"And they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually."
Mosiah 5:2
The whole "disposition to do evil" thing sounds a lot like what we often say about ourselves. Our dispositions are just who we are inherently, so when we say that that's just the way we are, or other things like not being a "people" (or whatever) person, or that we were born that way, or "not feeling it."
We experience conflict in our lives between our spiritual selves and our natural selves... body and spirit, but it doesn't always feel that way. Sometimes it feels like we are all in and could never feel otherwise, the other perspective is so foreign to us. ... And though it is extremely difficult to imagine when we begin the journey, this "authentic self" feeling is *exactly* what Christ offers to change for us. When we hear of the "mighty change" here and also in Alma 5:14, that is what the gospel can do... change our very natures (never by force... only if we seek it).
Maybe a good analogy is dieting. At first we can't imagine not eating chocolate cake every day... I mean, that stuff is amazing, but we also want to be able to keep wearing pants, so we put in some effort. Over time, as we change our diet and the way we think about food, we start feeling a little bit differently about it, and realize that we feel healthier or better, and slowly we get to the point where we wake up one day and we realize that we don't have any desire to eat unhealthy foods, at least if no one puts it right in front of us. :) It's a change in who we are, in how we think, but it is one that we're okay with and that we wanted.
God just helps us do it with sin. When we work with God on a sin, at first of course the desire to do it will still be there, but as we develop and grow and change, eventually it *won't* be there because our actual dispositions have changed to what we want them to be. God will free us of those chains of desire if we so choose.
Today, let's remember that we aren't trapped into anything in life, and that if we want to change it, it is possible with God's help. Not saying it will always be fun or easy, especially at first, but as with everything God, it's totally worth it in the end.
Mosiah 5:2
The whole "disposition to do evil" thing sounds a lot like what we often say about ourselves. Our dispositions are just who we are inherently, so when we say that that's just the way we are, or other things like not being a "people" (or whatever) person, or that we were born that way, or "not feeling it."
We experience conflict in our lives between our spiritual selves and our natural selves... body and spirit, but it doesn't always feel that way. Sometimes it feels like we are all in and could never feel otherwise, the other perspective is so foreign to us. ... And though it is extremely difficult to imagine when we begin the journey, this "authentic self" feeling is *exactly* what Christ offers to change for us. When we hear of the "mighty change" here and also in Alma 5:14, that is what the gospel can do... change our very natures (never by force... only if we seek it).
Maybe a good analogy is dieting. At first we can't imagine not eating chocolate cake every day... I mean, that stuff is amazing, but we also want to be able to keep wearing pants, so we put in some effort. Over time, as we change our diet and the way we think about food, we start feeling a little bit differently about it, and realize that we feel healthier or better, and slowly we get to the point where we wake up one day and we realize that we don't have any desire to eat unhealthy foods, at least if no one puts it right in front of us. :) It's a change in who we are, in how we think, but it is one that we're okay with and that we wanted.
God just helps us do it with sin. When we work with God on a sin, at first of course the desire to do it will still be there, but as we develop and grow and change, eventually it *won't* be there because our actual dispositions have changed to what we want them to be. God will free us of those chains of desire if we so choose.
Today, let's remember that we aren't trapped into anything in life, and that if we want to change it, it is possible with God's help. Not saying it will always be fun or easy, especially at first, but as with everything God, it's totally worth it in the end.
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