Imaginations of the Heart

Virtually every instance of the expression "imaginations of the heart" in the Bible likens such imaginations with idolatry and following other gods. At a covenant ceremony, Moses warns Israel, "Lest there should be among you a man, woman, family or tribe whose heart turns away this day from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that bears gall and wormwood" (Deut. 29:18).  Moses cites a classic kind of self-deception, at the same time harking back to the curses he has just enumerated in connection with the covenant: "And it come to pass, when he hears the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace (salvation), though I walk in the imagination of my heart, to add drunkenness to thirst" (Deut. 29:19).

Moses thereby gives us to understand that self-deception, or "drunkenness," follows a personal lack of "thirst" for the knowledge of God. Paul concurs with that interpretation. He says that imaginations--or reasonings and rationalizations--are a kind of conceit or pretense that exalts itself "against the knowledge of God" (2 Cor. 10:5).  Moses thus concludes his warning by showing how the Lord will not withhold his anger and jealousy from such but will bring "all curses that are written in this book" upon them, separating them unto evil from his covenant people, blotting out their names from under heaven (Deut. 29:20-21).

Imaginations of the heart are nonetheless something each of us has to live with. They are an integral part of being mortal, expressing a person's innate disposition to think or to do evil. Unavoidably, "the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth" (Gen. 8:21). People possess a natural tendency to be proud, mischievous, and wicked (Prov 6:18; Luke 1:51). But when they let the imaginations of their heart rule them, when they do not make captive every thought in obedience to Christ (2 Cor. 10:5), then they fall. Then, though "they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened" (Rom. 1:21).

When the Lord's prophet calls on the people to repent, they think, "There is no hope"--they continue following their own devices, relying for guidance on the imaginations of their heart (Jer. 18:12). Instead of hearkening to the Lord's counsel, they hearken to those who say, "Ye shall have peace.... No evil shall come upon you" (Jer. 23:17).  In the end, the Lord esteems such people as good for nothing and vents his wrath upon them (Jer. 13:10-14).  Biblical types of falling prey to the imaginations of the heart include the people before the Flood, the people at the Tower of Babel, and the nations of Israel and Judah before the Exile.

Nephi identifies the large and spacious building he and his father saw in vision as the "vain imaginations and the pride of the children of men" (1 Nephi 12:18). Nephi notes that a great and terrible gulf--the justice of the eternal God--divides those in the building from the godly (1 Nephi 12:18). Those who gather in the building include not only non-Israelites but also members of the house of Israel, who mock, scorn and fight their humble brethern (1 Nephi 8:27, 33; 11:35).

One thing that distinguishes the great multitude in the building is the exceeding fine manner in which they dress (1 Nephi 8:27). Their sophistication and finger-pointing reflect a preoccupation with unreality, as the building in the air, standing high above the earth, also signifies (1 Nephi 8:26). The building's fall is the destruction of all wicked nations, kindreds, tongues, and people--an event of the last days (1 Nephi 11:36).

In the days of Noah "God saw that the wickedness of men had become great in the earth, and every man was lifted up in the imagination of the thoughts of his heart, being only evil continually" (Moses 8:22), a particular type of evil that also exists in these last days, even among those who "have professed to know my name and have not known me" (D&C 112:26).

By engaging in self deception, basing our behavior on false pretenses, we sell ourselves short of divine blessings. We endanger our lives as we face perilous times, denying the good effect of God's enduring love for us.

In summary, in the last days, those of us who seek not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but walk every one in our own way, after the image of our own god--whose image is the likeness of this world, whose substance is that of an idol--must face the consequences of our actions:  must perish in Babylon, which shall fall (D&C 1:16).

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man....  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator.... (Romans 1:21-23;25).

See more on imaginations.

Vain Imaginations

Vain or vanity means useless, empty and without value. Used in the scriptures vain is often associated with the things of the world, or as a description that if we seek justification by works, Christ died in vain, whereas vanity is associated with unbelief. The words imaginations and image as used in the scriptures have a broader meaning and refer to the pride of the Lord's people who take great comfort in their image of goodness and righteousness. Because Satan cannot rule by virtue of his person because he is wicked, he therefore resorts to the use of images and self deception, of which he is the master. His world is a counterfeit full of illusions and "mists of darkness...which blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men,... (1 Nephi 12:17).

The large and spacious building in Lehi's dream represents vain imaginations and pride of the children of men (1 Nephi 12:18). And when the Lord tells us at the beginning of this last dispensation that we 'walketh...after the image of our own god, whose image is in the likeness of the world' (D&C 1:16), He is telling us that we are the same as Israel of old.

We imagine ourselves as being righteous. We imagine that we are good. We imagine that we are favored of the Lord. We imagine ourselves as being obedient. We imagine that our works will save us. We imagine that the Lord may beat us with a few stripes but in the end we will be saved. We imagine that we study and know the word of God. We imagine that we believe. We imagine that we are in the world but not of the world. Through our vain imaginations, through our vanity and unbelief, we are lead away carefully down to hell.

