Editor’s note: To support personal and family gospel learning, the Church News is publishing articles on messages from April 2025 general conference. It is recommended to listen to or read the full address in addition to reviewing these resources.
About this talk
- “Harden Not Your Heart”
- Elder Christopher H. Kim | General Authority Seventy
- Sunday afternoon session of April 2025 general conference.
- Theme: Sincere repentance, humility and trust in the Lord soften hearts.
Read the full message here.
Read a summary of Elder Kim’s message here.
Outline
- The Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ began when God the Father and His Beloved Son appeared to young Joseph Smith. As part of the Restoration, Joseph translated an ancient record by the gift and power of God. This record contains the fullness of the everlasting gospel.
- Laman and Lemuel didn’t believe truths given to them because of the “hardness of their hearts” (1 Nephi 2:18). The Korean translation of “hardness” means “stubborn” and “wicked.”
- When people harden their hearts, good things cannot come into their hearts or minds. They choose to open hearts not to the things of God but instead to the influence of the adversary. They resist the influence of the Holy Ghost and become “past feeling” (1 Nephi 17:45).
- Alma taught the people of Ammonihah that some reject the Spirit of God because of the hardness of their hearts. (See Alma 13:4.) Because Laman and Lemuel hardened their hearts, they ultimately rejected eternal truths. In contrast, Nephi continually humbled himself, and the Lord softened his heart.
- How do people not harden their hearts? First, practice daily repentance. The Savior taught, “Whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive” (3 Nephi 9:22).
- Second, practice humility. A woman who was learning about the Church struggled to commit to baptism. When she began to understand humility in the perspective of God’s eyes, she prayed to soften her heart. She felt the Spirit witness to her that Heavenly Father wanted her to be baptized.
- Third, trust and rely on the Savior. When one puts trust in the Lord and relies on Him, He will soften hearts and offer support in trials, troubles and afflictions.
- By sincerely repenting, humbling oneself, and trusting and relying on the Lord, hearts will be softened. He will pour out His Spirit and show the mysteries of heaven. Understanding will deepen.
- Jesus Christ was the ultimate example of meekness. Even though He was holy and perfect, he humbled Himself before the Father and was baptized. At the end of His mortal life, Jesus Christ submitted His will to His Father by partaking of the bitter cup.
- Everyone has been given moral agency. They can choose to harden their hearts or choose to soften their hearts. Follow the example of Jesus Christ, who followed the will of the Father.
Reflection questions
What resulted in Laman and Lemuel hardening their hearts against the teachings of their father, Lehi, and their brother Nephi?
What does it mean to have a hardness of heart?
How did Nephi humble himself and seek guidance from the Spirit of the Lord?
How do repenting daily, practicing humility and trusting in the Savior help us not harden our hearts?
What are some spiritual blessings from choosing to soften our hearts?
Speaker quotes
- “When we harden our hearts, we are blinded, and good things cannot come into our hearts or our minds. We become stubborn and begin to place more focus on worldly desires, closing our hearts to the things of God. ... When our hearts are hardened, we resist the influence of the Holy Ghost.”
- “When we put our trust in the Lord and rely on Him, He will soften our hearts, and we will be supported in our trials, troubles and afflictions.”
- “We’ve been given moral agency. We can choose to harden our hearts, or we can choose to soften our hearts. In our daily lives, we can choose to do the things that invite the Lord’s Spirit to come into and dwell in our hearts. I know that in these choices, there is peace and joy.”
Reference scriptures
- “But, behold, Laman and Lemuel would not hearken unto my words; and being grieved because of the hardness of their hearts I cried unto the Lord for them.”
- “And it came to pass that I, Nephi, ... having great desires to know of the mysteries of God, wherefore, I did cry unto the Lord; and behold he did visit me, and did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father; wherefore, I did not rebel against him like unto my brothers.”
- “And again, behold I say unto you that he cannot have faith and hope, save he shall be meek, and lowly of heart. If so, his faith and hope is vain, for none is acceptable before God, save the meek and lowly in heart; and if a man be meek and lowly in heart, and confesses by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ, he must needs have charity; for if he have not charity he is nothing; wherefore he must needs have charity.”
Invitations and promises
- “As we experience the joy of softening our hearts and coming to the Lord, we become ‘as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father’ (Mosiah 3:19).”
- “Daily repentance will bring humility to our hearts. We want to become humble before the Lord, like a little child who obeys their father. We will then always have the Holy Spirit with us, and our hearts will soften.”
- “If we sincerely repent, humble ourselves, and trust and rely on the Lord, our hearts will be softened. He will then pour out His Spirit and show us the mysteries of heaven. We will believe all the words that He has taught, and our understanding will deepen.”
Stories
- As a young boy reading the Book of Mormon, Elder Kim often wondered why Laman and Lemuel did not believe the truths given to them, even when an angel of the Lord appeared and spoke to them directly. He found an answer in 1 Nephi, which states that Nephi was “grieved because of the hardness of their hearts” (1 Nephi 2:18).
- Elder Kim and his wife, Sister Seongmi (Sue) Kim, have known a wonderful couple for the last four years. When they first met, the husband was a new member of the Church, and the wife was meeting with the missionaries. They felt she had a vibrant testimony of the gospel and knew the Church was true, but she found it difficult to commit to baptism. After reading Moroni 7:43-44, she realized what she needed to do. She prayed to soften her own heart and came to know through the Spirit that Heavenly Father wanted her to be baptized.
Additional resources
- Related image: “Nephi Subdues His Rebellious Brothers” by Arnold Friberg
- Related video: “Nephi Prays for Laman and Lemuel”
- Related hymn: No. 101, “Guide Me to Thee”
Recent conference talks on humility
- Sister Tamara W. Runia: “Your Repentance Doesn’t Burden Jesus Christ; It Brightens His Joy” (April 2025)
- Elder D. Todd Christofferson: “Burying Our Weapons of Rebellion” (October 2024)
- Elder Paul B. Pieper: “Trust in the Lord” (April 2024)
Who is Elder Kim?
- Elder Christopher H. Kim was sustained as a General Authority Seventy on April 6, 2024. Born in Daegu, South Korea, he and his family immigrated to the United States, settling in the San Fernando Valley in California. He received a Master of Business Administration from BYU in 1997 and worked for international companies, taking him from Idaho to Thailand and South Korea.
