I've spoken in sacrament twice in my adult life. I'm not talented at public speaking and I am terrified every time I have to do it. I came across my last talk as I was cleaning out my bedroom. It felt sad that I wouldn't have a copy of this in the future, so I thought I would share my studies, and talk on my blog:
I was baptized at 8 years old into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and later felt converted at 19
after a lot of personal study and discussions with my family and friends. I’ve looked into many religions and nothing
felt right. A friend personally
challenged me to read the BOM, I told her that I grew up in a LDS home and
there were many opportunities for me to feel it was true, but I hadn’t. She asked me if I ever read the BOM on my
own- I hadn’t. I promised her I would read it and I told her I’d let her know
if I found it to be true. She asked me
to tell her when, not if. Through
sincere personal study and in small and simple ways, I have my answer that
there is a God, he hears my prayers and that this is the true gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Both of my parents were converted and baptized by missionaries. Granny,
my mother’s mother was listening to a preacher on the radio in her attic, at a
humbling point in her life she kneeled down and asked God to send her a witness
of his church. LDS Missionaries that
were tracking, going door to door knocked on hers during her prayer. She and my mother, a teenager at that time
were converted and baptized. My father
was converted after he was married to my mother. He went to church with her a few times and my
mother introduced him to a missionary couple whom were serving in the
stake. He was converted easily and
willingly through the missionary discussions. In my entire life I have never
seen my father or mother waiver in their testimony that this church is true.
I have been blessed with wonderful and strong religious examples
in my life; however that hasn’t made my own testimony and conversion in this
church easier. As I have grown older I have realized that my
parents did not just receive confirmation of this gospel and then simply stay
active as a result of a one-time testimony.
In my own membership and conversion in the church I now understand that
my parents have personally studied this gospel, they have each made sacred and
meaningful covenants with our Heavenly Father, they have both use the Savior’s
example to mold their own lives, and they continuously build and strengthen
their testimonies.
Lately I have been thinking a lot
about conversion and testimony of this gospel.
In study, I read the following
Some have come to think of activity in the Church as the
ultimate goal. Therein lies a danger. It is possible to be active in the Church
and less active in the gospel. Let me stress: activity in the Church is a
highly desirable goal; however, it is insufficient. Activity in the Church is
an outward indication of our spiritual desire. If we attend our meetings, hold
and fulfill Church responsibilities, and serve others, it is publicly observed.
We need the gospel and the Church. In fact, the purpose
of the Church is to help us live the gospel. We often wonder: How can someone
be fully active in the Church as a youth and then not be when they are older? How
can an adult who has regularly attended and served, stop coming? How can a
person who was disappointed by a leader or another member allow that to end
their Church participation? Perhaps the reason is they were not sufficiently
converted to the gospel—the things of eternity.
In the BOM 2 Nephi 31:19 he writes,
“After ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is
done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay”
The journey of conversion goes
long after baptism and goes deeper than attending meetings.
What are the things of Eternity
that will anchor us in this gospel?
Brother Brad Wilcox answered this
to me by stating, “True conversion depends on obtaining an accurate view of
life, the plan of salvation, God’s love, and Christ’s Atonement. But it also depends on living in accordance
with that knowledge in public and in private.
And when behavior lags behind beliefs, conversion means experiencing for
ourselves how Christ’s strength is perfect in our weakness enabling us to
“continue in patience until we are perfected”.
Sometimes finding hope and motivation to keep moving forward in this
conversion process is as simple as going back to core doctrines and refocusing
on them through new eyes. Doctrine
offers a firmer foundation than popular thinking or good advice. Clear doctrine can help us identify and
categorize problems. More important it
can be a tool to help us predict, avoid and solve them.”
The end goal is not to be
baptized, go to the temple, and make it to the celestial kingdom; those are
means to the end. I believe that if we
only focus on the steps, not the actions or the heart we put behind them, we
will lose sight of what is ultimately important. Our ultimate goal is to become like Heavenly
Father and His Son Jesus Christ.
David O. McKay said, “The true
end of life is not mere existence, not pleasure, not fame, not wealth. The true purpose of life is the perfection of
humanity.”
In the book, The Continuous Conversion,
Brad Wilcox gives 6 key points to help ourselves find this end.
The first is
to OBEY
This key point is the straight
and narrow path.
We cannot outgrow the Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints; we can only grow in it.
Because I am imperfect, there have unfortunately been times that I’ve
looked for an easier route. I have
looked for shortcuts and lazy ways out of being obedient. I tell you today that there are none.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson has
said, “Sadly, much of modern Christianity does not acknowledge that God makes
any real demands on those who believe in him.
God requires our obedience,
sacrifice, and commitment to live the gospel.
He calls for self-control, self-discipline, best efforts and hard
work. He wants our time, talents, and
treasure. There is a list that Latter-day Saints are required to fulfill. We
have been given these guidelines in the scriptures, general conference, church
meetings, strength of youth pamphlets, personal revelation and the words of our
Savior Jesus Christ.
