The Power of the Heart

Your Desires form thoughts and thoughts are what motivate you to act. All desires begin in the heart. "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." (Proverbs 23:7) What do you desire? How do these desires affect your thoughts and actions? 

If the heart is the core of who you are and shapes who you become, it is likewise the center of your emotions, influence, and change. Every experience in life affects the heart. With these emotions you can choose to express them, run from them, bottle them up, or allow them to empower you.

To fully express what is in the heart takes a lot of humility, confidence, and trust. The source that so easily shapes you can just as easily be damaged. If the possibility of hurt, criticism, or denial exist why live a wholehearted life? Why show your true self? Why take the time to discover the depth of your own heart?

Brene Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston. She has written several books on the power of vulnerability and living a wholehearted life. This is one of her insights on the power of the heart: "Courage is a heart work. The root of the word courage is cor - the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage meant "To speak one's mind by telling all one's heart." Over time, this definition has changed, and today, we typically associate courage with heroic and brave deeds. But in my opinion, this definition fails to recognize the inner strength and level of commitment required for us to actually speak honestly and openly about who we are and about our experiences -- good or bad. Speaking from our hearts is what I think of as "ordinary courage.""

Within your heart, deep down, is a gift. A gift that will empower you, help you to discover your true identity, and to live courageously. The gift of faith is a gift from God. As your faith is centered upon Jesus Christ it will give you the courage, the inner strength to act, to trust, to commit, to change and become like Christ, to endure, and not be afraid.  Faith allows you, in every moment of your life, to courageously go to your Heavenly Father in prayer, to ask him for help, give thanks, and build your divine relationship with Him. Without it you may feel abandoned or lost, but with the smallest degree of faith and hope Christ will empower you, change you, lift you above and beyond your own capacity, and you will receive spiritual and physical healing through His Atonement. President Henry B. Eyring said, "If the foundation of faith is not embedded in our hearts, the power to endure will crumble."

So little of what you do is through your own efforts.  Every day we all must rely upon God for strength and guidance. "...For ye have not come thus far save it where by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save." (2 Nephi 31:19, Book of Mormon)  

Making the Right Choice

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life:

A fight is going on inside me, he said to the boy. It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too.

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather,Which wolf will win?

The old Cherokee simply replied, The one you feed

This quote has become one of my favorites that I reflect upon often. As Sons and Daughters of a loving Heavenly Father, we are given the capacity to choose for ourselves so that we may know right from wrong. Every choice made has temporal and eternal consequences attached to it and its up to us to make those choices, no one can do that for us. Freedom to act for oneself doesn't mean the consequences, good or bad, can be controlled. However, it does allow us to become who God wants and needs us to become regardless of the circumstances we are presently in. 

Within us all is the Light of Christ that enables us to judge for ourselves and choose that which is right. (Moroni 7:14-19, Book or Mormon) The key to making the right decisions is living a life that is centered upon Jesus Christ and his teachings which will enable that light within us all to grow. Elder D. Todd Christofferson said, "The Gospel of Jesus Christ opens the path to what we may become." 

Who do you want to be at the end of your life? What are you doing today to reach that end goal? King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon says: "For how knoweth a man the master whom he has not served, and who is a stranger unto him, and is far from the thoughts and intents of his heart?" (Mosiah 5:13) I know that as we all choose to live a life that is centered upon Jesus Christ and to learn of him, He will enable us, by His Atonement, to make the choices necessary to follow the path that He has prepared for us. He lives to "...Bind up the brokenhearted,... to proclaim liberty to the captives,... to give unto them beauty for ashes..." (Isaiah 61:1-3, Old Testament)