Talks in church! "Preserving the heart's mighty change"

Last time we gave talks in church, we posted them on here so we'd have a history of it-and maybe one of you can be uplifted by them. Here they are:

Ariana's Talk-

I’m so glad our Bishopric asks us to speak from the talks from conference. This is such a good way for us to remember what our prophets and seers want us to do. I know the Bishop is inspired.


My talk today is from Elder Renlund from October 2009 Conference titled,’Preserving the heart’s mighty change.” He began his talk with the story of the first successful heart transplant that took place in Cape Town, South Africa in 1967. Over 75,000 heart transplants have been performed since that day. In each patient their body thinks the new heart is foreign and begins to attack it. Without proper medication and constant checking the body will reject the new heart and the patient will die. Medication has to be taken daily along with constant monitoring. Doctors will take occasional biopsy’s where they take some tissue from the heart and check it under a microscope. He says, “When signs of rejection are found, medications are adjusted. If the doctors catch this fast enough there is more chance of survival.

Oddly enough patients will skip their medicine here and there and their follow-up appointments just because they feel good. All is not well based on this feeling. Having a cavalier attitude puts their health at risk.

For those that take care of their new heart constantly prolongs their life instead of dying from heart failure. This operation is literally a mighty change of heart. There is another one: 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.” I believe all of us in this room have had a mighty change of heart because we are here, at sacrament meeting today.

Just like heart transplant patients, our spiritual hearts need daily care. We can’t just think that repentance, baptism and confirmation are the only necessary elements for us to be able to make it to the end. Wouldn’t that be easy enough?

But it’s not because we are human and the natural man inside all of us wants to reject our spiritually changed heart and to allow it to harden.

How can we care for, or preserve, our changed hearts as Elder Renlund says?

He gave a great example of the people who were converted by the sons of Mosiah. Alma 23:6 states, “as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren….and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away.”

How did they do it? Alma 27:27 says they were “distinguished for their zeal towards God, and also towards men; for they were perfectly honest and upright in all things; and they were firm in the faith of Christ, even unto the end.”
Elder Renlund explains: “Their zeal towards God likely reflects an eagerness to please God and worship Him with fervor and passion. Their zeal towards men suggests an ardent interest in helping and serving others. Being perfectly upright and honest in all things suggests that they held their covenants firmly did not rationalize their commitments to God and man. We further know they taught their children the gospel in their homes. And they buried their weapons of war, distancing themselves from temptations.

Here’s what we can do to frequently assess our spiritual hearts to make sure there is no hardening or rejection, and to please God and worship with fervor and passion.
1. Pray everyday-My parents made it a habit on their mission to pray every single time they got in the car. They still do it today. I thought it was silly at first and sometimes I still do, but then I think about my boys and ask, Why not show our faith? Why not teach my boys they can pray whenever and wherever? They need all the help they can get since there are too many distractions today.
2. Studying the Scriptures-Teaching the 9, 10 and 11 year olds in the past year has been wonderful for me. I was able to learn so much more about Joseph Smith last year and my testimony of him and the work he did has grown immeasurably. This year I was able to teach a little from the Old Testament and Moses and there are so many wonderful stories in those books that are faith building and thought provoking. Even for the 9 year olds I taught. Now the Relief Society Presidency has asked us to read the Book of Mormon in 40 days. I’m way behind, but I’m trying to really follow the stories and get something out of it instead of just reading words. You know what? There is a power from this book that is undeniable. Ask yourself: when was the last time you read from the Book of Mormon?
3. Partaking of the Sacrament each week- We all are here, so Bravo to you!
4. Having the Holy Ghost as our constant companion- I know that if I didn’t have the HG with me I would be a sad, depressing person who never smiled.
5. Be perfectly upright and honest in all things, never compromising our covenants with God or our commitments to men- I have seen too many families been split apart or there is heartache when someone wasn’t honest and broke sacred covenants. Jaxon watched Pinocchio the other day and I saw the part where he started telling lies and his nose grew and grew. We don’t want that to happen to us, do we? When you tell enough lies it begins to show on your face.
6. Talk of, rejoice in, and preach of Christ- Especially to our children. We just heard last week from several general authorities talk about teaching our children the gospel in our homes, showing them love and kindness, and teach them about the Atonement and how to apply it in their lives. I know I need to do better.
7. Identify our temptations and get rid of them- What can we bury? What sets us off?
8. Help and serve each other- I know this ward is great at helping each other. Many of you have helped me out by watching the boys at one point or other. It is greatly appreciated because I know they are a lot to handle. Sometimes it is hard to help and serve, but keep doing it for you will be blessed.
9. Lastly-we need to biopsy our spiritually changed hearts constantly to see if they are hardening and reverse any signs of rejection.
10. This is a long list, but this will not only get us through this life on earth, but also through to our Heavenly Father and His son, Jesus Christ who wants all of us to be there in the end. They are routing for us. Of this I know and testify in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Jordan's Talk-

When I was a missionary I had the wonderful opportunity of serving in Long Island, NY. The people there were loud, boisterous, and wonderfully accepting to a similar personality from Gila Valley, AZ. The first fall I spent there was one I will never forget- I actually saw the leaves change colors- into a beautiful canopy of red, gold, and orange. I love to drive the Long Island Expressway and marvel at the beauty of the scenery on fire all around me. Autumn turned to winter and with that the leaves fell from their branches and the once beautiful scenery became a little depressing and quite an eye sore.

