Ok family and friends. Some of you who knew I had to speak in church on Sunday said that I should post my talk on the blog. So here it is in all its pathetic glory! You'll just have to imagine me being witty and charming at the podium as you read it. I guess it was ok, I recieved lots of compliments afterwards. 
Aloha, my brothers and sisters. I know you’ve heard from me not too long ago. And I really pleaded my case to the Bishopric, but they didn’t seem to think it was a problem. And they couldn’t seem to remember that I’d spoken recently. I must not have made a very deep impression. I lay the blame on Bishop Hee who should have passed the word on to the new bishopric!
The topic we’ve been given today is from Alma 5:14-26. This is where we read of Alma the Younger preaching about a Mighty Change of Heart.
In preparation for this talk I came across an article from a BYU professor. He had a student that when he was just 11 years old had bone cancer in his leg. Because of the medicine used in chemotherapy he suffered damage to his heart. He developed a heart condition called cardiomyopothy. With this condition his heart muscles would slowly deteriorate. But in spite of it all, he lived an active life. And when it was time for his mission his cardiologist advised him not to go. But he was determined. He was then advised to request a mission close to home. They said that his last days very well could be on his mission. This was in the time when you could choose 18 months or 2 years. He was given 18 months, but prayerfully decided to extend to a full 2 years. He completed his mission successfully and honorably. When he was 25, his heart had deteriorated to the point that the only option to save his life was a heart transplant. After careful screening he was put on the organ transplant recipient list at University of Utah. He waited for word of an available organ, wearing a pager 24 hrs a day. His family temporarily moved from California to Bountiful, UT to be closer to the hospital. After nearly 2 months he was notified that a donor heart had become available. He went immediately to the hospital and in a surgery that took only 87 minutes, his diseased heart was removed and the new one was put in its place. This young man’s heart transplant was critical to his continued life on this earth.
I use this story to illustrate what happened with Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah. Alma the younger had gone around Zarahemla persecuting the saints. He wasn’t just “inactive” from church. He was purposefully trying to wreck their beliefs, trying to pull people away, causing as much damage as possible. It seems to me he had a very wicked heart and evil intent. You could even say he had a severe case of spiritual cardiomyopathy! His spiritual heart had completely become deteriorated. They were in bad need of a spiritual heart transplant! Their heart transplant team came in the form of an Angel. Let’s just say that his heart transplant surgery took 2 days. As you recall from the scriptural account after the angel spoke to them his “astonishment was so great that he became dumb, that he could not open his mouth; yea, and he became weak, even that he could not move his hands; therefore he was taken by those that were with him, and carried helpless, even until he was laid before his father.” (Mosiah 27:19)
The parallels between the young man and Alma’s conversion and teachings are evident. The young man from the first story underwent a physical change of heart and was spared from premature death. Alma preached of our need for a symbolic change of heart, with the certain safety from spiritual death. The Book of Mormon refers to the heart 162 times – nearly every third page. Most of these references are in the context of the heart’s need for the healing and strengthening power of repentance. When something is repeated so many times in the scriptures, you can bet it’s very important.
Last week the topic assigned to the speakers was about repentance. I can see a progression here. This week we talk of the mighty change of heart that has to happen after repentance to make it a lasting change.
I think my favorite scripture that has to do with this is Mosiah 5:2, “ . . . because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.” The word ‘disposition’ many times is thought of as ‘desire’. But desire is a temporary feeling. Synonyms for the word ‘disposition’ can also be temperance, character and personality. Our desires come and go, often in relation to our environment. I’m certain the mighty change of heart that leads you to “have no disposition to do evil, but to do good continually” is of the more permanent nature. It’s a change so deep and complete that it has fundamentally changed your soul.
I recently, through the miracle of technology and a silly little thing called “facebook”, have been reconnected to my Jr. High math teacher. Now some of you may not think much of that. Or like my daughter may think it’s just weird to even want to be reconnected to any math teacher! But for me, it has been a very sweet reunion. He was my favorite math teacher ever!
