Post
# 124 – Converted unto the Lord
Dear
Family and Friends
What
do you each know about being converted unto the Lord? I guess I have been
pondering this question because this talk came to my mind as I was wondering
what I should share with you all in my next post. This talk is titled:
“Converted Unto the Lord” given by Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the
Twelve Apostles. His talk begins with this quote from his talk:
“Knowing
that the gospel is true is the essence of a testimony. Consistently being true
to the gospel is the essence of conversion.”
Elder Bednar said
that his “message
focuses upon the relationship between receiving a testimony that Jesus is the
Christ and becoming converted to Him and His gospel.” He continues by reminding us that “typically, we treat the topics of testimony
and conversion separately and independently.” He then
points out that “we
fain precious perspective and greater spiritual conviction as we consider these
two important subjects together.”
I want to
review together with each one of you, the things that Elder Bednar has taught
us in this talk:
Elder Bednar takes
us to the ministry of the Apostle Peter for our first lesson” Whom Say Ye
That I Am? He says that we can learn a lot about testimony and conversion
from this great apostle. So, let’s go check it out, shall we?
As Jesus came into the coasts of
Caesarea Philippi, He posed this penetrating question to His disciples: “Whom
say ye that I am?”
Peter responded forthrightly:
“Thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God.
“And
Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh
and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 16:15–17).
As is evidenced in Peter’s reply and the
Savior’s instruction,
15 He
saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And
Simon Peter answered and said, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And
Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh
and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
Do we each
know, who He is? And have we received that knowledge through the Holy Ghost or
by other means?
TESTIMONY
·
A testimony is a personal knowledge of spiritual
truth obtained by revelation.
·
A testimony is a gift from God nd is available
to all of His children.
·
Any honest seeker of truth can obtain a
testimony by exercising the necessary “particle of faith” in Jesus Christ to
“experiment upon” and “try the virtue of the word”, to yield “to enticings of
the Holy Spirit”, and to awaken unto God.
·
A testimony brings increased personal
accountability and is a source of purpose, assurance, and joy.
·
Seeking for and obtaining a testimony of
spiritual truth requires asking, seeking, and knocking with a sincere heart,
real intent, and faith in the Savior.
·
Fundamental components of a testimony are
knowing that Heavenly Father lives and loves us, that Jesus Christ is our
Savior, and that the fulness of the gospel has been restored to the earth in
these latter days.
·
Testimony is the beginning of and a prerequisite
to continuing conversion.
·
Testimony is a point of departure; it is not an
ultimate destination.
·
Strong testimony id the foundation upon which
conversion is established.
·
Testimony alone is not and will not e enough to
protect us in the latter-day storm of darkness and evil in which we are living.
·
Testimony is important and necessary nut not
sufficient to provide the spiritual strength and protection we need.
Accepting the words spoken,
gaining a testimony of their truthfulness, and exercising faith in Christ
produced a mighty change of heart and a firm determination to improve and
become better.
When thou art converted
As the Savior taught His
disciples at the Last Supper, He said to Peter:
“Simon, Simon, behold,
Satan hath desired to … sift you as wheat:
“But I have prayed for
thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy
brethren” (Luke 22:31–32).
31 And
the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold. Satan hath desired to have you, that he
may sift you as wheat:
32 But
I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted,
strengthen thy brethren.
Interestingly, this mighty Apostle had
talked and walked with the Master, had witnessed many miracles, and had a
strong testimony of the Savior’s divinity.
CONVERSION
·
Even Peter needed additional instruction from
Jesus about the converting and sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost and his obligation
to serve faithfully.
·
The essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ
entails a fundamental and permanent change in our very nature made possible
through the Savior’s Atonement.
·
True conversion brings a change in one’s
beliefs, heart, and life to accept and conform to the will of God and includes
a conscious commitment to become a disciple of Christ.
·
Conversion is an enlarging, a deepening, and a
broadening of the undergirding base of testimony.
