No More Disposition To Do Evil
Posted by david on November 25th, 2006“Therefore they were called after this holy order [of the high priesthood] and were sanctified, and their garments were washed white through the blood of the Lamb. Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence; and there were many, exceeding great many, who were made pure and entered into the rest of the Lord their God.” (Alma 13:11-12)
President Spencer W. Kimball wrote, “This passage indicates an attitude which is basic to the sanctification we should all be seeking, and thus to the repentance which merits forgiveness. It is that the former transgressor must have reached a ‘point of no return’ to sin wherein there is not merely a renunciation but also a deep abhorrence of the sin—where the sin becomes most distasteful to him and where the desire or urge to sin is cleared out of his life. (Spencer W. Kimball, God Will Forgive, Ensign, Mar. 1982, 2)
Look at the language used in the scriptures to describe the proper attitude toward sin and the actions we should take relative to wickedness (underlined). Conversely, pay attention to how we should act and feel regarding righteousness (bold):
- Proverbs 8:13. “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.”
- Romans 12:9. “Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.”
- 1 Corinthians 6:18. “Flee fornication.”
- 1 Corinthians 10:14. “Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.”
- 1 Timothy 6:11. “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.”
- 2 Timothy 2:16. “But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.”
- 2 Nephi 4:31. “Wilt thou make me that I may shake at the appearance of sin?”
- 2 Nephi 9:49. “Behold, my soul abhorreth sin, and my heart delighteth in righteousness….”
- Mosiah 4:13. “And ye will not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably, and to render to every man according to that which is his due.”
- Mosiah 5:2. “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.”
- Alma 13:12. “Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, having their garments made white, being pure and spotless before God, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence;”
- Alma 19:33. “…and they did all declare unto the people the selfsame thing—that their hearts had been changed; that they had no more desire to do evil.”
- Alma 37:29. “Therefore ye shall keep these secret plans of their oaths and their covenants from this people, and only their wickedness and their murders and their abominations shall ye make known unto them; and ye shall teach them to abhor such wickedness and abominations and murders….”
- Alma 37:32. “And now, my son, remember the words which I have spoken unto you; trust not those secret plans unto this people, but teach them an everlasting hatred against sin and iniquity.”
- Alma 42:29. “And now, my son, I desire that ye should let these things trouble you no more, and only let your sins trouble you, with that trouble which shall bring you down unto repentance.”
- Alma 45:16. “…for the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.”
- Alma 48:16. “…this was the faith of Moroni, and his heart did glory … in doing good, in preserving his people, yea, in keeping the commandments of God, yea, and resisting iniquity.”
How can we have the proper attitude toward sin and righteousness? It requires effort on our part and conversion that leads to a change of heart.
First, we can develop this attitude if we desire it enough to work until such an attitude is habit. “The seeds of our disposition toward good or evil are largely sown by our desires. In teaching the wayward Zoramites how they could gain a knowledge of the truth, Alma admonished them to ‘exercise a particle of faith,’ and if they could ‘no more than desire to believe, [to] let this desire work in [them]’ (Alma 32:27). What begins as a fleeting desire, when cultivated and pursued long enough, becomes a habitual form of thought or behavior.” (Spencer J. Condie, “A Disposition to Do Good Continually,” Ensign, Aug. 2001, 13)
Second, true conversion to the gospel of Jesus Christ will result in a change of heart. “Perhaps of all the evidence of true conversion and a remission of sins, this is the most significant: the disposition to do evil no more, but to do good continually” (Spencer J. Condie, “A Disposition to Do Good Continually,” Ensign, Aug. 2001, 13). The scriptures reveal that repenting and following Jesus Christ and his prophets in faith will lead to a change of heart.
To help his son Corianton experience this change of heart, Alma counseled him to repent (Alma 42:29) and “let the justice of God, and his mercy, and his long-suffering have full sway in your heart; and let it bring you down to the dust in humility” (Alma 42:30).
The people of King Benjamin experienced this change of heart when they hearkened to his righteous counsel:
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)
In Alma chapter 5, Alma the Younger explains that his father had “a mighty change wrought in his heart” after he demonstrated faith by believing and following the words of the prophet Abinadi:
11 Behold, I can tell you—did not my father Alma believe in the words which were delivered by the mouth of Abinadi? And was he not a holy prophet? Did he not speak the words of God, and my father Alma believe them?
12 And according to his faith there was a mighty change wrought in his heart. Behold I say unto you that this is all true.
13 And behold, he preached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their trust in the true and living God. And behold, they were faithful until the end; therefore they were saved.
14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?
Imagine the peace the world would experience if all people sought the proper attitudes toward sin and righteousness. May we seek the change of heart that will lead to these attitudes.
When I read your quote from President Kimball, it’s a little scary to realize that the opposite is also true. It’s possible to reach a “point of no return” in sinning that makes it very difficult, if not almost impossible to turn from sin- and even to feel that righteousness is distasteful.
