“Written in Our Hearts,” Ensign, September 2020
Digital Only: Latter-day Saint Voices
Written in Our Hearts
Losing my scriptures in a house fire reminded me of the importance of having gospel teachings written in my heart.
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While I scrolled through my social media feed one day, a specific post caught my attention. It was a video that caused me to ponder for most of the day. In the video, a lady mentioned that if she ever had a house fire, she would be sure to grab her scriptures and journals.
Her comment struck me because just a month earlier, my family and I experienced a house fire that had started while we were away. We did not have the opportunity to choose what we would save from our home.
Several days later, I read in the Book of Mormon about how Abinadi boldly declared the words of Christ to wicked King Noah and his priests. While I read Abinadi’s teachings, one verse stood out to me. Abinadi said, “And now I read unto you the remainder of the commandments of God, for I perceive that they are not written in your hearts” (Mosiah 13:11). This stood out to me because in a separate copy of the Book of Mormon I had once marked references to the condition of people’s hearts.
Later that same day, I talked with a dear friend about the fire that destroyed my home and the things my family had lost. During our conversation, she noticed my scriptures and asked if they were my “heart” scriptures—the Book of Mormon I had marked with the references to the condition of people’s hearts.
I told her that I had lost that copy in the fire along with many things, such as other sets of scriptures I had marked and thoughtful notes I had taken. Then I told my friend that those things had better be written in my heart because I could no longer refer to them.
Later, as I pondered our conversation, the Spirit taught me the importance of what I said about it being better for me to have these teachings written in my heart than to have them physically with me.
Several questions then came to mind: Do I really love Jesus Christ? Do I want to follow and become like Him? Are His gospel and teachings written in my heart so that I always desire to do what is right? Do I keep the commandments and read the scriptures for more knowledge and understanding or just to say I did it?
I also realized that no matter how much I want others to have these things written in their hearts, I cannot give it to them. As in the parable about the ten virgins and their oil (see Matthew 25:1–13), some things we cannot give to others; they must want it for themselves.