·
Conversion is the result of revelation from God,
accompanied by individual repentance, obedience, and diligence.
·
Any honest seeker of truth can become converted
by experiencing the mighty change of heart and being spiritually born of God.
·
As we honor the ordinances and covenants of
salvation and exaltation, “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ”, and
endure in faith to the end, we become new creatures in Christ.
·
Conversion is an offering of self, of love, and
of loyalty we give to God in gratitude for the gift of testimony.
·
Conversion requires all of our heart, all of our
might, and all of our mind and strength. Knowing by the power of the Holy Ghost
that Jesus is the Christ is important and necessary. But earnestly coming unto
Him and giving our whole souls as an offering requires much more than merely knowing.
Conversion unto the Lord
requires both persistence and patience.
Elder Bednar shares the following examples from the Book
of Mormon:
The
Book of Mormon is filled with inspiring accounts of conversion. Amaleki, a
descendant of Jacob, declared: “I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is
the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his
redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto
him” (Omni
1:26).
26 And now, my beloved brethren, I would
that ye should come unto Christ, who is Holy One of Israel, and partake of his
salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him and offer your
whole should as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and
endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved.
Knowing
by the power of the Holy Ghost that Jesus is the Christ is important and
necessary. But earnestly coming unto Him and giving our whole souls as an
offering requires much more than merely knowing. Conversion requires all of our
heart, all of our might, and all of our mind and strength (see D&C
4:2).
2 Therefore, O ye that embark I the
service of God, see that ye serve him with all your heart, might, mind and
strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day.
King
Benjamin’s people responded to his teaching by exclaiming, “Yea, we believe all
the words which thou hast spoken unto us; and also, we know of their surety and
truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty
change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil,
but to do good continually” (Mosiah
5:2).
Accepting the words spoken, gaining a testimony of their truthfulness, and
exercising faith in Christ produced a mighty change of heart and a firm
determination to improve and become better.
2 And
they all cried with one voice, saying: Yea, we believe all the words which thou
hast spoken unto us; and also, we know
of their surety and truth, because of the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent,
which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more
disposition to do good continually.
Converted Lamanites
in the book of Helaman are described as being “in the path of their duty, and
they do walk circumspectly before God, and they do observe to keep his
commandments and his statutes and his judgments. …
“… And
they are striving with unwearied diligence that they may bring the remainder of
their brethren to the knowledge of the truth” (Helaman
15:5–6).
5 And
I would that ye should behold that the more part of them are in the path of
their duty, and they do walk circumspectly before God, and they do observe to
keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgements according to the law
of Moses.
6 Yea,
I say unto you, that the more part of them are doing this, and they are striving
with unwearied diligence that they may bring the remainder of their brethren to
the knowledge of the truth; therefore they are many who do add to their numbers
daily.
As
the examples given in the Book of Mormon highlight, the key characteristics associated
with conversion are experiencing a mighty change in our hearts, having a
disposition to do good continually, going forward in the path of duty, walking
circumspectly before God, keeping the commandments, and serving with unwearied
diligence. Clearly, these faithful souls had become deeply devoted to the Lord
and His teachings.
BECOMING CONVERTED
·
For many of us, conversion is an ongoing process
throughout our lives. It is not a one time event that results from a powerful
or dramatic experience. It comes to us line upon line, precept upon precept,
gradually little by little and almost imperceptibly, our motives, our thoughts,
our words, and our deeds become aligned with the will of God.
·
Samuel the Lamanite identified five basic
elements in becoming converted unto the Lord:
o
Believing in the teachings and prophecies of the
holy prophets as they are recorded in the scriptures
o
Exercising faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
o
Repenting,
o
Experiencing a mighty change of heart
o
Becoming “firm and steadfast in the faith”
7 and behold, ye do know of yourselves, for ye have witnessed it, that
as many of them of them as are brought to the knowledge of the truth, and to
know of the wicked and abominable traditions of their fathers, and are led to
believe the holy scriptures. Yea, the prophecies of the holy prophets, which
are written, which leadeth them to faith on the Lord, and unto repentance,
which faith and repentance bringeth a change of heart unto them.
