9 And now Alma began to expound these things unto him, saying: It is given unto many to know the mysteries of God; nevertheless they are laid under a strict command that they shall not impart only according to the portion of his word which he doth grant unto the children of men, according to the heed and diligence which they give unto him.
10 And therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word, until it is given unto him to know the mysteries of God until he know them in full.
11 And they that will harden their hearts, to them is given the lesser portion of the word until they know nothing concerning his mysteries; and then they are taken captive by the devil, and led by his will down to destruction. Now this is what is meant by the chains of hell.
Today, I’m pondering another requirement for receiving revelation: we must not harden our hearts. As Alma teaches above, if we harden our hearts, we will receive “the lesser portion of the word,” and if we choose not to harden our hearts, we will receive “the greater portion of the word.” This is not merely a description of our current quantity of knowledge, but also of our trajectory: those who receive the greater portion know more and more of His mysteries until they “know them in full.” Likewise, those who receive the lesser portion know less and less “until they know nothing concerning his mysteries.”
I can’t precisely define what it means to harden your heart, but I think I know what it feels like. I am familiar with the feeling of being unwilling to accept advice or even admit that I may be wrong. I recognize that such an emotional state is not conducive to learning or growth. I also recognize that my challenge is to avoid that state of mind and heart.
It is interesting to me that this requirement is phrased in negative terms: if you can avoid hardening your heart, then you will receive the promised blessing. We become hardened automatically by the experiences of life. But if we can resist that process and remain humble and malleable, then God can teach us and can mold us into the kind of people who can dwell with Him again.
I have been wondering about something pretty much all my life. maybe you can help me. I’m a faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder Day Saints. I have never celebrated Christmas because when studying about I read where it comes from the pagans. The pagans worshiped the sun god. The world changed it to The Son of God. That just doesn’t seem right. We are told not to do as the pagans do. In Sunday school class a few years back and the teacher said Jesus was born on April 6th. Which from my studying he could have been close. I think that Jesus was born sometime in the spring of the year. It would have been too cold to be outside in December. My husband asked, “Why does the church celebrate His birth on December 25 then?”. The teacher’s reply was, “I don’t know, I guess its’s because it is what the world does. We are also told not to do as the world does. We are told not to lie. Is not a lie to tell your kids that if they will be good then santa won’t give them anything. Or is it ok to tell lies at christmas time?. This is another reason I have never, never, told my kids about the guy dressed it red that comes down the chimney and leaves gifts for them. To me that is a out right lie. I been in trouble a few time cuz, I told my kids the truth and when they tell other kids that santa isn’t real and that it is their parents that leave the gifts under the tree, The kids parents get mad at me. Which brings me to another thing. Doesn’t it say in the scriptures that it is wrong to cut down a tree and put it in your house and decorate it? I could go on and on about my views as to why I think christmas is wrong. I know it doesn’t say any where in the scriptures that we should celebrate Jesus birth that way. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I feel that Jesus’s birth should be celebrated everyday. Just not at Christmas time. Do you know if the Prophets of the Church have told us to celebrate christmas? If you do then will you send me where they have told us to. Maybe it is me that needs to change. Thank you
I appreciate your questions, and I’ll share some thoughts which I hope will be helpful to you.
First, you are correct that Jesus was not born in December. Elder David A. Bednar affirmed that April 6 is the actual birthday of the Savior. (See “Bear Up Their Burdens with Ease,” General Conference, April 6, 2014.) So it would be appropriate to celebrate the Savior’s birth on that day.
With that being said, the Church has done a fantastic job of sharing the light of the Savior during the month of December, when many people are particularly receptive to the message of the gospel. The Light the World campaign on comeuntochrist.org encourages people of all faiths to serve one another. The First Presidency holds a special devotional service in early December to commemorate the Savior, and the Tabernacle Choir sings traditional Christmas hymns.
There are many other Christmas traditions which are not particularly focused on the Savior. While I’m not aware of a scriptural prohibition on Christmas trees, I do agree that other traditions, more focused on the birth and mission of Jesus Christ are far more important.
I agree with you that the important thing is to remember the Savior all year long. So, I encourage you to create traditions which are meaningful to you and celebrate the Savior in a way that helps you draw closer to God.
Thanks again for the comment, and have a great week!