Vain imaginations and vanity lead to a perversion of the Lord's word which leads to the teaching and believing of false doctrines. Vain imaginations and vanity cause us to hearken unto the precepts of men and to deny the power of God and the gift of the Holy Ghost. "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ" (Colossians 2:8). While at the same time we hearken to the precepts of men, we rarely do away with the worship of our true God, but we worship the true God alongside our false gods. This compromise enables us to satisfy both our carnal instincts and our spiritual aspirations.

In some instances the worship of the true God and the false gods becomes fused, and the concept of the true God gets distorted. We impose our false images on the true God. This epitomizes the idea of "philosophies of men mingled with scripture." We then imagine that our outward forms of worship constitute true worship. For example we imagine that by actively congregating and religiously performing ecclesiastical duties that we are righteous. Another example is that by first giving ourselves to neighbor-love (service), we are serving our God. This is only true if we first love God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind, and not the other way around. If we give ourselves first to neighbor-love it cannot be sustained--it will become vain.

The Lord has told us that our vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation? Why because our minds have been darkened because of unbelief, and because we have treated lightly the things we have received-- (D&C 84:54-55).

Our minds become darkened when we set our "hearts upon the vain things of the world" (Alma 5:53); or when we gratify our vain ambition (D&C 121:37).

"I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye blessed, for behold your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth? Or do ye imagine to yourselves that ye can lie unto the Lord in that day, and say--Lord, our works have been righteous works upon the face of the earth--and that he will save you?" (Alma 5:16-17)

By a simple sleight of hand Satan will trick you into imagining that you are on the straight and narrow path leading to the tree of life, when you are really in the large and spacious building.
 

For more on imaginations.

And of Tenets Thou Shalt Not Talk #2

Tenet is defined as any opinion, principle, belief, creed, precept or dogma, especially one held in common by members of an organization. If this is true why then did the Lord say "of tenets that shalt not talk" (D&C 19:31)? Looking at the definition of dogma may give us some hint as to why we are not to talk of tenets. Dogma is often applied to statements put forward by someone who has 'not searched knowledge" (2 Nephi 32:7), (meaning, in this case, the knowledge revealed by God through His word), and believes that the statements should be accepted without proof just because they are spoken and repeated by others especially by those in authority.

This is one reason why I have a problem with talks in church that are made up of lists of things we are supposed to do or to be doing. Lists are tenets. And the problem is that everyone has their own list, and each list is usually preceded by the statement that if you do these four (or five, or six or seven) things you will be in the right path. Also associated with lists is that the speaker generally tells you that this list works for him or her (translation: I am on the right path because I do these things).

Another problem I have with these lists is that they are associated with a slogan such as 'follow the living prophet,' or 'read the Book of Mormon,' and (according to the person who made the list) why it is best for us to do each item on the list. There is seldom any scriptural explanation of the items on the list, which is repeated mantra style as if it is the gospel. Mantra is any repeated word or phrase which is vague and without definition. These catch - phrases are almost always on everyone's list, as if just the repeating of them makes them true.

But the biggest problem I have with lists is that they lead others astray by making the gospel of Jesus Christ into a 'to do' list, and cause people to seek after righteousness by their performance of the items on the list, rather than by faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 9:30-32). And most importantly they ignore the Lord's way: "And of tenets thou shalt not talk, but thou shalt declare repentance and faith on the Savior, and remission of sins by baptism, and by fire, yea, even the Holy Ghost" (D&C 19:31 emphasis added). There is a reason why He has commanded us to "say nothing but repentance unto this generation" (D&C 11:9; 14:8; 19:21).

Repentance is the main message of the Book of Mormon, and the first commandment He has given the human race. "But God hath made known unto our fathers that all men must repent" (Moses 6:50). The very purpose of our being here is to repent.  It is number one on our Saviors list where "God did call on men, in the name of his Son, (this being the plan of redemption which was laid) saying: If ye will repent and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son" (Alma 12:33-34 emphasis added).

Lists of things to do are almost always the product of the person making the list, and I ask why do we need someone's list when we have the Lord telling us what He does for us when we repent and come unto him?  And He makes it clear that repentance is a life long process. Hugh Nibley has said:

The fatal symptom of our day is not that men do wrong--they always have--and commit crimes, and even recognize their wrongdoing as foolish and unfortunate, but that they have no intention of repenting, while God has told us that the first rule that he has given the human race is that all men everywhere must repent. (Of All Things! Classic Quotations from Hugh Nibley, p. 189)

And every list I have ever heard spoken ignores this first rule.

The Lord has told us that strongly riveted creeds, which have been inherited upon the heads of the children, fill the world with confusion and are the "very mainspring of all corruption" (D&C 123:7-14). He describes these as lies and as "an iron yoke, ...a strong band...the very handcuffs, and chains and shackles, and fetters of hell" (Vs. 8).

