Conversion: How to Become Truly Converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Jeremiah 31:33  I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

WHAT IS CONVERSION?

·         Dallin H. Oaks, "The Challenge toBecome", Ensign, Nov. 2000

The Apostle Paul taught that the Lord’s teachings and teachers were given that we may all attain “the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). This process requires far more than acquiring knowledge. It is not even enough for us to be convinced of the gospel; we must act and think so that we are converted by it. In contrast to the institutions of the world, which teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ challenges us to become something.

·         Elder Marion G. Romney, “Conversion,”  Conference Report, October 1963

"But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." (Luke 22:31-32.) From this it would appear that membership in the Church and conversion are not necessarily synonymous. Being converted, as we are here using the term, 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; that is, it induces repentance and obedience to the commandments. Conversion, on the other hand, is the fruit of, or the reward for, repentance and obedience. (Of course one's testimony continues to increase as he is converted.)

·         
Elder Marion G. Romney, “Conversion,”  Conference Report, October 1963

 “As used in the scriptures, "converted" generally implies not merely mental acceptance of Jesus and his teachings but also a motivating faith in him and in his gospel-a faith which works a transformation, an actual change in one's understanding of life's meaning and in his allegiance to God-in interest, in thought, and in conduct.” 

M. Russell Ballard

“Among other things, Elder Ballard shared some feelings of the Brethren about conversion.  He indicated that President Hinckley has expressed concern that some people in the church have mental but not spiritual conversion.  The gospel appeals to them, but real conversion is when they feel something in their hearts, and not just in their minds.  There is mental assent, but not spiritual conviction.  They must be touched by the power of the Holy Ghost which creates a spiritual experience.  The power and deep conversion of the Spirit is needed by our members to get into their hearts to confirm what they agreed to in their minds.  This will carry them through every storm of adversity.”  

Bruce R. McConkie, "Be Ye Converted," BYU First Stake Conference, 11 February 1968, found in Sermons and Writings of Bruce R. McConkie

Peter had a testimony. Peter had worked miracles; he had been in the ministry. There is a difference, as is evident from this, between having a testimony and being converted. It is only fair, and it is also essential to the story, to say that the reason Peter was not converted in the full sense is that the time had not then arrived when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the people. This came later; it was the promised endowment that they got on the day of Pentecost.

A person may get converted in a moment, miraculously. That is what happened to Alma the younger. But with most people, the conversion is a process; and it goes step by step, degree by degree, level by level, from a lower state to a higher, from grace to grace, until the time that the individual is wholly turned to the cause of righteousness. Now, this means that an individual overcomes one sin today and another sin tomorrow.

The Holy Ghost does two things in particular. On the one hand he is a witness to truth, and so he bears the testimony of the truth, and that is how we get a testimony, by revelation from the Holy Ghost. But on the other hand the Holy Spirit is a sanctifier, and he has the power to cleanse and perfect the human soul, to wash evil and iniquity out, and to replace it with righteousness. And that is the occasion when we are converted.

HOW DO WE BECOME TRULY CONVERTED?

M. Russell Ballard,“Now Is the Time,” Ensign, Nov. 2000, 75

“True conversion comes through the power of the Spirit. When the Spirit touches the heart, hearts are changed. When individuals, both members and investigators, feel the Spirit working with them, or when they see the evidence of the Lord’s love and mercy in their lives, they are edified and strengthened spiritually and their faith in Him increases. These experiences with the Spirit follow naturally when a person is willing to experiment upon the word. This is how we come to feel the gospel is true.

A most significant evidence of our conversion and of how we feel about the gospel in our own lives is our willingness to share it with others and to help missionaries find someone to teach. The likelihood of lasting conversion greatly increases when a nonmember has a friend or a relative who radiates the joy of being a member of the Church. The influence of members of the Church is very powerful. I believe that’s why President Hinckley asked us to see that everyone has a friend (see “Converts and Young Men,” Ensign, May 1997, 47)

Elder Richard G. Scott, The Sustaining Power of Faith

You can learn to use faith more effectively by applying this principle taught by Moroni: “Faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.” Thus, every time you try your faith, that is, act in worthiness on an impression, you will receive the confirming evidence of the Spirit. Those feelings will fortify your faith. As you repeat that pattern, your faith will become stronger. The Lord knows your needs. When you ask with honesty and real intent, He will prompt you to do that which will increase your ability to act in faith.

