The New Heart In Us

Paul Cardall is a popular pianist and musician who was born with congenital heart disease.  I've been listing to many of his compositions for nearly a decade now.  He had a blog I used to follow before he had surgery to receive his new heart in 2009.

This morning I was reading through the Old Testament (I am determined to finish it by the end of this year.) As I read Ezekiel 11:19 - 20.  I remembered back in 2009 a conference talk based off of this scripture.  It was the conference one month following Paul's miraculous heart transplant.  The timing was so perfect that it left an indelible impression on my mind and I've never forgotten it.  Elder Renlund spoke about the human body's natural reaction to reject a donor heart and what a recipient must do in order to preserve it.  He explained:

• "In each heart transplant recipient, the patient’s own body recognizes the new, lifesaving heart as 'foreign' and begins to attack it. Left unchecked, the body’s natural response will reject the new heart, and the recipient will die. Medicines can suppress this natural response, but the medications must be taken daily and with exactness. Furthermore, the condition of the new heart must be monitored. Occasional heart biopsies are performed wherein small pieces of heart tissue are removed and then examined under a microscope. When signs of rejection are found, medications are adjusted. If the rejection process is detected early enough, death can be averted."

• "Surprisingly, some patients become casual with their transplanted hearts. They skip their medicines here and there and obtain the needed follow-up less frequently than they should. They think that because they feel good, all is well. Too often this shortsighted attitude puts the patients at risk and shortens their lives."

This leads me to ask two questions, 

First, "What does this new heart or new spirit look like in our lives?" 

In my Book of Mormon study, I just read these verses that seem to have the answer. (2 Nephi 21:2-5 or Isaiah 11:2-5)

"And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;

And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears.

 But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.  And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins."

With this we can conclude that this is what the new heart looks like :

1. A Spirit that brings wisdom and understanding, (Also See Galatians 5:22-23)
2. A Spirit that gives direction and builds strength,
3. A Spirit that instills knowledge and Fear-of-God (not of man)
4. This deep reverence for the sacred will be all his joy and delight.
5. A Spirit that won’t judge by appearances, won’t decide on the basis of hearsay.
6. A Spirit that will judge the needy by what is right, and render decisions on earth’s poor with justice.
7. In the New Living Translation verse 5 interprets righteousness being the girdle of our loins as  "wearing righteousness like an undergarment" (I love to think about this in regards to the covenants we make in the temple.) 

Our family scripture study just happens to fall upon these verses in Mosiah.  It lines up perfectly with where I am in my personal study of both the Old Testament and the Book of Mormon. I love how the message is consistent! It says that everyone, "must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters; And thus they become new creatures" - Mosiah 27:25-26

Just as with a physical heart transplant, the patient must take measures to prevent their body from rejecting the new heart, so it is with this new Spirit.
This leads me to my second question:
"How do we keep the blood of Christ flowing and pumping through the veins of our soul?"

  Elder Renlund answers:

• We must "frequently assess the condition of [our] spiritually changed hearts." We must "not simply assume that all was well. By figuratively examining [our]changed hearts, [we can] identify any early hardening or rejection and treat it."

This frequent assessment or regular biopsy I believe is done through consistent recurrent visits to the Great Physician, through sincere daily prayers, through weekly partaking of the Sacrament and pondering the Lord's Atonement in our life, through asking how we can turn outside of ourselves, to humbly let go of what we want and follow the self-less life of the Savior.  We need to be willing to follow "the prescribed course" He sets for us as we seek His word through scriptures, priesthood counsel, and revelation.  As we do this and endure to the end He will help our weary hearts stay alive forever.

-Alicia