8 Therefore as many as have come to this, ye know of yourselves are
firm and steadfast in the faith, and in the thing wherewith they have been made
free.
TESTIMONY AND CONVERSION
An important lesson
about the connection between testimony and conversion is evident in the
missionary labors of the sons of Mosiah.
“As many as were
brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his
brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power
of God working miracles in them—yea, … as the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in
their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away.
“For they became a
righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of their rebellion, that they
did not fight against God any more. …
6 And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as
many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the reaching
of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and f
prophecy, and the power of God working miracles in hem – yea, I say unto you,
as the Lord loveth, as many of the Lamanites a believed in their preaching, and
were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away.
7 For they became a righteous people; they did lay down the weapons of
their rebellion, that they did not fight against God any more, neither
against any of their brethren.
8Now these are they who were converted unto the Lord:
·
Two major elements are described in these
verses:
o
The knowledge of the truth, which may be
interpreted as a testimony
o
Converted unto the Lord, which I understand to
be conversion to the Savior and is gospel.
Thus, the powerful combination of both
testimony and conversion unto the Lord produce firmness and steadfastness and
provided spiritual protection. They never did fall away and surrender ‘the
weapons of their rebellion’ that they did not fight against God any more’.
To set aside cherished “weapons of rebellion” such as
selfishness, pride, and disobedience requires more than merely believing and
knowing. Conviction, humility, repentance, and submissiveness precede the
abandonment of our weapons of rebellion.
Do you and I
still possess weapons of rebellion that keep us from becoming converted unto
the Lord? I think this is a really good question to ponder – often. If we
indeed find that we are harboring any of these weapons of rebellion, then we
need to repent now.
We too, as
the people of King Benjamin, must be converted unto the lord – to Him as our
Savior and to His divinity and doctrine – and never fall away. We must NOT be converted to the missionaries who
taught us or to the excellent programs of the church, or to the personalities
of our leaders or to preserving a cultural heritage or the traditions of our
fathers.
** Remember
that a testimony is spiritual knowledge of truth obtained by the power of the
Holy Ghost. Continuing conversion is constant devotion to the revealed truth we
have received – with a heart that is willing and for righteous reasons. Knowing
that the gospel is true is the essence of a testimony. Consistently being true
to the gospel is the essence of conversion. We should know that the gospel is true
and be true to the gospel.
TESTIMONY, CONVERSION, AND THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS
I love the
new insight or interpretation that Elder Bednar shares with us in the parable
of the ten virgins:
** first,
he wants us to think of the lamps used by the virgins as the lamps of
testimony. The foolish virgins took only their lamps of testimony but took no
oil with them.
**
secondly, he wants us to consider the oil to be the oil of conversion.
** thirdly
he retells the story thus-ly:
“But the wise took
oil [of conversion] in their vessels with their lamps [of testimony].
“While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and
slept.
“And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the
bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
“Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps
[of testimony].
“And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil
[even the oil of conversion]; for our lamps [of testimony are weak and] are
gone out.
“But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not
enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for
yourselves” Matthew 25:4–9.
4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold the bridegroom cometh;
go ye out to meet him.
7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our
lamps are gone out.
9 But the wise answered, saying Not so; lest there be not enough for
us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
Fourthly
he asks a few important questions:
·
Were
the five wise virgins selfish and unwilling to share, or were they indicating
correctly that the oil of conversion cannot be borrowed?
·
Can
the spiritual strength that results from consistent obedience to the
commandments be given to another person?
·
Can
the knowledge obtained through diligent study and pondering of the scriptures
be conveyed to one who is in need?