Important in the records of the dispensations is that when men depart from God's way and substitute their own ways (lists) in its place, they usually do not admit that that is what they are doing. Often they do not deliberately or even consciously substitute their ways for God's ways. On the contrary, they easily and largely convince themselves that their way is God's way.

No list can come close to what the Lord has said and what our prophets (both dead and living) have always reminded us: that it is through our faith in Christ that we tap into His power. The Lord's Prophets have always reminded us that He is the vine and we are the branches and as branches we cannot bring forth the fruit--the fruit being becoming celestial persons--which all begins and ends with Him, and it is through planting His word (the seed) that we will, with continual nourishment from Him and His word, grow into celestial persons. That fruit will not be the result of our works, but because we are repenting and putting our faith in Him, and through Him, that is through His grace, we will be made perfect in Him. We are His fruit.

And that is another reason why I don't like lists, even if they are mingled with scripture.

Much Should Be Done Because of the Hardness of Their Hearts

Jarom said, "it is expedient that much should be done among this people, because of the 

1) hardness of their hearts, and 

2) the deafness of their ears, and 

3) the blindness of their minds, and 

4) the stiffness of their necks..." (Jarom 1:3 emphasis added).

The idea of hardness of one's heart and/or the stiffness of one's neck is often associated with one's blindness as to the things of God. For example Nephi said that the devil "blindeth the eyes and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men..." (1 Nephi 12:1;13:1). 

Another way of saying the same thing is that when one's heart is hard or one's neck is stiff, one does not look unto the Lord, because one has turned his/her heart away from God, and has placed his/her heart on the ways of men and the treasures of men. Men then put their trust in science, technology, weapons, gold, silver, money, travel and worldly pursuits. One cannot 'see' the things of God if one is turned away from God, and if one's heart is set upon the things of the world. 

One becomes self deceived, contracted as to the things of God, and relying on material things, upon his own strength, and/or upon the wisdom and knowledge of men. The turning away is always associated with hardening of the heart and/or the stiffness of one's neck.

The idea of wholly turning away from God is associated with refusing to hearken unto His voice and turning away from His righteousness (Abraham 1:5). Turning away is also associated with turning toward, and in the case of Abraham's fathers it was the turning of their hearts to other gods (Abraham 1:6-7).

This is also clear in Helaman 6:31 where it is recorded that because Satan had great hold upon the hearts of the people, that they "...had become exceedingly wicked; yea, the more part of them had turned out of the way of righteousness...and did turn unto their own ways, and did build up unto themselves idols of their gold and their silver" (emphasis added).

When one's heart is set upon the things of the world, one's heart is hard. When one refuses to turn to the Lord one's neck is stiff.

The idea of turning toward either Good (God) or Evil (Satan--any alternative to God) is captured in the Old Testament where the prophets continually admonish the children of Israel to turn their hearts to Jehovah and away from other gods. 

One has to only look in the Bible Topical Guide under 'turn' and see the multiple references to turning to or away from God. Since the choice is either one or the other, one cannot at the same time worship false gods and the true God. The choice is a turning to God or a turning away from God. There is no middle ground, even though Israel's apostasy has always included giving lip service to the true God, while at the same time setting their hearts upon the things of the world and relying upon the arm of flesh--the false gods. 

Alma refers to this condition by saying "Behold, O God, they cry unto thee, and yet their hearts are swallowed up in their pride. Behold, O God, they cry unto thee with their mouths, while they are puffed up, even to greatness, with the vain things of the world" (Alma 31:27).

Being hardhearted is repeatedly used in connection with the opposite of repentance or turning to God. "If ye will repent, and harden not your hearts, then will I have mercy upon you, through mine Only Begotten Son" (Alma 12:33 emphasis added). See also verses 34-37.

Also associated with the hardening of one's heart is the refusal to receive God's word. "Therefore, he that will harden his heart, the same receiveth the lesser portion of the word; and he that will not harden his heart, to him is given the greater portion of the word,..." (Alma 12:10-13 emphasis added). Also associated with ignorance of God's word is being stiffnecked. "...I am left to mourn because of the unbelief, and the wickedness, and the ignorance, and the stiffneckedness of men; for they will not search knowledge, nor understand great knowledge when it is given unto them in plainness, even as plain as word can be" (2 Nephi 32:7 emphasis added).

Is Jarom's comment applicable to us? Consider this. "And the people began to be distinguished by ranks, according to their riches and their chances for learning;... And thus there became a great inequality in all the land, insomuch that the church began to be broken up;... Now the cause of this iniquity of the people was this--Satan had great power unto the stirring up of the people to do all manner of iniquity, and to the puffing them up with pride, tempting them to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the world. And thus Satan did lead away the hearts of the people to do all manner of iniquity;... (3 Nephi 6:12-16 emphasis added).

Nephi adds, "Behold, there are many that harden their hearts against the Holy Spirit, that it hath no place in them; wherefore, they cast many things away which are written and esteem them as things of naught" (2 Nephi 33:2 emphasis added).