Dieter F. Uchtdorf said, “While
understanding the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of the gospel is necessary, the eternal
fire and majesty of the gospel springs from the ‘why’”
The question is not if God
requires something from us or even if He should require something. The question is “WHY”.
Which brings
me to the second key, LEARN.
In Doctrine and Covenants 78:8 we
find the words, “ For if you will that I give unto you a place in the celestial
world you must prepare yourselves by doing the things with I have commanded you
and required of you.”
Brother Wilcox gives some
perspective on this key, he said, “Christ’s arrangement with us is similar to a
mom providing music lessons for her child.
Mom pays the piano teacher and because she pays that debt in full, she
can turn to her child and ask for practice.
Does the child’s practice help pay the piano teacher? No. Does his
practice repay mom for paying the teacher? No. Practicing is how the child
shows appreciation for mom. Mom’s joy is
found not in getting repaid but in seeing her gift used-seeing her child
improve. And so she continues to call
for practice, practice, practice.
If the child sees mom’s
requirement of practice as being too overbearing, maybe it is because he
doesn’t yet see with mom’s eyes.
In the same way, because Jesus
has paid for the price of justice he can now turn to us and say follow me, keep
my commandments. If we see his
requirements as being too much, maybe it is because we do not yet see through
Christ’s eyes.
"A God who asks nothing of us is making nothing
of us and that is not the case."
To paraphrase Charles F. Stanley,
from Blessings of Brokenness, “In this symphony that is my life; God is not
content to be a member of the audience or stage crew. He is not even content to be the conductor. He wants to be the composer.”
Imperfectly, but surely, we are
practicing to live with our HF and our Savior once again.
The third
key is CHANGE
God desires us to obey and learn
so that we can make positive changes over time.
Referring to an explanation given by Dallin H. Oaks, he said, “the
repenting sinner must suffer for his sins, but this suffering has a different
purpose than punishment or payment. Its
purpose is change.”
If Christ did not require faith
and repentance, then there would be no desire to change. Think of friends and family members who have
chosen to live without faith and without repentance. They do not want change. They are not trying to abandon sin and become
comfortable with God. Rather, they are
trying to abandon God and become comfortable with sin. If Jesus did not require covenants and bestow
the gift of the HG, then we would have no way to change. . We
would have no access to God’s power. We
would be left forever with only willpower.
If Jesus did not require
endurance to the end, then we would not internalize those changes over
time. We may change on the surface but
they would not sink inside us and become a part of who we are.
Brother Wilcox shared in his
book, “The older I get and the more I understand God’s wonderful plan of
redemption the more I realize that in the final judgment it will not be the
unrepentant sinner begging Jesus to let him stay. No. He
will probably be demanding, “get me out of here”. Knowing Christ’s character, I believe if
anyone is going to be begging on that occasion, it will probably be Jesus
begging the unrepentant sinner, “please choose to stay. Please use my
Atonement-not just to be cleansed so you can qualify to stay, but to be changed
so you desire to stay.”
Heaven will not be heaven for
those who have not chosen to become heavenly.
Elder James E. Talmage said, “Any
man may enter the highest degree of the celestial kingdom when his actions have
been such that he can feel at home there.”
IMPROVE and
OVERCOME are keys 4 and 5
When the Savior healed the 10
lepers all of them were changed, however only 1 returned to thank the source of
that blessing. The 1 was made whole
because not only did he change but he improved by turning to Christ.
We don’t pray because we’re
worthy. We pray because we need
help.
We don’t take the sacrament
because we are perfect, but because we are willing to be perfected.
We don’t go to the temple because
we’ve made it, but because God is making us better there.
We are not earning a treasure in
heaven, but learning to treasure heavenly things.
On the final page of the BOM we
read the invitation to come unto Christ and be perfected in him. This life is about becoming better.
Elder Bruce C. Hafen has taught
that the Atonement is not just a doctrine that erases black marks. It is fundamentally a doctrine of human
development.
The final
key is BECOME
Learning and changing isn’t easy,
when I feel overwhelmed in these areas I try to remember the times that I have
succeeded and the moments I have seen Heavenly Father’s tender mercies touch my
life. I have to remind myself frequently
to keep an eternal perspective. I pray
that I can become more like my Heavenly Father and my Redeemer Jesus Christ,
that one day I can see things clearly and more so as they see.
Real conversion happens when we
stop placing so much importance on the habits in church and we start focusing
on the reasons of this Gospel.
Conversion happens when we focus on living in ways that follow the
example of the Savior. Conversion
happens when we allow change into our lives to purify and correct us.
Today I’d like to challenge all
of us to ponder the ways we can become more Heavenly, and then work on setting
those ideas into motion. I know that
Heavenly Father has given us the keys to succeed and become more like him. I believe that Jesus Christ is the living
Redeemer. Through the Atonement, the Savior has provided a way for us to return
to our HF changed and improved. I
believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the true Gospel
of our Heavenly Father; that it can give us all we need to return to him one
day.