·
Can
the peace the gospel brings to a faithful Latter-day Saint be transferred to an
individual experiencing adversity or great challenge?
Then he gives us the
answer to all of the questions:
The clear answer to each of these questions is no.
Lastly, he goes on to
explain:
As
the wise virgins emphasized properly, each of us must “buy for ourselves.”
These inspired women were not describing a business transaction; rather, they
were emphasizing our individual responsibility to keep our lamp of testimony
burning and to obtain an ample supply of the oil of conversion.
This
precious oil is acquired one drop at a time—“line upon line [and]
precept upon precept” (2 Nephi
28:30),
patiently and persistently. No shortcut is available; no last-minute flurry of
preparation is possible.
30 For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children
of men lie upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little;
and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my
counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give
more; and from them that shall say, We have enough, from them shall be taken
away even that which they have.
I
cannot imagine losing all of the knowledge that I have received of the gospel. Having
this knowledge one of the greatest blessings and possessions I have. I may have
‘Chemo Brain’ and be forgetful, but I hope and I pray that I will always have a
strong desire to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ which I have and continually
seek for more as I move along on this journey called life😊
We
cannot buy a testimony. We cannot buy it with money – we must humble ourselves,
repent, be baptized, receive the Holy Ghost, honor our covenants, receive the
priesthood ordinances, fulfill our callings in a pleasing manner unto the Lord,
we must study the scriptures, be always prayerful, serve others, keep the
commandments – all of the commandments.
No
one can give us their testimony to use or give us our testimony. We cannot
borrow another’s testimony or lean on another’s testimony for long – like a
child might do for a time. We each must put forth the effort required to gain a
testimony of the truth for ourselves. Once we have gained a testimony for
ourselves, we must continually add to our testimony ‘line upon line’, ‘precept
upon precept’.
None
of us know when the time will be for our Savior’s Second Coming so we must be
prepared:
“Wherefore, be
faithful, praying always, having your lamps trimmed and burning, and oil with
you, that you may be ready at the coming of the Bridegroom” (D&C
33:17).
7 Wherefore, be faithful, praying always, having your lamps trimmed
and burning, and oil with you, that you may be ready at the coming of the
bridegroom –
At
the end of his talk, Elder Bednar shares his testimony with us:
I promise that as we
come to a knowledge of the truth and are converted unto the Lord, we will
remain firm and steadfast and never fall away. Eagerly we will set aside our
weapons of rebellion. We will be blessed with bright light from our lamps of
testimony and an ample supply of the oil of conversion. And as each of us
becomes more fully converted, we will strengthen our families, our friends, and
our associates. Of these truths I testify in the sacred name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, amen.”
What
a wonderful promise Elder Bednar Hs made to each one of us. “As we come to a
knowledge of the truth and are converted unto the Lord, we will remain
steadfast and never fall away.” Wow!! I cannot think of a nicer more powerful
blessing for each one of us at this time --- when out world is so filled with
the snares of the adversary and his fallen angels.
Well my dear
Family and Friends, here we are again at the end of this post and this talk. I pray that each of you have been
uplifted and enlightened today through my sharing this talk with you. I think that I have covered everything in his
talk, but, if you wish to read the entire talk you can find it here:
I
know that I have veered away from our lessons again, but I really felt
impressed to share this talk with you😊
As
always, I hope and pray that you will each continue to pray always, study your
scriptures, keep the commandments, serve others, love one another, and remember
who you are – a child of a loving Heavenly Father who is always there for you –
no matter what you do. As well as His Only Begotten Son, ever Jesus Christ –
our Savior and Redeemer!
Remember
He is ever reaching out for each one of us. He wants to help us navigate
through the trials, tribulations, and temptations of this probationary state –
our mortal life, we only need to pray in earnest, and humble ourselves before
Him, repent of our sins each day. We also need to wait on His timetable and
remember that it is His will that we are seeking! Until my next post, please everyone – make it
a good week😊
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