"A heart is able to sustain life 70 - 80 - 100 years. But the heart that takes time to touch another heart has truly accomplished something that will outlast both of their lifetimes."
This quote was hand typed onto a page inserted into a notebook given to a friend of mine. She gave me the name of the sister who wrote it, but it's hidden away on my closed Facebook account.
While at BYU, I attended a Book of Mormon class offered by Reed Benson, President Ezra Taft Benson's son. As part of the course, he had us read and semi-memorize some of his father's talks. One of them was his "Beware of Pride" talk. It was stressed that President Benson felt that one of the key messages of the Book of Mormon was pride, and the cycle that followed a proud people.
When I skim over the pages in the Book of Mormon that I've read with my children since Passover (springtime), it is somewhat astounding to view how frequently hearts are referenced. I'll paste in some page views for your viewing pleasure.
Since beginning this practice with my little red pencil, it has been astounding to see how frequently I come across the word "heart", referring to God speaking to one's heart, being hard-hearted, soft-hearted, and other variations. Almost every time I open up the scriptures, there it is, regardless of whether or not I am looking at the Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, or Pearl of Great Price.
It's also been tempting to start drawing hearts around similar words that refer to the same concept (like beloved, love, swelling, etc.). My kids have really enjoyed having a reason to draw in their scriptures too. More importantly it has reminded me as I read, that the Lord looks upon our hearts, and even more than pride, this is one of the most dominant themes in the written word – all of them.
God IS Love. It is no wonder that so much effort is made to point out that this center for feeling love is so crucial for our understanding. I wonder if we ignore it, in lieu of preferring to focus more on the damnable negativity and others' sins? Guilty! But working on it.
Love conquers all. Charity is the Pure Love of Christ. Without charity man is nothing. Let us focus more today on Love than we did yesterday. I believe this has more to do with rising up than we may have any idea of.
This quote was hand typed onto a page inserted into a notebook given to a friend of mine. She gave me the name of the sister who wrote it, but it's hidden away on my closed Facebook account.
While at BYU, I attended a Book of Mormon class offered by Reed Benson, President Ezra Taft Benson's son. As part of the course, he had us read and semi-memorize some of his father's talks. One of them was his "Beware of Pride" talk. It was stressed that President Benson felt that one of the key messages of the Book of Mormon was pride, and the cycle that followed a proud people.
During the most recent Passover, I began reading the story of Moses. I observed the repeated use of the word "hard-hearted" in the account, and I began drawing hearts around the word "heart", in any form. This practice took over my study of all scripture (and sometimes other books too), and has become an interesting visual as I flip through my scriptures.
A day or so ago I was led to Psalms 24. I read it over and over. These verses stuck out:
He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and his righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah. - Psalms 24: 4-6As I was cleaning out some boxes yesterday, I came across an old book about baptism. It was interesting to me, that the primary lesson for the intended childhood audience was that doing and performing good and was the key to making it into God's kingdom. Yet that is all about outward things, and we are a people of outward ordinances. But the Lord wants a pure heart.
When I skim over the pages in the Book of Mormon that I've read with my children since Passover (springtime), it is somewhat astounding to view how frequently hearts are referenced. I'll paste in some page views for your viewing pleasure.
Since beginning this practice with my little red pencil, it has been astounding to see how frequently I come across the word "heart", referring to God speaking to one's heart, being hard-hearted, soft-hearted, and other variations. Almost every time I open up the scriptures, there it is, regardless of whether or not I am looking at the Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants, or Pearl of Great Price.
It's also been tempting to start drawing hearts around similar words that refer to the same concept (like beloved, love, swelling, etc.). My kids have really enjoyed having a reason to draw in their scriptures too. More importantly it has reminded me as I read, that the Lord looks upon our hearts, and even more than pride, this is one of the most dominant themes in the written word – all of them.
God IS Love. It is no wonder that so much effort is made to point out that this center for feeling love is so crucial for our understanding. I wonder if we ignore it, in lieu of preferring to focus more on the damnable negativity and others' sins? Guilty! But working on it.
Love conquers all. Charity is the Pure Love of Christ. Without charity man is nothing. Let us focus more today on Love than we did yesterday. I believe this has more to do with rising up than we may have any idea of.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Has this post affected you for good? Please share your thoughts.