Outward Motions and Inward Hearts

By Jared Eastley
November 2009

Introduction

I think that most of us have friends or family who grew up as members of the LDS church, perhaps served full time missions, held church callings, and who in all outward appearances seemed to be on the right track, who suddenly, for no apparent reason, decided to leave the church.

I have one such acquaintance who did precisely that after having been in a relief society presidency and served long and faithfully in other family and ecclesiastical capacities. She said that even though she was doing all of the right things and going through all of the motions of a faithful church member, she did not feel anything in her heart which might indicate to her that the church was true. She just couldn’t feel anything.

This all occurred several years ago. I remember feeling puzzled over this and did not understand what it meant until recently. As it happens, this person gave me the most obvious clue herself. She said she just couldn’t feel anything. In other words, she was “past feeling.” (Ephesians 4:19, 1 Nephi 17:45, Mormon 9:20) Or in other words, her heart was not in it.

I know this may seem like a rather judgmental accusation; but consider, she said it herself that she couldn’t feel anything; and besides, if her heart had really been in it, she would not have left the church, would she?

What seemed the strangest to me was that this individual was one of the kindest, most compassionate, selfless people I had ever known. However, she was also young, vibrant, beautiful, and it seemed obvious that she longed for the counterfeit companionship that Babylon had to offer. Almost immediately, after she stopped going to church, she moved in with her boyfriend, and then later on she moved with him to another state.

The Song of the Heart

So why is it that people can grow up in the church, serve missions, marry in the temple, serve in callings, and appear to keep the standards of the church, but then suddenly fall away and become lost in the mists of time?

My answer is that going through the outward motions, according to what the public eye can see, is not enough. I would suggest that what really matters the most is what you do within the quiet recesses of your own home, with your family, and in seclusion.

• Are we praying as a family and in private?’
• Are we reading, studying, and discussing the scriptures as a family and in private?
• Are we singing the songs of ZION as a family and in private?
• Are we taking delight in worshiping God as a family and in private?

• Or, are we constantly drinking from the dregs of Babylon through our media addictions, secular studies, and selfish self-serving obsessions?

Might I humbly suggest that all the outward appearances of faithful membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints means next to nothing if we are not demonstrating our love for the Lord through our private actions.

Loving the Lord is a Choice

The fact is, we can all choose to love the Lord by deciding to keep His commandments with all our hearts.

• When we pray we can choose whether we are going to mindlessly go through the motions, or pray with hearts full of gratitude, desire, sincerity, and real intent.
• When we read, study, and discuss the scriptures, we can try to get the job done as quick as possible, or we can choose to ask heartfelt questions and seek to answer those questions by diligently searching the scriptures and feasting upon the word of God.
• When we sing the songs of ZION, we can decide to enjoy it, pick our favorite songs, sing many songs both as a family and individually as we go about our day; and in so doing invite the angels in heaven to sing with us, thus filling our hearts with thanksgiving and rejoicing in the Lord.
• Finally, we can choose to worship the Lord in all that we do, by having our hearts and minds continually turned to Him, and by placing the affections of our hearts continually upon Him.

• Or, we can choose to love the indulgences of Babylon by choosing to feed our media addictions, pursue secular indoctrination, and in all other things do things the world’s way, rather than the Lord’s way.

We can choose to do as Alma admonished us when he said, “Yea, and cry unto God for all thy support; yea, let all thy doings be unto the Lord, and whithersoever thou goest let it be in the Lord; yea, let all thy thoughts be directed unto the Lord; yea, let the affections of thy heart be placed upon the Lord forever. Counsel with the Lord in all thy doings, and he will direct thee for good; yea, when thou liest down at night lie down unto the Lord, that he may watch over you in your sleep; and when thou risest in the morning let thy heart be full of thanks unto God; and if ye do these things, ye shall be lifted up at the last day.” (Alma 37:36 - 37)

Conclusion

We can choose to make our homes places where our inward hearts are continually filled with love and thanksgiving to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is done by continually nurturing those tender feelings which come from the Lord through our faithfulness, worthiness, and kindliness one to another.

Very often, Latter Day Saints receive the mistaken impression that it is ok to indulge in just a few of the delicacies of Babylon, as long as they are hitting most of the basics of average church activity at the same time. However, outward motions do not always reflect the true condition of the inward heart. If we are attending church and giving all of the right answers in Sunday School, but are indulging in media entertainment which detracts or distracts from feeling the love of Christ, then these two opposites cancel each other out, and we find ourselves unable to feel the affirmation of the Holy Spirit.

We can very easily desensitize ourselves from being able to feel the influence of the Holy Spirit when we choose to indulge in the fun things of the world rather than choosing to satisfy our needs and wants by turning to the Lord continually. I testify that inasmuch as we qualify ourselves to feel of His love, He will bless us with that burning affirmation of His love which fills the soul and removes from us any appetites we have ever had toward worldly things. The more we decide to allow the Savior to enfold us in His loving arms of safety, the less likely are we to fall.

“Thus we may see that the Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon his holy name. Yea, thus we see that the gate of heaven is open unto all, even to those who will believe on the name of Jesus Christ, who is the Son of God. Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked—And land their souls, yea, their immortal souls, at the right hand of God in the kingdom of heaven, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and with Jacob, and with all our holy fathers, to go no more out.” (Helaman 3:27 - 30)