Welcome to closer to Christ through general conference
where two friends who love Jesus share our own
approach to studying the most recent general
conference talks. This is Abby and Amy. Let's
jump into it. Today's talk is The Lord Looketh
on the Heart by Elder Ronald M. Barcellos of
the 70. This 70 is from Brazil. He married his
wife Karen in 1999 and he was sustained as a
70 in April of 2025. So he's brand new for us.
When looking for the next king, Samuel had...
One in mind, and the Saviour warned Samuel, Look
not on his countenance, or on the height of his
stature, because I have refused him. For the
Lord seeth not as man seeth. For man looketh
on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh
on the heart. David was chosen. While David may
not have been physically the strongest or most
skilled of his brothers, his heart was strong
in the sight of God. Thanks, Abby. Elder Barcellos
states, the story teaches us that all God needs
to accomplish his purposes and to help us become
who he wants us to become is for each of us to
turn our hearts fully to him. I have seen this
over and over in my life. I've said this before.
I wasn't blessed with a lot of practical spiritual
gifts and yet... I've been called to various
callings, much to my surprise, and probably those
people around me. But if we only look at the
real qualifier to be on an errand for God or
to be called of God, it's for each of us to turn
our hearts fully to Him. Then He can work a miracle
through us. And to be honest, He works miracles
on us as individuals as well, because our very
nature's changed. as we partner with God and
allow the atonement of Christ to strengthen our
weakness. A line from a recent priesthood blessing
comes to my mind as I was reviewing it. It was
something that has brought clarity to my heart
each time I read it. The Lord has no doubt in
his mind that with your strengths and his perfect
strengths making up for your weaknesses, you'll
be able to get through these challenges. For
me, this promise is as valid for me as it is
for anyone who's listening to this right now.
In my mind, I see this as a perfect balance.
Christ's perfect strengths balance out each of
our weaknesses. When we view our own life and
challenges, especially through this lens, we
are better able to see the balance that Jesus
Christ brings to our life. And also, I think
this is the biggest part, we remember where our
trust is and who we lean on in times where our
weaknesses feel very real. It's super important
to recognize them, know that they're a weakness,
so that we can recognize when we've allowed His
strength to come up. For sure. And what strengths
to ask for to balance it out. The Savior taught
that if our hearts are fully tuned to Him, because
of His atoning sacrifice, we can be blessed with
the strength and spiritual gifts we need to overcome
our mortal challenges, resist temptation, receive
direction and understanding, and feel joy and
peace in our lives. Out of small things proceedeth
that which is great. He said He can make weak
things become strong and bless us with everything
we need to succeed in this mortal life and to
receive eternal life. And He said in Scripture
many times, and He applies His promise to every
humble seeker of Christ, every single one of
us. Maybe some days we don't feel like we fall
under this umbrella. The best news is that we
can course correct or turn to Him again and qualify
for the blessings of joy and peace and spiritual
direction in our lives. The Lord sees our hearts
and our intentions and He knows when we choose
Him. reminds us that Jesus corrected the scribes
and Pharisees who did indeed follow the law.
So they followed the law, but more to be seen
of their peers than because their hearts loved
God above all else. And so Jesus said this, the
people drawth nigh unto me with their mouth,
and on earth me with their lips, but their heart
is far from me. There's no point to list various
variations of error. It's another aspect of seeking
to live a higher and holier way, which is to
direct ourselves as we listen to the guidance
of the Holy Ghost. We are the best judge of why
we're doing the things and if we are to judge
ourselves as Elder Bednar, as talk dives into,
it's wise to get lots of practice and self -assessment.
I like this because, I mean, wasn't the whole
point of this? heart thing. He was kind of going
in for a physical because he is at a certain
age. I'm at a certain age. All of these maintenance
things are coming up for myself too. And I'm
like, it's been working fine. You don't really
think that there's a problem, but when you stop
and you do some assessment, you do some self
-reflection, you're like, Oh, we can make these
tweaks. Like he said, he had some things to fix.
And so it was like some lifestyle changes or
whatever. And I thought, what a great life experience.
has then led to this great conference talk platform
to say, things can be great, but if you do a
self assessment and you really give some thought
into it, there can be some, you can kind of take
it up with the Lord and say, you know, I've been
doing these things for whatever reason, like
help me see it a different way. Do we need to
make some minor tweaks and some, some course
corrections? And oftentimes he helps us figure
out what those are going to be. It's not just
what we do that we do good works, but also know
why we do. what Jesus asked us to do. I mean,
like the scribes and the Pharisees, if you look
at it just in, you know, face value, you're like,
they did things perfectly. They did it perfectly
for the wrong reason, the wrong intent. What's
written on their heart doesn't really get the
message across. And so when we're asked to self
-reflect, we're like, well, did we do that because
we were putting on a show, we knew people were
watching us, and so we were obligated to do it?
