If I were to say to you all, or to any Latter Day Saint congregation, “Raise your hand if you are converted”
What Would You Do?
- Would you hold your hand up high with out hesitation?
- Would you be tentative or unsure about it or only hold your hand up half way?
- Would you wave your arm wildly so everyone could see?
- Or would you be casual & not put much thought into it?
We are all at different places in our own personal conversion, but I think that is a good question to ask ourselves. Where am I in my conversion?
Some of you may remember back to the day when you first felt the burning of a testimony
For others, it has been with you for as long as you can remember,
And some may be still working on it.
I hadn't really thought much about what conversion is until I studied for this talk.
If you are a member of our church, does that mean you are converted?
If you have a testimony, does that mean you are converted?
President Marian G. Romney said,
Membership in the Church and conversion are not necessarily synonymous. Being converted and having a testimony are not necessarily the same thing either. A testimony comes when the Holy Ghost gives the earnest seeker a witness of the truth. A moving testimony vitalizes faith. It induces repentance and obedience to the commandments.
Sometimes the word converted is used to describe when a sincere individual decides to be baptized. However, when properly used, conversion means far more than that, for the new convert as well as the long-term member.
What does it mean to be converted? President Harold B. Lee said, “Conversion must mean more than just being a "card carrying" member of the church with a tithing receipt … [or] a temple recommend.” One who is converted “strive[s] continually to improve inward weaknesses and not merely the outward appearances”
Conversion includes a change in behavior, but it goes beyond behavior; it is a change in our very nature. It is such a significant change that the Lord and His prophets refer to it as a rebirth, a change of heart, and a baptism of fire.
Conversion does not normally come all at once; it develops in stages, until a person becomes at heart a new person. It is a change of both how we think and how we feel.
In the scriptures we read about angels appearing and other dramatic accounts, but these do not bring conversion. Even Alma, who saw an angel, became converted only after he “fasted and prayed many days” for a witness of the truth. (Alma 5:46) And Paul, who saw the resurrected Savior, taught that “no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost” (1 Cor. 12:3)
Look at Laman & Lemual, they repeatedly had heavenly visitors, but the effect was only temporary, they were not truly converted.
A “mighty change in your hearts” is what conversion is all about. President Joseph Fielding Smith said, “People are converted by their hearts being penetrated by the Spirit of the Lord.
I asked my missionary son, Devin, who is serving on a mission for his thoughts on becoming converted. He said:
Becoming converted & baptized is one thing, it is great and wonderful and an essential step, but now stay converted. It is a lot easier to lose your testimony than to gain it. He said, supporting each other is so important, that is what helps keep people converted and active. Of course, keep doing what you are suppose to be doing, like read your scriptures, pray, go to church, fulfill your callings, etc, but everyone has to support each other and be willing to help however they can.
When you work to fulfill others needs, your own needs are met. As members of the Church, we have the responsibility of keeping ourselves converted and helping others stay converted as well.
Pres. Hinckley knew the importance of supporting each other that is why he asked us to see that everyone in our ward or branch has a friend so that no one feels alone. The likelihood of lasting conversion greatly increases when a new member or long time member has a friend or relative who is loving, caring, & encouraging.
Savior, as a caring friend, said to Peter, who had recently come to follow Him,
“Behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee; that thy faiths fail not, and when thou are converted, strengthen thy brethren.” (Luke 22:31-32)
I think most of us have felt a rise & fall in the level or strength of our own conversion. You can't just coast along & expect to maintain a strong conviction, it take a lot of effort to keep it alive.
