The state of our hearts has a lot to do with whether or not we accept the words of God. The scriptures often speak of being hard-hearted, and here in 1 Nephi 2, Nephi tells us that the Lord "did soften my heart that I did believe all the words which had been spoken by my father".
In order for us to believe, we need to be open to belief. We need the desire that Nephi spoke of. But Nephi already had that desire when he prayed, and then the Lord blessed him even more by softening his heart.
Gerald Lund spoke of the condition of our hearts in a conference talk in 2008:
The heart is a tender place. It is sensitive to many influences, both positive and negative. It can be hurt by others. It can be deadened by sin. It can be softened by love. Early in our lives, we learn to guard our hearts. It is like we erect a fence around our hearts with a gate in it. No one can enter that gate unless we allow him or her to.
In some cases the fence we erect around our hearts could be likened to a small picket fence with a Welcome sign on the gate. Other hearts have been so hurt or so deadened by sin that they have an eight-foot chain-link fence topped with razor wire around them. The gate is padlocked and has a large No Trespassing sign on it. . . . the condition of our hearts directly affects our sensitivity to spiritual things.
Keeping our hearts pure and soft involves avoiding sin and pride and envy and those things which move us away from the Lord. I pray that the Lord will soften my heart also, that my desires will always be to Him, that I can return to His presence.
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