Spiritual Pulse

Asking yourself the right questions

"And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?" - Alma 5:14

If I asked you to find your pulse, your probably could on your neck or wrist within about five seconds. With some time, you could measure your pulse and determine whether it is healthy or not. However, if I asked you about your spiritual pulse, how would you measure it? How is your relationship with God? Are you living up to be the person you want to be? Do you have faith, hope, and charity? All of these metrics are hard to quantify, which can lead to skewed perceptions if we don't find a way to measure them properly. Without proper assessment, we tend to broadly label ourselves and fail to see strengths and weaknesses. Sure, I think I'm a pretty good person, but when I use a stamp like "good," I don't think much about how I could improve my life. If I considered myself "bad," I wouldn't see my strengths and fail to rectify my weaknesses.

The only way to properly measure our spiritual pulse is through serious and deliberate self-reflection by questioning ourselves. Alma chapter 5 lays a perfect blueprint for this as Alma poses 42 questions to the people of Zarahemla. These 42 questions bring genuine contemplation about our spiritual pulses. Do you have "his image in your countenances?" (v. 14). Do you walk "blameless before God?" (v. 27). Are you "stripped of pride [and]... envy?" (v. 28-29).

I invite you to read this chapter and literally plot your answers to these questions. Set up a 1-10 scale, and rate yourself in each self-inquiry, where ten is the best you can be. It might seem like a ridiculous concept, but it can help you clearly see where you stand compared to where you want to be. The graph of your spiritual pulse will probably move up and down, like a real pulse, and it may flatline in some areas that really need improvement. This is normal. We are all human, and we all make mistakes. Set goals for who you want to be and what you want to accomplish. Discover your strengths and weaknesses and make yourself a better person. Become so comfortable with your standing that finding your spiritual pulse is as easy as finding your physical pulse.