Or did we do it, even if imperfectly we did it,
did we do it for the right reasons? That's a
much better outcome. Jesus Christ has asked us
to do these things for our desires and motives.
He said, for I, the Lord, will judge all men
according to their works, according to the desires
of their hearts. I don't know if I was saying
that quite right, but we do things with the motive
of learning to become like Jesus Christ or being
servants on His behalf. he can sense that. That's
why I'm saying like the thing that we're doing
does not have to end up perfectly for it to be
the lesson that we're learning. Oh yeah. Um,
so here's where we get into the self assessment
of our hearts. This is interesting because it
builds upon, like we said, elder builders talk
about us being the judge of ourselves. Very interesting
idea. And I'm excited to jump more into that.
So first, the first one, the elder Barcellos
gives us is our focus, our priorities and motives.
And he shares this scripture for where you're
treasure is there will your heart be also right
where we the things that we value most that's
where our heart is and then there's a question
for self -assessment do I make the Savior a priority
in my life is my eye single to his glory in all
that I do and then second our willingness to
obey God's commandments Nephi exhorted his brothers
how is it that you do not keep the commandments
of the Lord How is it that you will perish because
of the hardness of your hearts? And then to the
saints of Missouri, the Lord said this, but he
that doeth not anything until he is commanded
and receiveth the commandment without with doubtful
heart and keepeth it with slothfulness. The same
is damned. That brings to mind something that
Elder Bednar said years ago. He said the saints
of the church should not be waiting for every
single thing to come across the pulpit of what
they should be doing. And I feel like that is
where He's so huge on self inspiration, personal
inspiration. For sure. Because it's going to
be a little bit different for each person. Different
than you thinking that you're receiving this
inspiration that the whole church should be doing
it. 100%. It is for you, right? And those who
you have a steward over, which is probably children.
And that's where it ends, right? But yeah, it
is very important that we are in tune and that
we know... We don't have to be told in all things.
Yeah. There was a third point. I'll cover that
one. It says, our diligence in studying the scriptures
and seeking revelation. There we go. The Lord
admonished Oliver Cowdery to treasure up these
words in thine heart. A Benediah and Cignoan
priest, it was said to them, ye have not applied
your hearts to understanding, therefore ye have
not been wise. So another question for self -assessment.
Am I making a sincere effort to study the scriptures
daily and to apply my heart to understand them
through prayer? Am I expecting it to be laid
out for me? Am I willing to put any effort into
it? And sometimes it's just a matter of opening
the scriptures and starting there, even if you're
not going to like deep dive and get so much out
of it. It's a good starting point. They say,
God doesn't speak to me. Well, when was the last
time that you looked at the stuff that he wrote
down? Fourth, there was a fourth point. He said,
our thoughts in our words, the Savior taught
that out of the heart proceed with evil thoughts
and that out of the abundance of the heart, the
mouth speaketh. The question you could ask yourself
here is, am I fostering negative thoughts about
my own or others' actions or motive? Meaning,
am I too quick to judge and condemn others or
myself? Do I seek to find excuses or justification
for my mistakes? Do my words lift and inspire
those around me or do they create conflict and
resentment? I feel like he had really good...
These are all direct questions from him. He had
really good ones where if you just... you know,
we take some time and sit and ponder they could
really help us in our self -assessment. A good
reminder also for each of us as we perform the
spiritual assessment of our heart and we might
notice some negative symptoms starting to creep
in. He says, please don't panic. The Savior has
provided excellent spiritual medication and treatment
to help each of us. He has even promised to give
us a new heart. I have always loved this scripture.
It's in Ezekiel 36 26. And he says, a new heart
also will I give you. in a new spirit will I
put within you. And I will take away the stony
heart out of your flesh, and I will give you
a heart of flesh." Here are some actions that
can improve our heart's spiritual strength. The
first one is strengthen your relationship with
Christ. Nephi's example is, and He did soften
my heart that I did believe all the words which
had been spoken to my father." And then here's
the Nephites example later on. They did fast
and pray oft, and did wax stronger and stronger
in their humility, and the firmer and firmer
in the faith of Christ, unto the filling of their
souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to
the purifying and sanctification of their hearts,
which sanctification cometh because they're yielding
their hearts unto God. You bring in these examples
of Nephi, like above we had said something about,
you know, like, why don't you believe these things?
He kind of poses to his brothers like, they have
the same parents. They get to make their own
decisions and like, why does it turn out so differently
for each of them? And we know that the hardness
of like Laman and Lemuel's hearts, like change
the course of nations. Second, if we align our
will with... His the Savior taught if you love
me keep my commandments He invites us to demonstrate
our love by making and keeping covenants with
him as Nephi testified I know that if ye shall
follow the Son with purpose of heart and acting
no hypocrisy and no deception before God But
with real intent repenting of your sins witnessing
unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon
you the name of Christ by baptism Then shall
ye receive the Holy Ghost and then last we're
gonna serve God and others with all our heart
The Savior invites all to serve with him With
all our heart, that's from DNC4 too. It makes
a difference, Amy. When you're doing service
just because you think out of some sort of obligation
that, oh, it's time for some service, I need
to do some service. Is that a bad thing to do?
