Where is Your Heart Truly Turned? A Lesson in True Worship

Brothers and sisters, it’s funny how these deep spiritual questions pop up when you least expect them. One minute you’re doing the mundane things—running errands, catching up with family—and the next, you’re suddenly pondering the deepest meaning of worship. It keeps cropping up, like a gentle nudge from the Spirit, prompting you to check the alignment of your heart.

I was thinking about this recently after some discussions about exaltation and the nature of true devotion. We talk so much about *doing* the right things—attending church, studying scriptures, keeping the commandments—but the core question keeps circling back to the source: Where is our heart *wholly* turned?

It’s a sobering thought, isn't it? We can be outwardly compliant, go through all the processes, and still have our hearts oriented somewhere else. We can even consume all the best Come, Follow Me content, but if our hearts aren't truly engaged, the saving power—the Spirit—doesn't connect in the way it needs to.

The Litmus Test: Where is Your Joy Centered?

The counsel we received this week, drawn from pondering Abraham’s account, boils down to a beautiful, yet challenging, principle: Our heart is a perfect reflection of what we truly love. And what we love determines where our joy and peace are centered.

It’s not about eliminating joy from other areas of life—the Lord gave us opportunities to enjoy the blessings of this life! But it *is* about the center point. If everything else—the decorations, the hobbies, the achievements, the temporary thrills—is the anchor for our happiness, then when those things inevitably fade or shift, we are left empty. Nothing else can sustain us.

This is where the testimony becomes so vital. The Savior doesn't save us *just* for the sake of saving us; He saves us because He wants us to be happy. And that ultimate, abiding joy and peace—that source—is only Him. Our deepest understanding of this means accepting that He is worth any sacrifice, and anything He asks us to sacrifice is ultimately leading us closer to truth and lasting joy.

A Thought for Your Week: The Cost Analysis

To help us apply this principle, I was pondering the follow-up questions: What are you willing to sacrifice for the things you love? What is the *cost* of that love? Are we sacrificing precious relationships, or are we sacrificing our willingness to hand our dearest loves over to the Lord should He ask?

This isn't meant to cause anxiety, but rather to prompt sincere, honest introspection. It’s a chance to strengthen our covenant path and ensure that the scale of our devotion is tipped firmly toward the Savior. This is the essence of being a disciple anywhere, all the time—we are constantly weighing our investments.

If you want to dive deeper into these concepts and hear more of this counsel, I highly recommend listening to the full podcast episode from Autumn Dickson covering Genesis 12–17 and Abraham 1–2. It’s a powerful study in discerning true worship.

As we continue on this journey together, remember that every member can be an internet missionary. If this talk resonated with you, I encourage you to share a scripture thought with a friend in the social scripture study layer in LivingBook, or join a book club to discuss these concepts further. Let’s keep building up our spiritual muscle together!