The Book of Helaman, in the Book of Mormon, is all about the human spirit waxing cold. Hardened hearts exposing one another, mankind breaking one another down, rampant domestic disputes. Kind of like our day. The Nephites, at this particular time, had a “heart condition.”
When was the last time you had a check up on your heart? I don’t mean EKGs and the like, I mean strength of spirit, body, and soul. Virginia H. Pearce wrote a book, A Heart Like His, that resulted from an experiment she participated in to check on her own heart and discovered some revealing truths about herself and her capacity to enlarge it.
The experiment was to basically live her normal life, doing everyday things, BUT to readily open her heart, to those in need around her, at any given moment, no matter what the clock told her, or her schedule allowed, or whether she felt like it or not.
The first step was to pay attention and catch opportunities. That was the hard part. When you’re busy, who looks around to add more stress to your day? Too many of us spend our days looking down at our own feet, or straight ahead to the next hurdle. Noticing someone else who may be hurting inside, or simply reaching out with a smile becomes a journey in habit-forming and plain old awareness, which comes from a strong enough desire to open your heart.
Another step was to acknowledge and follow the Holy Spirit. Those are two different actions. We can acknowledge the Holy Spirit all the day long without following His influence. When we feel a prompting to act on something, how many excuses can we think up instantaneously to not follow through?
Jesus Christ always stands as the supreme example. His heart was ever aware of all who struggled around him. In one of those films we have on Christ, we watch him heal the blind man, but the part that brings tears to my eyes is when he positions the blind man’s child so she will be the first person he sees, even before he sees the Lord. Such mercy, such love, and devotion can we forget?
As Relief Society sisters we would be each other’s best friends. Is it a monumental feat to sit right next to someone sitting by herself, or do we chicken out and sit with someone we know, or worse yet, a seat or two away from this lonely person? When Visiting Teaching, who do you talk to more? The person you know, or the person you don’t know very well? When you are asked to organize an activity, do you ask for help from your friends, or from the sisters who need to feel needed at the time? Are we in the business of enlarging our circle? Enlarging our heart to all those around us? Even reaching out to the unlovable?
Virginia talks about the breakthroughs she experienced when she stepped out of her comfort zone, followed the signals the Spirit was giving her and reached out to someone. She said it never failed to ALWAYS be a rewarding experience. Ultimately, her heart enjoyed being open, and ready to welcome, help, and uplift everyone. And she reveled in the joy of others’ success; a celebration all could share in.
I believe this is a process we must all experiment with, and truly become converted to. It may not be natural for us to open our hearts to one another. But if our hearts are closed, we are denying the blessings of the gospel in each other’s lives. When our hearts are closed, we tend to shut people out, we are not available to them, we hurt feelings, and we become miserable ourselves. It takes practice to hear the inspirations of the Spirit and it takes practice to act on them.
I remember meeting Virginia’s mother, Marjorie Hinckley, for the first time. What a thrill it was for me to shake her hand and tell her how much I thought of her. She responded, “I’m so blessed to have met you.” I have always remembered how stupefied I felt. How could she make me feel like a million bucks in an instant? Easily, her heart was well practiced to be open and ready.
It would be a great Relief Society Activity for friends to challenge one another and be available to bolster each another. Practice, motivation, and evaluation will make us “new creatures” unto Christ.