On facebook, you can look at a friend’s profile, and often they will post photos. While looking through his profile to see what he’s been up to in the past nearly 30 years, I noticed that his son was on a mission. Now this struck me as odd because I didn’t think he was a member of the church. So I had to ask if my memory had served me correctly. And he verified that he wasn’t a member of our church back when he was my teacher. And if I ever have to give a talk on missionary work – I would share with you how it had nothing to do with living in my small “mormon” town. Since I had my mind on preparing for this talk, I asked what his “mighty change of heart” was that he had gone through that he would be willing to share with me. I give this story with his permission.
He didn’t live in my home town for long. He ended up getting laid off from the school. He then moved to Flagstaff, AZ where I believe his family is from. He met a girl at a car stereo shop. He had the car with the stereo that was used as a demo. While she waited for her car stereo to be installed she was looking at the demo in his car. They ended up dating and getting married. She was a member of our church and he was Catholic. He took some missionary discussions off and on through the years. Sometimes she would go to the Catholic church with him, and he would go to the LDS church with her. At one point, their marriage became strained and they even separated for a while. They worked through some issues and got back together. He shared with me, that when he lived according to gospel principals, his life became much easier to live. He had more peace in his heart and in the home. So he started to go to our church regularly. He was involved in all the service projects. He even had a calling as the athletic director! He was still not a member. One day during priesthood, the lesson was on exercising the priesthood in the home. They were sitting in the high counsel room, and the teacher went around the table and was asking questions. When he came to my friend he said, “When was the last time you exercised the priesthood in your home?” My friend replied, “I’m not a member of this church!” Needless to say, the teacher was dumb-founded and didn’t quite know how to proceed after that. After class he apologized for putting him on the spot like that, but he had no idea that he wasn’t a member because he was at all the activities and did everything all the other members did. And maybe a little more! Anyways, it made my friend realize something. He realized he needed to get off the fence! He was doing everything else the members did. That day after class, he told the bishop he wanted to get baptized. Eight years after they were married he surprised his wife and family at a special fireside and was baptized into the church. On their 10th anniversary they were sealed as a family in the Salt Lake Temple.
I asked my friend if he had any moments that he could point to and say, “That was when I had a mighty change of heart”. But he said it was a process over the years. It didn’t happen in a flash of heavenly fireworks. For most of us, it’s a process that happens so subtly we hardly notice it. In an Ensign article by Ezra Taft Benson, Oct 1989, President Benson is referring to the mighty change in our hearts as it refers to repentance. And though in the scriptures we find examples of the sudden and profound change of hearts, President Benson said, “For every Paul, for every Enos, and for every King Lamoni, there are hundreds and thousands of people who find the process of repentance much more subtle, much more imperceptible. Day by day they move closer to the Lord, little realizing they are building a godlike life. They live quiet lives of goodness, service, and commitment. They are like the Lamanites, who the Lord said “were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.” (3 Ne. 9:20)
This is much like my friend. He had undergone a mighty change of heart over time and hadn’t realized it. He “knew it not”. Now he only needed to get his ordinances taken care of.
Last week as I was sitting in Sacrament meeting thinking about my friend and his realization, my thoughts turned to our congregation. I wondered if there were any in our midst that are doing the same thing. Are there any among us who are living according to gospel principals, coming to church, providing service to others, you believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, yet have not been baptized? Or maybe you have been baptized and you haven’t been through the temple and taken part of the saving ordinances there. You haven’t had your family sealed to you. Ask yourself, “Have I been baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost and know it not?” And to those of us who have already had those saving ordinances performed for ourselves. We are not off the hook! Do we have the desire to “do good continually”? Are we anxiously engaged in the 3-fold mission of the church? Are we working on proclaiming the Gospel, redeeming the dead and perfecting the saints? I know that if we’ve experienced this mighty change of heart and were doing good continually, we’d be on the right track for perfecting the saints!
The scripture reference they gave us for this topic is Alma 5:14-26 –
14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye aspiritually been bborn of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty cchange in your hearts?
15 Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who acreated you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption braised in incorruption, to stand before God to be cjudged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?
16 I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye ablessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth?
17 Or do ye aimagine to yourselves that ye can lie unto the Lord in that day, and bsay—Lord, our works have been righteous works upon the face of the earth—and that he will save you?
