Hard Hearts

"..I was forbidden to preach unto them, because of the hardness of their hearts; and because of the hardness of their hearts the land was cursed for their sake."
Mormon 1:17

Knowledge and blessings are withheld from those whose hearts are hard. Not only that, but the land may be "cursed" for the sake of those with hard hearts. I wonder if the curse is to help humble or bring to remembrance former knowledge and understanding. So, if I have a hard heart and everything is going badly, maybe its really a blessing to help me return to a soft heart.

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.