Alma 5:7-9 -- On Opening our Hearts to Change

"Behold, he changed their hearts; yea, he awakened them out of a deep sleep, and they awoke unto God. Behold, they were in the midst of darkness; nevertheless, their souls were illuminated by the light of the everlasting word; yea, they were encircled about by the bands of death, and the chains of hell, and an everlasting destruction did await them. And now I ask of you, my brethren, were they destroyed? Behold, I say unto you, Nay, they were not. And again I ask, were the bands of death broken, and the chains of hell which encircled them about, were they loosed? I say unto you, Yea, they were loosed, and their souls did expand, and they did sing redeeming love. And I say unto you that they are saved." Alma 5:7-9 One of our fundamental mistakes I think is thinking that we're totally golden the way we are. ... I'm not saying that we're not of worth or that we aren't loved. We are of infinite value, and surpassingly loved... but we're not our best selves, or in our final forms yet. We still have so much to learn, and so much to embrace and love and become, and when we stamp our little feet and declare to the world that we're already big, and grown up, and that we don't need any more help... well, our fellow kindergarteners might agree with us and back off, but God is our parent. He knows better, although of course he is going to be gentle with us and help protect that fierce independent spirit as he teaches us anyway. The first step to getting a change of heart in our own lives is being humble enough to realize that we need one... that we're not perfect yet, and that we have a long way and need a lot of help to get there. Today, let's trust our loving and gentle Father in Heaven and allow him to teach us how we can still grow and change and improve, and try to let go of that conviction that we sometimes have that we're already better than everyone else, and have need of nothing (Revelation 3:17). :)