No. Service is always good. Service looks a lot
different when you're doing it for no ulterior
motive with no seek for... praise or approval.
You just go about, you do things because they
can be small little things. Like a small service
could be, you know, rolling your neighbor's garbage
can out. I bought a gallon of milk from the guy
behind me. We were having this, like my jam kept
falling back, you know, behind the line of his
thing. I'm like, I think that jam wants to go
home with you. And I was like, it's just as easy
to move that partition and pay for the one gallon
milk. He thought it was the nicest thing. I'm
like, that was a $4 spend, right? But I knew
that Like it would be such a small thing, but
like he like literally left the store with a
little bit of a smile. So, you know, sometimes
the service that we do, it's drawn out over months.
It's going to be a big, it's going to take a
lot of manpower, a lot of effort, a lot of mental
space. If we're doing that out of obligation,
I can promise you it looks a lot different than
it's going to look when you're just doing it
with full intent of heart and just kind of bring
whatever glory you can to father and son. That
is very good. Very good, Abby. I love that. When
we choose to do each thing the Lord has asked
us to do, such as keeping the commandments or
partaking the sacrament, worshipping the temple,
serving others with a sincere heart and with
real intent, not just because it's a checkbox
of things that we would do, each act of service
and worship becomes a powerful spiritual experience
that strengthens our faith and testimony and
fills our hearts with joy and love for God and
our fellow man. I just want to testify, add my
testimony to his, that that is true. Yeah. I
also love that when you're saying that too, you
know, just now we read it and it kind of feels
like a list because there are you know sequential
thing of different ideas or different commandments
we've been asked to do. The part I love though
is that with each of these things that we are
asked to do let's call them commandments it is
an invitation. for us to bring Jesus Christ into
our lives, into our hearts, and with that, He
purifies us and sanctifies us and gives us blessing.
So really, where's the downside for us? It's
all positive. You know what I mean? Like, I just
think it's interesting when sometimes we just
think of either commandments or a list of things
to do, or it's kind of a burden or a sacrifice.
It really is the best thing we can be doing with
our time. In reviewing this talk, I was struck
by this thought. So if we're our own judges,
then what if we're too easy on ourselves? The
thought that kept coming to me was that the answer
is reciprocal to the question or another way
to put that is that often our answers. are as
specific as our questions. We need to put, like
you were saying, Abby, an honest effort into
the questions. And this talk, I feel like, poses
really good questions, either by Elder Barcellos
himself or from the scriptures that he shared.
He went through and found really good scriptural
stories and citations where people had been talking
about purifying their hearts and how they, you
know, put the word of the Lord in there. They're
specific. These questions are specific and they
are meant to bring out our true intents and desires.
And as we each invite the Holy Ghost to be an
active participant of this, we can facilitate
an honest self -assessment. and gently course
correct where needed. I'm so grateful that the
Lord has promised us a new heart. I gratefully
claim that blessing each time I repent or study
the scriptures or overcome a weakness or walk
through a challenge with the Lord at my side.
And I look forward with joyful anticipation when
Jesus performs his consummate act of healing
at the resurrection. And I have a new heart,
fully healed and fully alive. And my hope is
the same for each of you listening today. Abby,
did you have Anything else to add? Kind of just
everything heart related coming to when I listen
back to this talk and I thought it is. so important
for us in our physical beings to be considered
of our hearts and the things that it's asked
to do for us and how easily it ties into gospel
principles, how we need to do a check -in and
we need to assess and we need to see is that
a soft pliable heart, the kind that we want that's
going to keep us alive and rejuvenated and doing
the things we're doing or are we going to let
that atrophy or weaken from the challenges that
we're experiencing in life. Like you said, he
asked like a million questions. I would suggest
as you listen back through it, kind of go into
this one with the thought like, help something,
help the thing that I need. Help the question
that I need to prick my heart. There are a ton
of questions that you could ask yourself on this
one, but there's going to be one that's going
to kind of start helping peel back. get you to
the core of what change that he's ready to help
you realize because you've asked him, you've
put your agency into it. Maybe it is that you
need to do more service. Maybe it's that you
need to allow yourself to be served. Maybe it's
that you need to be in his word more. Maybe it's,
there's a million things that it could be. And
the spirit knows exactly what each one of us
needs. The prophet Alma's question still echoes
today. Have you been spiritually born of God?
Have you received his image in your countenances?
Have you experienced this mighty change in your
hearts? That's the perfect question to ask. Thank
you for joining us. Amy and I pray for the Lord's
love to be with each of you this week as we reflect
on the state of our own hearts. Love the Abbey.
Have a good week.