Rachel's Talk:
Sister Harris and I were asked to share our thoughts on Alma 12:9-11.
I’d like to focus on verse 10, which says, “And therefore, he that
will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the
word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater
portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries
of God until he know them in full.”
The heart is a symbol
of the mind and will of man and the figurative source of all emotions
and feelings. In the scriptures we learn that revelation is closely
linked to our heart.
I love what Elder Lund shared in the April 2008 conference:
“The
heart is a tender place. It is sensitive to many influences, both
positive and negative. It can be hurt by others, deadened by sin, and
softened by love. Early in our lives, we learn to guard our hearts. It
is like we erect a fence around our hearts with a gate in it. No one can
enter that gate unless we allow [them] to.
In some cases
the fence we erect around our hearts could be likened to a small picket
fence with a Welcome sign on the gate. Other hearts have been so hurt
or so deadened by sin that they have an eight-foot chain-link fence
topped with razor wire around them. The gate is padlocked and has a
large No Trespassing sign on it.”
Nephi taught, “When a
man speaketh by the power of the Holy Ghost the power of the Holy Ghost
carrieth it unto the hearts of the children of men.” Elder David A.
Bednar noted the use of the word unto: “Please notice how the power of
the Spirit carries the message unto but not necessarily into the heart. …
Ultimately, … the content of a message and the witness of the Holy
Ghost penetrate into the heart only if a receiver allows them to enter.”
‘Individual agency is so sacred that Heavenly Father
will never force the human heart, even with all His infinite power. God
allows us to be the guardians, or the 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.’
So how do we open our hearts?
To
me, opening our hearts really means turning our hearts to Christ. True
disciples of Christ are teachable, diligent, and humble.
The
best way I can think of to open our hearts to God is by praying to Him
and letting him know the thoughts of our hearts. In Mosiah 24, the
people of Alma were commanded by Amulon not to pray. There were guards
keeping watch over them who would put them to death if they were found
calling upon God. Verse 12 says, “And Alma and his people did not raise
their voices to the Lord their God, but did pour out their hearts to
him, and he did know the thoughts of their hearts.” This is when the
Lord was able to help and comfort them.
I love this poem about a missionary who tells God the feelings of his heart, and then he is able to be taught:
The
alarm rings at 6:30; I stumble to my feet. I grab my companion's
bedding and pull off his sheet. A groan fills the room, is it already
time to arise? It seems like just a second ago I was able to shut my
eyes. The morning activities follow - study, prayer, and such. When it's
time to leave the apartment, I feel I haven't accomplished much. "We
have a super day planned," my comp says with a grin. I lowly utter a
faithless breath, "Yeah, if anyone lets us in. "With the word of God and
my faithful Schwinn, we ride off in the street Prepared to face another
day of humidity and heat. It's 9:30 in the evening, the day is almost
through; My companion and I are riding home, not accomplishing what we
thought to do. We ride up to the mailbox, hoping to receive a lot. Only
to look inside and hear my echo reverberate "Air Box." We go up to our
apartment, the day is now complete. The only thing to show for our work
is a case of blistery feet. It's past 10:30 PM, my companion is fast
asleep. Silence engulfs me all about and I begin to weep. In the midst
of sadness, I kneel down to pray; I need to talk to God, but I'm not
sure what to say. "Oh, Father," I begin, "What happened to us today? I
thought we'd teach somebody, but everyone was away. My hands, my aching
hands - worn, hurt and beat; If our area was any smaller, we'd have
knocked every street .." "Why on missions are the days so much alike?
The only difference about today was the flat tire on my bike. Will you
send some cooler weather? The heat is killing me. I sweat so bad, it
gets in my eyes; It's very hard to see." "Why do I have to wear a
helmet, isn't your protection enough? People always laugh at me and call
me stupid stuff. Please send us investigators so I may give them what
they lack; I want to give them Books of Mormon, the weight of them
hurts my back." "And what about my family? They don't have much to say,
I'm sick of not hearing from home, day after day after day. Oh Father,
why am I here, am I just wasting time? Sometimes I just want to go home,
I'm sorry that's on my mind." "My companion, Heavenly Father, what are
you giving me? The way he rides his bicycle, I don't think he can see.
Now you have it, I can't go on I don't know what to do; That, my Father
in Heaven, is the prayer I have for You. "My prayer now finished I
stand up, then jump right into bed. I need my rest for tomorrow; we have
another long day ahead. Sleep starts to overtake me; I seem to drift
away, Then it seems a vision takes me to another time and another day.
I'm standing alone on the hill, the view is very nice; A man walks
towards me and says, "My name is Jesus Christ." Tears of joy well up
inside, I fall down to His feet, "Arise," He states, "Follow me to the
shade - you and I need to speak.
"My attentions toward the Savior, total and complete. He says, "Your
mission is similar of what happened to Me, I understand how you feel, I
know what you're going through; In fact it would be fair to say I've
felt the same as you." "I even know how you felt when no one listened to
you. At times I felt not quite sure what else I could do. I know you
don't like to ride a bicycle, for you a car would be sweet; Just
remember the donkey I rode wasn't equipped with 21 speeds." "I
understand you don't like sweating, in fact it's something you hate; I
remember when I sweat blood from every pore, oh the agony was great! I
see you don't like your companion - you'd rather have someone else. I
once had a companion named Judas who sold my life for wealth." "It's
hard to wear a helmet and have people make fun of you. I remember when
they put thorns on my head and called me King of the Jews. So you feel
burdened down by the weight of your pack. I recall how heavy the cross
was when they slammed it on my back." "Your hands hurt from tracting and
knocking on doors all day. I guess when they pounded nails into mine, I
ached in a similar way. It's hard not to hear from home when your
family's not there to see; I lost my communication on the cross and
cried, "Father, why hast Thou forsaken Me." He embraced me with His
arms, His light filled me with His love, With tears in my eyes I
watched as He went back to the Father above. I stood with awe and wonder
when a beep rang in my head, I listened and heard the alarm, then
realized I was in my bed. My companion let out a groan, "6:30 already,
no way!" I sat up and said, "Come on, I'll even carry your scriptures
today!" No matter what you go through, when you feel we can’t take more;
Just stop and think about Jesus Christ. He has been there before.
I love how this missionary poured out his heart to God and was then humble enough to be taught by the Master!
As
we continually open our hearts by praying to our Heavenly Father,
studying and pondering the scriptures, and remaining steadfast in the
commandments, then the Lord teaches us and we are able to know the
mysteries of God.
One of my favorite scriptures is
Doctrine and Covenants 50:24 which says, “That which is of God is light
and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light
and that light growth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.”
I
like this verse because it teaches us that God will reveal things to us
line upon line. When I was deciding whether or not I should serve a
mission, I prayed a lot and God didn’t tell me the answer all at once. I
had lots of little experiences that led me to make the decision to
serve; then I had several more experiences where God let me know that he
was pleased with my decision.
My testimony has come the
same way. Thousands of tender mercies from God have helped me to know
that Jesus is the Christ. I know he lives and loves us. It is because
of him that I can be sealed to my family. I am grateful for my Savior
and His Atonement, which changes me.
