A Mighty Change of Heart

By Emily Joy Powell

Church Magazines

How does an egg teach us about the importance of a mighty change of heart?

Lots of things around us change. Winter changes to spring. Sunny mornings change to rainy afternoons. Flour, yeast, and water can even change into homemade bread! The scriptures talk about the need to have “a mighty change in us, or in our hearts” (Mosiah 5:2), but what does that really mean?

With this home evening object lesson, you can teach your family why Heavenly Father wants our hearts to change, and you’ll teach the principle by dissolving an eggshell in vinegar.

What to Do

Change can happen pretty quickly, such as a sudden shift in the weather or the transformation of ingredients into food. It is good to remember our hearts can take a bit longer to change, maybe even a lifetime. Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has taught that this change comes “gradually and almost imperceptibly. … This phase of the transformation process requires time, persistence, and patience.”¹

The egg, just like our hearts, will need time to change. You might ask your family what changes they think will occur when the egg is left in the vinegar. Place the egg in the jar. Pour in enough vinegar to cover the egg, loosely place the lid on the jar, and let it sit for at least 24 hours. Even though the egg needs to soak for a while, you can check on it and watch the shell disappear.
After waiting 24 hours, gather your family back together to check out the changes with the egg. Remove the lid and slowly pour out the vinegar making sure to not drop the egg. Set the jar aside and read Mosiah 5:1–2 together.

Like King Benjamin’s people, we can also experience a change of heart by learning to listen to Heavenly Father and keep his commandments. Has there been a time in your life where you have felt “no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually” (Mosiah 5:2)?
Now rinse the egg under water and remove any of the left-over shell. Notice how smooth and soft the egg has become! Pass it around and let each family member feel the change. Just as the vinegar changes the egg, the Lord can change our hearts. As we listen to him and follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost, our hearts will soften. If we choose not to listen to Heavenly Father and turn away from Him our hearts can become hard, like a shell, and prevent us from feeling the Holy Ghost.
Have your family write down on a piece of paper one thing they can do to better have a soft heart. Could you spend more time in the scriptures or reviewing general conference? Maybe you feel prompted to listen better during your prayers? Take time to really think how you can work to soften your heart.

Want to try another experiment? Place a new egg in different liquids to see if you can get the same results. What happens if you leave it in lemon juice, soda, water, milk, or apple juice?