I wonder if we are not doing much to move towards hating evil and choosing good then we might not be subtly sliding in the other direction.
Comment # 1 left by C Jones on November 25th, 2006
Ack. …”then we might not be” should read “then we might be”. Sorry.
Comment # 2 left by C Jones on November 25th, 2006
I think it’s so important to realize that we cannot exercise our willpower to get to this point. Only Christ can fully change our natures so that we lose the desire for evil. We do what we can, and His grace does the rest. I also think this is something that doesn’t just “happen” — I don’t think we arrive at the point of conversion at this level and just stay there. Alma asks, “Can you feel so now?” We have to seek for conversion and reconversion every day. This makes the “Sunday School answers” of reading, praying and going to Church (and temple and service and such) that much more meaningful. When we start to see these things as things that can bring us to Christ and bring the Spirit into our lives and hearts, suddenly the checklist becomes nothing more than opportunities to commune with the divine and to tap into the divine nature available through the Atonement.
Comment # 3 left by Michelle on November 25th, 2006
Michelle, I agree about the value of the “Sunday School answers.” I just taught Alma 5 as a RS lesson and I was struck by what Alma says in v.45-46. When he asks, “How do ye suppose I know”, he doesn’t even mention his (extreme!) conversion experience. He says he fasted, prayed, and received knowledge by revelation and the Holy Spirit. So in addition to being converted, he continued to seek a change of heart. Sounds a lot like the standard answers to me!
Comment # 4 left by C Jones on November 25th, 2006
I hate to bring up my Carnegie expeiences again…It is causing me to think deeply about significant changes to your very personality. This class recently had another spech contest where we were supposed to show great enthusiasm. Before each speech we would surround the speaker and chant ‘if you act enthusiastic, you will be enthusiastic’ three times really loud.
All this makes me think of faith and righteousness. If you act faithful, you will be faithful. But does it really change who you are inside? I believe that over time it does. When one sees the benefits of the change, then what one values will change - and thus the personality can change as well.
I think it is important in life and in the gospel to really believe that people can truly change - all the way through. Not just surface behavior.
Oh, and nice to hear from C again! I think you bring up a great point about where the change comes from with Alma.
Comment # 5 left by Eric Nielson on November 25th, 2006
David,
Wow. That was one of the most spiritually nourishing thing that I’ve ever read on a blog. I’m going to have to let my thoughts settle before I can even comment on it.
I bat around ideas around the atonement that touch on this. If we become one with Christ such that His sacrifice redeems us, then we become one with Him through and through, and our hearts, minds, and eyes come to see as His did–including sich perceptions of sin and wickedness.
MMmm, my mind is spinning. Thanks!
Comment # 6 left by Naiah Earhart on November 25th, 2006
All this makes me think of faith and righteousness. If you act faithful, you will be faithful. But does it really change who you are inside? I believe that over time it does. When one sees the benefits of the change, then what one values will change - and thus the personality can change as well.
But what causes that change? Our willpower? Or God’s power? I don’t believe we can change ourselves. Our willpower alone cannot get us to the change of heart. But, it ends up being so interconnected because as we exercise our agency toward good and light, the Spirit DOES come and change us, and we find what we were doing easier the next time around. It’s an upward spiritual spiral of growth and progression and conversion.
Sorry…I’m big on this “I cant’ save myself” mentality, because I’ve spent most of my life trying to change myself, without realizing that isn’t completely possible. We still need grace, regardless of all the efforts we put forth. That has been such a relief for me that I want to shout this from the rooftops!
Comment # 7 left by Michelle on November 26th, 2006
Michelle:
I am still sorting this out. Meaningful self improvement happens all over. Is this self improvement independent of the spirit? I want to believe that this meaningful self improvement is available to all. If you want to say that the God is behind it all that is fine with me. But it still comes down to choice on our part. God can not force us to change. It must be a two way partnership of sorts doesn’t it?
Comment # 8 left by Eric Nielson on November 26th, 2006
Eric, definitely. But ultimately, self-improvement if seen as such (one’s own efforts) has the dangerous potential to convince us we changed on our merits — and that can morph into thinking we can save ourselves. At least that does with me. Nothing we do, even with our efforts (all we can do), can fully change our hearts. We need grace, too. I think that requires more than just self-motivation. It requires deliberately looking to and coming to Christ as well, and humbling ourselves and recognizing our nothingness (this is what brought King Benjamin’s people to the point of the Spirit changing their natures — after King Benjamin told them that they were nothing, dust-of-the-earth, miserable, fallen souls.
The disposition, the actual change ONLY comes through the Spirit. Of course self-improvement can happen without the fulness of the gospel, and our efforts to try to be better can bring the Spirit, but I believe only the gift of the Holy Ghost given to members in the covenant who are deliberately relying on Christ in the process (how else can we be humble and meek in self-improvement efforts?) can really fully change our natures.
