"BROKEN HEART AND CONTRITE SPIRIT Their hearts had been changed. They didn’t even want to sin. And therefore they didn’t. But it wasn’t difficult. It was just their new nature. They weren’t trying to force themselves to keep the commandments on their own will power anymore. They just kept them because they had become righteous in their hearts. That is the power of the Atonement. That is the power of Jesus Christ. Quite often in the Church we focus on the need to keep the commandments but forget to talk about the only way to really do that. The only way is to be “born again”, as Jesus taught (John 3:3), and to have “this wicked spirit rooted out of [our] breast” as King Lamoni’s father described (Alma 22:15). The only way is to experience a mighty change of heart. And how do we get a mighty change of heart? We have faith and we repent. Over and over again. Every day. Our entire lives. The goal should be to have a changed heart, not to try our hardest to keep the commandments all the time. Keeping the commandments is a byproduct of a changed heart and should be done out of love, not fear or obligation. Now, there is merit in striving to keep the commandments even before having experienced a mighty change of heart. Keeping the commandments puts us in tune strong with the Spirit. And the Spirit is the vehicle by which His grace enters our lives. The Spirit uses His grace (the power of His Atonement) to sanctify us, change us, and enable us to actually keep the commandments. However, notice that the motivation is to get in tune with the Spirit, not fear or obligation. Keeping the commandments out of fear or obligation will never lead to a changed heart and it will almost certainly lead to stress and possibly to getting burned out. In conclusion, the gospel of Jesus Christ should never be a stress. It should not be a strain. It is empowering and life-giving! It brings hope! Please don’t ever keep the commandments to earn anything or to avoid punishment. Keep them because it has become your nature to keep them. Because you want to be like Jesus. Because you love Him (see John 14:15). If everything we do is done with His help, life truly will be easy and light because we will be taking His yoke upon us (see Matt. 11:28-30). Jesus will enable us and change us through His grace if we just have faith in Him and repent of our sins. So please don’t try to be perfect on your own. Don’t carry that burden. Just have faith in Jesus Christ and repent. That is all we can do."

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