Message for March 2020
by Chauncey C Riddle
Each of us human beings has two hearts and to minds. The physical heart pumps blood to our physical tabernacle. The spiritual heart pumps spirit matter to our spiritual body. The physical mind is the brain of our physical body. The spiritual mind is the brain of our spiritual body.
Which heart or which mind is most important to our eternal existence? I believe the answer is that our spiritual heart is the most important of the four. Why?
My understanding is that it is the spiritual heart which makes our choices. “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7) And our choices determine what we will do, how faithful or unfaithful we will be to God.
Why would anyone want to be faithful to God? They would because faith in God makes it possible to become more and more like God. What is God like? He does nothing but bless others. All of the so-called cursings of God are actually blessings, helping the being affected by God to be as happy and fulfilled as they or it can stand to become. All the children of God who wish to be like him in doing nothing but blessing others are given the privilege of being taught by God how to gain the self-mastery that makes that benevolence and beneficence possible, which teaching is the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The alternative to learning to bless others in everything we do is to follow the path of selfishness. Every adult human being (age 8 or more) has the constant companionship of Satan. Satan’s work is to encourage each adult human to prefer his or her own selfish desires over the possibility of sacrificing for the welfare of some other creature. When human beings ignore Satan and do the Father’s will as manifest by the Light of Christ or the Holy Ghost, Satan has no power over them. But Satan is ever vigilant to encourage agent humans to substitute their own personal preferences for the sacrifices encouraged by the Holy Spirit to work righteousness in blessing others.
So it is the spiritual heart in mankind which is the independent variable, the decision factor. What is function of mind? The minds, both of the spiritual and the physical body, are facilitators. They enable the spiritual heart to plan out the execution of the spiritual heart’s choices. The spiritual and physical bodies of each person are his or her strength, that which enables the choices of the heart and the plans of the mind to be put into physical and/or spiritual action.
The power engendered by the physical and spiritual actions of a person is their might. Thus it is that we are invited by God to love and serve our Father in Heaven and our Savior with all of our heart, might, mind and strength. (This order of these four is the order of importance, beginning with the most important, the heart. The temple order is mind, heart, strength and might, which is the order of implementation. The mind conceives of alternatives, the heart chooses one alternative, the body or strength enacts that chosen alternative, which results in some change in the universe, our might.)
Thus it is that human beings are fitted and prepared to enjoy the Celestial Kingdom primarily by the action of their hearts, not their minds. It does not matter how bright the mind or how much the knowledge a person has. The best mind will not save them. What saves each person who can be saved is a broken heart and a contrite spirit, a spiritual heart that yearns for the blessing of others over satisfying self. There is no greater example of godly righteousness among humans than the sacrifices of mothers for their little ones.
So it is not the wise and the learned, the “mind” people,” who are dear to the Savior. Rather it is those who are humble before him and are bold to bless others. Those who are endowed with bright minds need to be wary. Satan will tempt them to think that because they are smarter than others that they are better than others. “ And whoso knocketh, to him will he open; and the wise, and the learned, and they that are rich, who are puffed up because of their learning, and their wisdom, and their riches—yea, they are they whom he despiseth; and save they shall cast these things away, and consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility, he will not open unto them.” (2 Nephi 9:42)
Let us all then be wise in the days of our probation and become as little children before Christ. Let us have a broken heart and a contrite spirit and use all the smarts we have to bless others in Christ instead of just feathering our own nests.