Read Moroni 7. Read where it says that ALL things must fail — except charity. That says to me that even self-improvement efforts will fail at some point. That is NOT to say they are worthless or spiritless. But I think there is more. Only HIS love and HIS grace can ultimately take our best efforts to be patient and loving and kind and unselfih and actually purify our natures to really “see Him as He is, for we will be like Him.” Only HIS power can give us consistent and real and pure charity, which would include this characteristic of having no disposition for evil. He doesn’t say “improve yourself with all the energy of heart” — he says pray for the gift that you may be filled with it. That is coming from the outside, not fully from the efforts we make. The effort we make is to come to Christ. That can be packaged as self-improvement in a way, to a point, because we can come to Him by repenting and changing our behaviors to be more like His would be. But we can’t just chant “I have charity, I have charity” and expect that to fully change our nature so that we consistently and purely have no desire for evil.
I don’t know if I’m expressing myself very well, but that’s where I am right now in my thinking and feeling about all of this. Perhaps it’s because I’m résumé driven and have spent my whole life trying to self-improve with no way to fully rip the desire for evil from my soul The ONLY time I feel that kind of purity is when I am fully immersed in the Spirit — the vehicle, the transmitter of the power of the Atonement. I just have finally realized I am hopeless on my own toward these ultimate goals of purity. I can’t do it on my own. All things fail, especially my willpower and ability to stay on a spiritual plane without the Spirit driving me. Does that make any sense at all? That doesn’t change how hard I work, but the work is made easier because it’s inside-out (spirit first, then flesh) rather than willpower alone.
p.s. This still is something that is really new to my soul, so if it doesn’t make sense, I’m sorry…I’m still trying to figure out that balance between grace and works.
But I’m leaning a lot on grace right now, because I have come face-to-face with how miserable my works alone leave me feeling and acting. Even with all my good intentions and all. I’m nothing. Piddly, puny dust of the earth. I goof constantly.
Comment # 9 left by Michelle on November 26th, 2006
I still think we are talking about the same combination and simply choosing to emphasize different aspects.
Moroni 7 in great. So is 2 Nephi 2. Where it reads that we are free to act and not be acted upon.
Certainly one can not save themselves, our efforts can only be good up to a point. We can not ultimately judge ourselves to be worthy, nor can we resurrect ourselves, nor can we choose the degree of salvation we receive.
On the other hand, God can not (I believe) simple save anyone willy-nilly. Salvation is still partially dependent on the merit of the soul being saved. Just as our efforts are only effective up to a point, God’s work and glory is only effective up to a point as well. God can not repent for us, nor can he compel us to righteousness. Even if He changes our hearts for us (which he can, but only if we go along) we still must maintain that changed heart.
Do you think people can change in a negative way? I do. Does God do that? If people can choose to change themselves in a negative way, can they not change themselves in positive ways as well?
Oh, and the I have charity chant is interesting. Carnegie self help coaches would not say it that way. They would say something like-
If you act charitable long enough (even if you do it initially out of obligation or something) you will eventually become chairtable. It would be like voluntarily desiring to be charitable and choosing to plant a charity seed in your heart and ‘playing along’. Then eventually you will see good results, learn the value of charity, and grow charitable desires. I do not express this to dismiss the spirit in all this, certainly the spirit is key.
I might say that ONLY praying ‘make me charitable, make me charitable’ without voluntarily extending yourself beyond your normal behavior will probably not yeild dramatic results either.
Comment # 10 left by Eric Nielson on November 27th, 2006
Excellent stuff, David.
We can change our hearts by changing what we think about and how we see ourselves - as a man thinketh so is he. A brilliant bit of stuff. I tried to sustain it but got lost in the process. If only all realised this.
Comment # 11 left by Doug Towers on November 29th, 2006
Eric,
I think you are right. We are in agreement fundamentally. For my own sake I’m needing to emphasize more of Christ’s role in all of this because I am not the type that will sit on my laurels and wait for Him to save me. I need to feel and recognize more of His power and grace in my life so that I don’t get so discouraged with how regularly I fall short, and how often my own best efforts are simply and obviously not enough. The devil uses that against me, paralyzing me with discouragement feelings of unworthiness that don’t lead me to God but instead keep me stuck. Does that make sense?
Incidentally, I think the choice to act and not to be acted upon really is a choice to go to Christ. We do that through our actions and efforts toward good, but I think too often we stop there without understanding how much He can help us in those efforts. Remember that whole being/becoming thing that Elder Oaks talked about.
But again, I do think we are essentially saying the same thing. I hope I didn’t hear frustration in your response. If so, sorry for being annoying.
Comment # 12 left by Michelle on November 29th, 2006