There was one woman who lived in this particular area of Hungtingon, NY who loved the missionaries. She’d had a tough life, and when she joined the church, her husband left her and her family was split up. She had such a strong conversion and testimony of the gospel that she had faith all would work out and continued to do what she knew her Father in Heaven wanted her to be doing. We would spend some of our Preparation days helping her with yard work and other tasks she had trouble doing around the house as a single, older woman.

When the leaves fell from her trees she asked us missionaries to come by and rake her yard. When we committed to this, I had no idea what I was in store for. It’s one thing to rake a yard in AZ where we have a few maples, pine trees, mesquites or a couple of oaks. It’s quite different to rake a yard in NY where the trees are EVERYWHERE and seem to produce much more vegetation.

We spent all afternoon on that yard, working as hard and efficiently as we could. The sun was starting to set and it was getting cold, but we were just getting the last of the piles of leaves secured in garbage bags. As I looked around the yard I had a content and proud feeling. I love knowing that you accomplished something, and immediately being able to see those results. We were just loading up our tools in the woman’s shed when I noticed that just across the lawn on the other side of the sidewalk was a stretch of grass on either side of her pathway leading to the house that was about 5 feet by 15 feet on each side. I don’t know why we decided to stop at the first sidewalk and not continue across from it. For some reason our eyes had been closed to the outer edge and missed the lining that was still covered in leaves. We talked about how tired we were, and that her yard looked so good- but then a thought entered into my mind. If we didn’t clean up this last little bit, the wind would blow and scatter the leaves all throughout her yard once again. It would be just like we never raked the majority of it in the first place. We decided to do the job we had set out to do, and quickly finished up the last of the yard.

As we finished this last part, my mind started relating this to repentance and how this yard was comparable to someone’s life. Sometimes we make decisions that make us feel unclean- and probably like there’s a bunch of dead leaves scattered all over our countenance. Repentance is just like raking the soul. If one of us faces a trial in our lives, but doesn’t take care of it properly, the leaves that were left on the outside of the yard can scatter over the part we thought was clean, and once again make it dirty. I was fascinated with this idea- that it was so important to do everything we can to totally repent and make right whatever may be troubling us or keeping us from reaching our full spiritual potential. I knew I didn’t want those leaves left in my yard, and brothers and sisters I don’t want that for you either.

This story went hand in hand with the topic Brother Jones asked us to speak on perfectly: Preserving the Heart’s Mighty Change. Once we’ve cleansed our hearts, and changed them by accepting the Lord and following his commandments- it’s so important for us to do all we can to preserve our hearts, keep them clean, and cultivate them so we can advance towards our spiritual progression.

I remember when Dale G. Renlund gave this talk in conference last October. This particular talk stood out to me because he told a story of when he made his decision to begin enduring to the end- and when he almost lost the fire and zeal of his testimony.

He was training in a hospital as a young father and husband and worked many long and straining hours. He was usually able to finish his shift on Sundays and join his wife and daughter at church. One Sunday he had the thought “if I stay a little longer and come home after they had left for church, I can take a nap.” He decided to do that since he was so tired. He came home, lay down on the couch- but he couldn’t fall asleep. He thought how he’d always loved going to church and he didn’t know why on this day the desire to go was missing.

He decided to look at his life and figure out what was going wrong- the answer came almost immediately. His scripture study and daily prayer had become very casual. He had allowed himself to get so busy and caught up in his work, that these essential areas were put on the back burner. At that moment he got off the couch and pleaded with his Father in Heaven for forgiveness and promised him that he would change. Since that day he’s put these two items on his most important “to-do list”: praying at least morning and evening, and reading the scriptures.

My first reaction to this story was I felt for the guy- I know what it’s like to be exhausted and how important a nap can seem. Just ask my students. I think they can definitely tell the days I’ve gone with out enough sleep. I’m working on it. . . But I was sincerely impressed that he had the will power and integrity to do what he did- and that he made a change. Because of that change- he is now the man he is today, speaking to us at conference! This is something I know I for one can certainly improve on. I hope many of you who hear this talk today can feel the fire of Elder Renlund’s words and commit to praying and studying your scriptures daily. I promise you it will renew your spirit and cleanse your hearts.

I love the story of Alma the Younger in the Book of Mormon. I think it is one of the ultimate examples of completely changing one’s life to serving God and putting all the bad stuff behind them. You couldn’t be much worse than where Alma was at in his young life. (MOSIAH 27:8-9) that definitely sounds like someone who has lost their way.

Alma and his sidekicks continued to rebel against the church, and then an angel of the lord appeared to them. He called Alma and those who were helping him, to repentance and to know longer seek the destruction of the church. Alma was so shocked by this experience that he became dumb and could not open his mouth, move his hands, or even walk. Alma was in this state for 2 days and 2 nights, then he finally regained his strength, and stood up and began to speak to the people that had gathered around him and fasted for him. He said “I have repented of my sins and have been redeemed of the Lord; behold I am born of the Spirit.”

He then became one of the greatest examples of missionaries we have ever known. As he was preaching to the people of Zarahemla he asked many questions that are just as important for us to answer ourselves today. “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?”

Brothers and sisters each of us have felt the spirit here in this meeting today. I pray that we can continually look at our hearts and assess them daily. If there are leaves scattered on the outside I hope that you will take the necessary steps to rake them up and clean them. Make your heart pure and nurture your desire to keep them pure through daily scripture study and daily meaningful prayer.

I’m grateful for such a wonderful ward I can bring my family to every Sunday. I’m grateful for the gospel and the joy it’s teachings bring into our lives.

BEAR TESTIMONY- In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.