A Hard Heart is near impossible to Penetrate

I have learned through my own experiences and by watching others that a HARD HEART IS NEAR IMPOSSIBLE TO PENETRATE.

The scriptures repeatedly warn of having a hard heart.
1 Nephi 15:3 For he truly spake many great things unto them, which were hard to be understand, save a man should inquire of the Lord; and they being hard in their hearts therefore they did not look into the Lord as they ought.

The definition alone helps us understand why? Hard means solid, firm, and resistant to pressure; not easily broken, bent, or pierced. In contrast, soft means easy to mold, cut, compress, or fold; not hard or firm to the touch. This is exactly why we much have a soft heart. The Lord doesn’t force us to listen or to hear his promptings, sent to us by the Holy Ghost who comes in quiet, gentle approach. Instead the Lord asks us to be so mold-able that we actually come to him. He stands at the door and waits.  If we are not careful, it is easy to not notice that we have a visitor and to not open that door.

Often it is more pleasing to recognize others hardness…and to not see our own. In fact, I have found that it is almost impossible to truly see our own hardness of heart without the guidance of the Holy Ghost, through asking the Lord to know.

My sister Debbie, refers to the Holy Ghost as a feather. I love that analogy. (which you can find here) The Holy Ghost gentle and soft, like a feather. If a feather was to fall on your shoulder, you wouldn’t notice unless you were paying attention. That is exactly like the Holy Ghost, we will only notice the gentle promptings if we are in tune, through the way we are living and listening.
1 King 19:11-12 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake:
And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. 
When understanding the Holy Ghost (still small voice) or a feather, and a hard heart as a stone…it becomes clear how difficult it would be to penetrate that stone. From that analogy one can only understand that the stone must be softened through lots of molding so that the feather may poke at it, and in order for the stone to have any awareness of the feathers presence.
That molding is called humility. Humility is “recognizing our dependence upon God and desiring to submit to His will.”

My mom always told me… Just as you think your humble…you are not! 🙂
Humility is a life long journey…everyone has their own HUMILITY LIFE CYCLE!
If we can detect what keeps the cycle moving then we won’t find ourselves stuck in the “Hard Heart” zone for long. We will be able to move the wheel into “soft” stages, and we can learn to live in a way that we can spend a majority of our lives with a soft heart.