Breaking a bone is seen almost as a badge of honor in society; people brag about which bones they’ve broken, how many they’ve broken, how they’ve broken them, etc. The person with the most broken bones, or with the most intense story, wins the prize of being either the most adventurous, the toughest, or the stupidest (or maybe a combination of the three). I personally have never broken any bones, which means I’m really lucky, I’m not adventurous enough, or I’m a genius. Whatever the case may be (I’m a genius), I’ve never had to go though the healing process of a broken bone.

Repairing a broken bone is relatively straightforward, though it requires some skill. In order for a bone to heal properly after it has broken it must be set. If a bone is set improperly and allowed to heal, it must be broken again and reset, otherwise it will become a malunion, which can be damaging both to the bone itself and to the surrounding tissues and joints. Once the bone is set properly, the two (or three or four or eight) pieces will grow back together and the bone will once again be strong enough to function normally.

In scripture, broken bones are mentioned scarcely. Broken hearts, on the other hand are mentioned quite frequently. Usually we don’t think of broken bones as being similar to broken hearts, but there are interesting parallels.

In one of my favorite chapters of scripture, God explains (among other things) why some people are not chosen to serve and lead, explaining that “their hearts are set so much upon the things of this world” (D&C 121:35). Much like with bones, our hearts can be set, and when they are set incorrectly we experience pain and discomfort. When our hearts are set in the wrong ways, on the wrong things, they must be broken again so they can be reset. A broken heart is the cure for a heart set on worldly things.

Our ultimate goal in life is to live so that we may have God’s spirit and presence with us, and our ultimate goal in death is to be reunited with God in our families. This can only happen when our hearts are set on the right things: Christ and his gospel. If our hearts are set improperly, and allowed to remain that way, it leads to a malunion, and a malunion with God prevents us from enjoying the blessings of peace and joy in this world and eternal life in the world to come. If we want to be united with God, we must examine how our hearts are set.

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