforward scripture found in the Old Testament.
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." Proverb 3:5-6
I am asked to trust the Lord entirely. I know He loves me, he knows me and he will direct me. What a blessing it is to know that the Lord has a clear understanding of the things I need and the direction I should go. Oft times my view is clouded and my judgement is not sound. I am grateful that I can relay on the Lord to direct my paths daily. I just have to listen and be willing to trust in him.