18 Or otherwise, can ye imagine yourselves brought before the tribunal of God with your souls filled with guilt and remorse, having a remembrance of all your guilt, yea, a perfect aremembrance of all your wickedness, yea, a remembrance that ye have set at defiance the commandments of God?
19 I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up, having the aimage of God engraven upon your countenances?
20 I say unto you, can ye think of being saved when you have yielded yourselves to become asubjects to the devil?
21 I say unto you, ye will know at that day that ye cannot be asaved; for there can no man be saved except his bgarments are washed white; yea, his garments must be cpurified until they are cleansed from all stain, through the blood of him of whom it has been spoken by our fathers, who should come to redeem his people from their sins.
22 And now I ask of you, my brethren, how will any of you feel, if ye shall stand before the bar of God, having your garments stained with ablood and all manner of bfilthiness? Behold, what will these things testify against you?
23 Behold will they not atestify that ye are murderers, yea, and also that ye are bguilty of all manner of wickedness?
24 Behold, my brethren, do ye suppose that such an one can have a place to sit down in the kingdom of God, with aAbraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, and also all the holy prophets, whose garments are cleansed and are spotless, pure and white?
25 I say unto you, Nay; except ye make our Creator a liar from the beginning, or suppose that he is a liar from the beginning, ye cannot suppose that such can have place in the kingdom of heaven; but they shall be cast out for they are the achildren of the kingdom of the devil.
26 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a achange of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the bsong of redeeming love, I would ask, ccan ye feel so now?
I’d like to bear witness of the truthfulness of this gospel. I know that God lives and loves us. I know that we can each have a mighty change in our hearts. A change so powerful and complete that we will have “no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually”. It is my prayer that we will acknowledge Heavenly Father’s hand in our lives, and his Holy Spirit’s effect on our very character. I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
So there you go. Holy cow it makes for a long post. During the talk I used a print out of this, only the words you see in blue did not print at all. So when I got to that point I told them some of the words didn't print. And thankfully a member of the bishopric, Bro. Van Sweden, had the scriptures right there for me. He saved me! So a quick thank you to him even though he doesn't read my blog.
Aloha, my brothers and sisters. I know you’ve heard from me not too long ago. And I really pleaded my case to the Bishopric, but they didn’t seem to think it was a problem. And they couldn’t seem to remember that I’d spoken recently. I must not have made a very deep impression. I lay the blame on Bishop Hee who should have passed the word on to the new bishopric!The topic we’ve been given today is from Alma 5:14-26. This is where we read of Alma the Younger preaching about a Mighty Change of Heart.
In preparation for this talk I came across an article from a BYU professor. He had a student that when he was just 11 years old had bone cancer in his leg. Because of the medicine used in chemotherapy he suffered damage to his heart. He developed a heart condition called cardiomyopothy. With this condition his heart muscles would slowly deteriorate. But in spite of it all, he lived an active life. And when it was time for his mission his cardiologist advised him not to go. But he was determined. He was then advised to request a mission close to home. They said that his last days very well could be on his mission. This was in the time when you could choose 18 months or 2 years. He was given 18 months, but prayerfully decided to extend to a full 2 years. He completed his mission successfully and honorably. When he was 25, his heart had deteriorated to the point that the only option to save his life was a heart transplant. After careful screening he was put on the organ transplant recipient list at University of Utah. He waited for word of an available organ, wearing a pager 24 hrs a day. His family temporarily moved from California to Bountiful, UT to be closer to the hospital. After nearly 2 months he was notified that a donor heart had become available. He went immediately to the hospital and in a surgery that took only 87 minutes, his diseased heart was removed and the new one was put in its place. This young man’s heart transplant was critical to his continued life on this earth.
