Learning with Our Hearts

This entry is part of my general conference application series.

Learning with Our Hearts, by Walter F. Gonzalez
Of the Presidency of the Seventy



My wife and I finished reading the Book of Mormon together this week. Our couple scripture study has focused on the Book of Mormon before, but this most recent time we included a new (to us) book the Church put together for Institute classes which we really enjoyed. This book replaces an older class manual; it is considerably thicker and includes quotes and insight from more recent leaders. I loved using this newer manual as a companion to our couple scripture so much, that we've started over again from the beginning!

Here's the new manual (link)

I was reminded of this new study aid as I read Elder Gonzalez' talk; he taught:

One way to come unto Christ is by seeking to learn essential truths with our hearts. . . we cannot understand the scriptures completely unless we apply our heart to understanding.

I considered the ways that I seek to learn essential truths with my heart. In addition to reading and applying the scriptures to my life, I like to seek additional insight from other Church leaders. This is somewhat different to my usual approach to learning: starting with a Google search and scouring the myriad results for something that interests me. In fact, Elder Gonzalez said something that relates:

Today, surrounded by so much information, we might think that navigating millions of web pages will give us all that we need to know. We can find good and bad information on the web, but information alone is not enough. God has given us another source for greater knowledge, even knowledge sent from heaven. Our Heavenly Father can give us such knowledge when we navigate the celestial web in our hearts and minds. The Prophet Joseph Smith said that he had “the oldest book in [his] heart, even the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

I'm excited to continue to study the Book of Mormon with my wife, aided by the "knowledge sent from heaven" found in the words of Church leaders and in the sweet whisperings of the Spirit.

And I recommend that you find a copy of the new manual, too! (Here's a link)