We, even as members of the church, are often lost and sinful. We don’t know where to turn to and we require the influence of others to bring us on the right path. This influence can cause a change of heart if we let it. In Alma 5:7 we read: “Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word.” The Lord will never give up on us even if we are convinced he has. If we continue to open ourselves up to the spirit of the Lord he will bring about a change in us that will put us back on the path of regaining the testimony we have lost.
We do not necessarily need to be sinful to require a change of heart. A change of heart can represent the drastic growth of our testimony from faith to an actual knowledge of God. “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) This is a very important part of our spiritual growth. It is what turns a missionary into a messenger of God or what makes a bishop a judge in Israel. Once we carry his image in our countenance we become true disciples of Christ.
Having had this change of heart does not mean that this will suffice for the rest of our lives. “And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?” (Alma 5:26) We must keep the spirit with us at all times. Righteousness is not something that is achieved, but more of a journey. We must always remember that change of heart and live such that we can have that same feeling with us at all times.
As sons and daughters of God in his gospel we have already experienced a certain change of heart. When we came to the knowledge of the truth of God’s plan faith changed our hearts forever. In Mosiah 5:7 we read: “And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be called the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through faith on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and have become his sons and his daughters.” We are born again through faith when we accept the gospel and are baptized. We gain a testimony and are washed clean of all our sins.
For those of us who are not converts and gained our first testimony from our parents, it was our forefathers that had that change of heart. “And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were faithful until the end; therefore they were saved.” (Alma 5:13) Our fathers and mothers have passed that mighty change of heart, and the faith that came with it, on to us. It is up to us to find our own change of heart and build our own faith on that foundation.
I have a testimony that anybody can obtain a mighty change of heart. With diligence and the will to open up to the light of Christ we can be saved or strengthened by a change of heart in times of need. God is our father in heaven and will always put us back on our feet if we let him.
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9 comments:
I really like the wisdom of your words. For example, you expressed an important truth: that we don't necessarily have to be sinful to have a mighty change of heart; we may just need to experience significant growth in our testimony. Another example of your wisdom is the description of how one's countenance can be changed be a new calling, such as Bishop or missionary. You may wish to spell-check one more time. I saw a typo in the first paragraph. Other than that, this post is good.
I loved the scriptures that you chose for your bog. They are beautiful. You can tell that you put a lot of time and thought into your blog. I really enjoyed it:)
I really liked how you mentioned that it was our forefathers who had a change of heart who passed it down to our parents. Your right, it is now our responsibility to have a mighty change of heart.
I liked that you said even members sin because I think some people get prideful and think that just because they are a member, they are perfect. I also like when you said that a change of heart can be undertaken even if we are not sinning at the moment because sometimes a person is not sinning, but does not feel the Spirit. Good job.
I really liked this blog about a change of heart, especially when you said that you don't have to be wicked to have a change of heart
Excellent blog. The scriptures you chose really enhanced your blog, I loved it!
This blog was crazzy good. Who wrote it? Anywho, great blog, like how you dont have to be wicked and sinful just to have a change of heart althought that usually is the case. You put serious work into this. As a grade I'd probably give it a D-... Im kidding lol Great Job!!!!
I really enjoyed the sciprture about God being in our countenances. It really is what turns missionaries into messengers of God.
I like how you started your blog... Saying that as members we are still not perfect and working to be better. I also liked how much emphasis you put on people influencing our lives because it is so true. Everyone around us effects us and we become like those we associate with! Thank you.
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