I use this story to illustrate what happened with Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah. Alma the younger had gone around Zarahemla persecuting the saints. He wasn’t just “inactive” from church. He was purposefully trying to wreck their beliefs, trying to pull people away, causing as much damage as possible. It seems to me he had a very wicked heart and evil intent. You could even say he had a severe case of spiritual cardiomyopathy! His spiritual heart had completely become deteriorated. They were in bad need of a spiritual heart transplant! Their heart transplant team came in the form of an Angel. Let’s just say that his heart transplant surgery took 2 days. As you recall from the scriptural account after the angel spoke to them his “astonishment was so great that he became dumb, that he could not open his mouth; yea, and he became weak, even that he could not move his hands; therefore he was taken by those that were with him, and carried helpless, even until he was laid before his father.” (Mosiah 27:19)
The parallels between the young man and Alma’s conversion and teachings are evident. The young man from the first story underwent a physical change of heart and was spared from premature death. Alma preached of our need for a symbolic change of heart, with the certain safety from spiritual death. The Book of Mormon refers to the heart 162 times – nearly every third page. Most of these references are in the context of the heart’s need for the healing and strengthening power of repentance. When something is repeated so many times in the scriptures, you can bet it’s very important.
Last week the topic assigned to the speakers was about repentance. I can see a progression here. This week we talk of the mighty change of heart that has to happen after repentance to make it a lasting change.
I think my favorite scripture that has to do with this is Mosiah 5:2, “ . . . because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.” The word ‘disposition’ many times is thought of as ‘desire’. But desire is a temporary feeling. Synonyms for the word ‘disposition’ can also be temperance, character and personality. Our desires come and go, often in relation to our environment. I’m certain the mighty change of heart that leads you to “have no disposition to do evil, but to do good continually” is of the more permanent nature. It’s a change so deep and complete that it has fundamentally changed your soul.
I recently, through the miracle of technology and a silly little thing called “facebook”, have been reconnected to my Jr. High math teacher. Now some of you may not think much of that. Or like my daughter may think it’s just weird to even want to be reconnected to any math teacher! But for me, it has been a very sweet reunion. He was my favorite math teacher ever!
On facebook, you can look at a friend’s profile, and often they will post photos. While looking through his profile to see what he’s been up to in the past nearly 30 years, I noticed that his son was on a mission. Now this struck me as odd because I didn’t think he was a member of the church. So I had to ask if my memory had served me correctly. And he verified that he wasn’t a member of our church back when he was my teacher. And if I ever have to give a talk on missionary work – I would share with you how it had nothing to do with living in my small “mormon” town. Since I had my mind on preparing for this talk, I asked what his “mighty change of heart” was that he had gone through that he would be willing to share with me. I give this story with his permission.
He didn’t live in my home town for long. He ended up getting laid off from the school. He then moved to Flagstaff, AZ where I believe his family is from. He met a girl at a car stereo shop. He had the car with the stereo that was used as a demo. While she waited for her car stereo to be installed she was looking at the demo in his car. They ended up dating and getting married. She was a member of our church and he was Catholic. He took some missionary discussions off and on through the years. Sometimes she would go to the Catholic church with him, and he would go to the LDS church with her. At one point, their marriage became strained and they even separated for a while. They worked through some issues and got back together. He shared with me, that when he lived according to gospel principals, his life became much easier to live. He had more peace in his heart and in the home. So he started to go to our church regularly. He was involved in all the service projects. He even had a calling as the athletic director! He was still not a member. One day during priesthood, the lesson was on exercising the priesthood in the home. They were sitting in the high counsel room, and the teacher went around the table and was asking questions. When he came to my friend he said, “When was the last time you exercised the priesthood in your home?” My friend replied, “I’m not a member of this church!” Needless to say, the teacher was dumb-founded and didn’t quite know how to proceed after that. After class he apologized for putting him on the spot like that, but he had no idea that he wasn’t a member because he was at all the activities and did everything all the other members did. And maybe a little more! Anyways, it made my friend realize something. He realized he needed to get off the fence! He was doing everything else the members did. That day after class, he told the bishop he wanted to get baptized. Eight years after they were married he surprised his wife and family at a special fireside and was baptized into the church. On their 10th anniversary they were sealed as a family in the Salt Lake Temple.
