Where is my heart?

Where is my heart?

There were several scriptures that really touched me and made me think this week. 

Helaman 10:5 “And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will.”

Helaman 13:12 “Yea, wo unto this great city of Zarahemla; for behold, it is because of those who are righteous that it is saved; yea, wo unto this great city, for I perceive, saith the Lord, that there are many, yea, even the more part of this great city, that will harden their hearts against me, saith the Lord.”

Helaman 15:10 “And now, because of their steadfastness when they do believe in that thing which they do believe, for because of their firmness when they are once enlightened, behold, the Lord shall bless them and prolong their days,“

Helaman 16:23 “And notwithstanding the signs and the wonders which were wrought among the people of the Lord, and the many miracles which they did, Satan did get great hold upon the hearts of the people upon all the face of the land.”

Nephi was blessed incredibly for his unwearyingness and encouraged and continued to preach.  Although most of Zarahemla was wicked the Lord does not let it be destroyed because there are still a few who were righteous.  The Lamanites are the good example here and are praised because of their steadfastness in what they believe and firmness when taught the truth.  I want my family to be the same way.  How do I prevent Satan from having a great hold on my heart?  How do I teach my children to be steadfast and firm and not let Satan in? 

I loved the opportunity this week to discuss the consequences of sin with my son.  My son had to teach the lesson Sunday in Teachers Quorum and I helped him find videos about choices and consequences.  We watched part of David A. Bednar’s DVD from Act in Doctrine called, “The Lord’s Side of The Line.”  He answers a little boy’s question of how to start reading scriptures again if you stop.  He has the end of the rug be the line between the Lord’s side and the devil’s territory.  When you stop reading scriptures and praying then you are walking towards the devil’s territory.  You aren’t doing anything that’s a big sin but the sin just barely on the side of the devil looks better and better.  Then Satan binds you there and the only way back is repentance.  As you study scriptures and pray and do the things that bring you closer to Christ you walk away from the devil’s territory. 

The next video we watched was “Stay Between the Lines” from youth.lds.org.  It was about the choices of a young man who first chooses wrong and has to face the consequences of no spirit on his mission and not being able to take sacrament.  Jarom also shared this in our FHE lesson and we discussed as a family how to stay on the Lord’s side.  We also watched “Leave the Party” from lds.org.  It’s about college students in China who end up at a party and faced with the option to smoke marijuana.  One decides to stay and just hold it and is arrested and loses his scholarship and opportunity for business in Japan.  The two who left end up with employment in Japan and true happiness with opportunities not available if they had chosen differently. 

As we talked as a family we discussed how Satan wants to take away our agency.  My daughter remembered that Satan laughs at us. My son then shared that his leader said, “What you do when noone is looking defines you as a person.”  He shared his testimony of how he always wants to be worthy when noone is looking.  I also shared my testimony and thoughts of how Satan wants us to think there is no way back but we use the Atonement and repent and there is always a way back.  It was a wonderful spirit in our home as we talked. 

I want my heart to be humble and teachable and am grateful for the opportunity to learn with my children and husband as a family.