The heart and the mind

“Is it the Spirit or just my brain?”

The Lord speaks to us in so many ways, and the one He teaches in Section 8 is one of my favorites.

My husband and I recently had to make a financial decision that we were going back and forth on.

We prayed about it a lot, but our hearts weren’t telling us anything yet.

We finally logically came to the conclusion that we should go in one particular way.

After we had made that decision, our hearts started to feel at peace. We felt super confident moving forward with our choice, and we knew we had our answer!

In one of the most famous scriptures in the Doctrine and Covenants, the Lord tells Oliver Cowdery:

“Yea, behold, I will tell you in your mind and in your heart, by the Holy Ghost, which shall come upon you and which shall dwell in your heart.”

In other words – the Lord likes to send us his Spirit through both our mind and our heart.

Both!

That feeling in your heart is the Spirit, but that thought in your head that seems so logical is the Spirit, too.

However, I’ve learned they don’t always speak at the same time.

With this financial decision, the logical journey came first. I wanted to feel it in my heart. Desperately.

But I needed to make up my mind before the confirmation came.

I needed to trust my agency and use it wisely.

And then other times, I feel it in my heart before I can work through the logic.

I want it to make sense, but it doesn’t really make sense yet. So I have to move forward in pure faith that my heart is right, and wait for the logic to catch up.

I want the heart and the mind at the same time, but I think the Lord likes to give me opportunities to practice with just one or the other.

Practice my agency with my mind, and practice my faith in God with my heart.

And eventually, sometimes much much later, I feel it in both.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black