I asked my friend if he had any moments that he could point to and say, “That was when I had a mighty change of heart”. But he said it was a process over the years. It didn’t happen in a flash of heavenly fireworks. For most of us, it’s a process that happens so subtly we hardly notice it. In an Ensign article by Ezra Taft Benson, Oct 1989, President Benson is referring to the mighty change in our hearts as it refers to repentance. And though in the scriptures we find examples of the sudden and profound change of hearts, President Benson said, “For every Paul, for every Enos, and for every King Lamoni, there are hundreds and thousands of people who find the process of repentance much more subtle, much more imperceptible. Day by day they move closer to the Lord, little realizing they are building a godlike life. They live quiet lives of goodness, service, and commitment. They are like the Lamanites, who the Lord said “were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.” (3 Ne. 9:20)
This is much like my friend. He had undergone a mighty change of heart over time and hadn’t realized it. He “knew it not”. Now he only needed to get his ordinances taken care of.
Last week as I was sitting in Sacrament meeting thinking about my friend and his realization, my thoughts turned to our congregation. I wondered if there were any in our midst that are doing the same thing. Are there any among us who are living according to gospel principals, coming to church, providing service to others, you believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, yet have not been baptized? Or maybe you have been baptized and you haven’t been through the temple and taken part of the saving ordinances there. You haven’t had your family sealed to you. Ask yourself, “Have I been baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost and know it not?” And to those of us who have already had those saving ordinances performed for ourselves. We are not off the hook! Do we have the desire to “do good continually”? Are we anxiously engaged in the 3-fold mission of the church? Are we working on proclaiming the Gospel, redeeming the dead and perfecting the saints? I know that if we’ve experienced this mighty change of heart and were doing good continually, we’d be on the right track for perfecting the saints!
The scripture reference they gave us for this topic is Alma 5:14-26 –
14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye aspiritually been bborn of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty cchange in your hearts?
15 Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who acreated you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption braised in incorruption, to stand before God to be cjudged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body?
16 I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye ablessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth?
17 Or do ye aimagine to yourselves that ye can lie unto the Lord in that day, and bsay—Lord, our works have been righteous works upon the face of the earth—and that he will save you?
18 Or otherwise, can ye imagine yourselves brought before the tribunal of God with your souls filled with guilt and remorse, having a remembrance of all your guilt, yea, a perfect aremembrance of all your wickedness, yea, a remembrance that ye have set at defiance the commandments of God?
19 I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up, having the aimage of God engraven upon your countenances?
20 I say unto you, can ye think of being saved when you have yielded yourselves to become asubjects to the devil?
21 I say unto you, ye will know at that day that ye cannot be asaved; for there can no man be saved except his bgarments are washed white; yea, his garments must be cpurified until they are cleansed from all stain, through the blood of him of whom it has been spoken by our fathers, who should come to redeem his people from their sins.
22 And now I ask of you, my brethren, how will any of you feel, if ye shall stand before the bar of God, having your garments stained with ablood and all manner of bfilthiness? Behold, what will these things testify against you?
23 Behold will they not atestify that ye are murderers, yea, and also that ye are bguilty of all manner of wickedness?
24 Behold, my brethren, do ye suppose that such an one can have a place to sit down in the kingdom of God, with aAbraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob, and also all the holy prophets, whose garments are cleansed and are spotless, pure and white?
25 I say unto you, Nay; except ye make our Creator a liar from the beginning, or suppose that he is a liar from the beginning, ye cannot suppose that such can have place in the kingdom of heaven; but they shall be cast out for they are the achildren of the kingdom of the devil.
26 And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a achange of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the bsong of redeeming love, I would ask, ccan ye feel so now?
I’d like to bear witness of the truthfulness of this gospel. I know that God lives and loves us. I know that we can each have a mighty change in our hearts. A change so powerful and complete that we will have “no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually”. It is my prayer that we will acknowledge Heavenly Father’s hand in our lives, and his Holy Spirit’s effect on our very character. I leave these things with you in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
So there you go. Holy cow it makes for a long post. During the talk I used a print out of this, only the words you see in blue did not print at all. So when I got to that point I told them some of the words didn't print. And thankfully a member of the bishopric, Bro. Van Sweden, had the scriptures right there for me. He saved me! So a quick thank you to him even though he doesn't read my blog.
2 comments:
Such a good talk!!! We need you to come to our ward and inspire all of us! I was inspired just reading it on your blog!
Gorgeous blog !!!!
Thanks for sharing this post.
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