My Sacrament Meeting Talk

So I was asked to speak in Sacrament Meeting last Sunday. I had plenty of time to prepare, I just hate talking in front of people! I did learn a lot so I want to put my talk on here to help me remember what I learned.

I was asked to speak on being born again, I was having a hard time wrapping my head around that subject until my mom reminded me of a saying we have on a plaque in our house: When you choose Christ, you choose to be changed. That was a bit easier for me to understand and I started looking in Alma, Mosiah, and even some teacher manuals for seminary.

"Faith in God can lead to a mighty change in our heart. This spiritual rebirth cleanses us from sin and makes us more like Christ. Alma knew that true reform could only come through a mighty change of heart." - seminary manual for Book of Mormon

President Ezra Taft Benson said that "The Lord works from the inside out. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature."

Prophets and Apostles have taught about being born again or having a mighty change of heart. In an April 2007 conference address, David A. Bednar said: 

"The Lord's authorized servants repeatedly teach that one of the principal purposes of our mortal existence is to be spiritually changed and transformed through the Atonement of Jesus Chrsit. Alma declared: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters;

As we choose to follow the Master, we choose to be changed--to be spiritually reborn.

I think that it is really neat that through our Savior and Lord we can be changed at heart. Our actions and thoughts can reflect godlike actions and thoughts and we can become more like our father in Heaven. A question I came up with while preparing for this talk was: Is a change of heart an event or process?

President Ezra Taft Benson also says: "The scriptures record remarkable accounts of men whose lives changed dramatically, in an instant, as it were; Alma the younger, Paul on the road to Damascus, Enos praying far into the night, and King Lamoni. Such astonishing examples of power to change even those steeped in sin can give confidence that the Atonement can reach even those deepest in despair. But we must be cautious as we discuss these remarkable examples. Though they are real and powerful, they are the exception more than the rule. 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 that 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."

When people are born again, they experience a mighty change of heart. Through making and keeping sacred covenants they become the children of Christ.

In Mosiah 5:2 it says "And they all cried with one voice, saying; Yea, we believe all the words which though hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth 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."

Some ways I found that we can come to this mighty change of heart were in True to the Faith:

"Your capacity to experience a mighty change of heart will increase as you strive to follow the Savior's perfect example. Study the scriptures, pray in faith, keep the commandments, and seek the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. As you continue in the conversion process, you will receive "exceedingly great joy", as King Benjamin's people did when the Spirit "wrought a mighty change of hearts."

I was comforted to know that if I continue trying to become more like my Savior and keep the spirit with me, I am headed in the right direction. I know that if we are truly converted, it is something we must do for ourselves, but it is a bit nerve wracking to know that we can't just have someone else carry us. I am very blessed to have such great exaples in my life. I get to teach primary and those kids are great examples to me. They are so innocent and have an amazing grasp of gospel principles. Sometimes it surprises at some of the answers they give in class. Things that come so naturally for them are often things I didn't even think about. My parents have been a great example to me. Especially when it comes to relying on the Lord and I am very grateful for that. Family is very important to me and I am so blessed to have such a rich heritage and have the opportunity to know so many of my grandparents. I get even more examples!

Bruce R. McConkie said: "Family members bear the family name; by it they are known and called and identified; it sets them apart from all those of a different lineage and ancestry...And so it is that the children of Christ, those who are born again, those who are spiritually begotten of their new Father, take upon themselves the name of Christ. By it they are known; it identifies and sets them apart from all others. They are now family members, Christians in the real and true sense of the word. If we are born again and make the covenants to take upon us the name of Christ, keep His commandments and always remember Him, we become His children and part of His family."

I found a conference address by Dale G. Renlund from October 2009 that I really like the analogy and that it can help me remember the things that I have learned:

"In December 1967 the first successful heart transplant was performed in Cape Town, South Africa. The dying man’s diseased heart was removed, and a healthy heart from a deceased donor was sewn in its place. Since then, over 75,000 heart transplants have been performed worldwide.

In each heart transplant recipient, the patient’s own body recognizes the new, lifesaving heart as “foreign” and begins to attack it. Left unchecked, the body’s natural response will reject the new heart, and the recipient will die. Medicines can suppress this natural response, but the medications must be taken daily and with exactness. Furthermore, the condition of the new heart must be monitored. Occasional heart biopsies are performed wherein small pieces of heart tissue are removed and then examined under a microscope. When signs of rejection are found, medications are adjusted. If the rejection process is detected early enough, death can be averted.

Surprisingly, some patients become casual with their transplanted hearts. They skip their medicines here and there and obtain the needed follow-up less frequently than they should. They think that because they feel good, all is well. Too often this shortsighted attitude puts the patients at risk and shortens their lives.

A heart transplant can prolong life for years for people who would otherwise die from heart failure. But it is not “the ultimate operation,” as Time magazine called it in 1967.The ultimate operation is not a physical but a spiritual “mighty change” of heart

Through the Atonement of Christ and by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel, we undergo this ultimate operation, this spiritual change of heart. As a result of our transgressions, our spiritual hearts have become diseased and hardened, making us subject to spiritual death and separation from our Heavenly Father. The Lord explained the operation that we all need: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.” 

Just as with heart transplant patients, however, this mighty change of our spiritual hearts is just the beginning. Repentance, baptism, and confirmation are necessary but not sufficient. Indeed, equal, if not greater, care must be taken with a spiritually changed heart than with a physically transplanted heart if we are to endure to the end. Only by doing so can we be held guiltless at the time of judgment. 

Enduring to the end can be challenging because the tendency of the natural man is to reject the spiritually changed heart and allow it to harden. No wonder the Lord cautioned to “even let those who are sanctified take heed.”

We all know of individuals who had this mighty change of heart but subsequently yielded to the natural man. They became casual in their worship and devotion to God, their hearts became hardened, and they thereby jeopardized their eternal salvation."

Sometimes I feel like there is way too much responsibility for me to do the things I need to become more like my Savior. Among all of the titles I bear: sister, aunt, daughter, friend, and teacher, often times I feel that living up to Daughter of God is a tough one. I often feel inadequate and like I am not measuring up to my Father's expectations. When I feel like this, I got to my Father in Heaven in prayer and I am always comforted, but as I forget the sweet experience, I am bogged down by these feelings again. The I read the following by Neal A. Maxwell,

"This is a gospel of grand expectations but God's grace is sufficient for each of us if we remember that there are no instant Christians. We can contemplate how far we have already come in the climb along the pathway to perfection; itis usually much further than we acknowledge, and such reflections restore resolve. We can allow for the reality that God is still more concerned with growth than with geography."

Even though I had plenty of time to prepare, I found that I was always too busy or not in the right mindset or mood to prepare this talk. The adversary was working hard to keep me from learning more about being changed through Christ. This just reaffirmed to me that this was something that I needed to learn, understand, and do. I learned a lot and I know that I was asked to speak on this subject because the Lord needed me to learn some things.