Susan W. Tanner, YW General President, “Written in the Fleshy Tables of the Heart,” Spring 2005
Here, then, is an important key to our success in accelerating the Lord’s work. As active members of the Church, and especially as priesthood and auxiliary leaders, we need to do more to assist in the process of conversion, retention, and activation. We know that faithful members desire to serve, but sometimes we lose sight of the essential outcomes that our faith and works ought to produce in strengthening the commitment of our Father’s children to the gospel. “How can we as Young Women leaders facilitate conversion, this mighty change within the hearts of the young women we serve?  The scriptures reiterate again and again that the real teacher is the Holy Ghost.  A closely related subject to how we teach is how young women learn, how they internalize the gospel deep into their hearts. The Holy Ghost again is the facilitator. he “carrieth it unto the hearts” (2 Nephi 33:1). 

HOW DO WE KNOW IF WE HAVE BEEN TRULY CONVERTED?

·       Elder Marion G. Romney, “Conversion,” Conference Report, October 1963

In one who is really wholly converted, desire for things contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ has actually died. And substituted therefore is a love of God, with a fixed and controlling determination to keep his commandments.”   

Mosiah 5:2 Because of the Spirit of the Lord which has wrought a might change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil.

Alma 13:12 Now they, after being sanctified by the Holy Ghost, could not look upon sin save it were with abhorrence.

Alma 19:33 And they did all declare unto the people that their hearts had been changed; that they had no more desire to do evil.

Elder Marion G. Romney, “Conversion,” Conference Report, October 1963

Somebody recently asked how one could know when he is converted. The answer is simple. He may be assured of it when by the power of the Holy Spirit his soul is healed. When this occurs, he will recognize it by the way he feels, for he will feel as the people of Benjamin felt when they received remission of sins. The record says, . . . the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, . . ." (Mosiah 4:3.) 

Conversion: What Lack I Yet? How to Deepen our Conversion

Earlier this week I was listening to Elder Lawrence's General Conference talk from October 2015, "What Lack I Yet?" Here is the part I was focusing on and trying to understand how to implement in my own life: 

The journey of discipleship is not an easy one. It has been called a “course of steady improvement.” As we travel along that strait and narrow path, the Spirit continually challenges us to be better and to climb higher. The Holy Ghost makes an ideal traveling companion. If we are humble and teachable, He will take us by the hand and lead us home.

However, we need to ask the Lord for directions along the way. We have to ask some difficult questions, like “What do I need to change?” “How can I improve?” “What weakness needs strengthening?”

President Harold B. Lee taught, “Every one of us, if we would reach perfection, must [at] one time ask ourselves this question, ‘What lack I yet?’”

Then this morning I was reading a talk by Elder Ballard that he gave to Church Education System teachers in February 2016 discussing how to help ourselves and others deepen our conversion. He suggested that each of us should take some time and ask ourselves some personal interview questions. He provided 3 references in the scriptures that we can use to ask ourselves how we are doing. He said:

May I suggest you hold a personal interview with yourself on occasion and review 

·         2 Nephi 26:29–32 

·         Alma 5:14–30

·         Doctrine and Covenants 121:33–46. 

That will help to identify the kinds of temptations we all may face. If something needs to change in your life, then resolve to fix it.

I did my own personal interview this morning, pausing after each sentence in each of these verses. It was a powerful and humbling experience. If anyone else has found similar references I would love to add them to the list.

Then later, as my daughter and I were discussing how to make this all happen in our own life, she shared with me this great message from President Henry B. Eyring. It is long, but very worth it:

Now your impressions will not have been quite like mine, but you have felt a tug, maybe many tugs, to be someone better. And what sets those yearnings apart from all your daydreams is that they were not about being richer, or smarter, or more attractive, but about being better. I am sure you have had such moments, not just from my experience, but because of what President David O. McKay once said. Listen very carefully:

“Man is a spiritual being, a soul, and at some period of his life everyone is possessed with an irresistible desire to know his relationship to the Infinite. … There is something within him which urges him to rise above himself, to control his environment, to master the body and all things physical and live in a higher and more beautiful world” (True to the Faith: From the Sermons and Discourses of David O. McKay, comp. Llewelyn R. McKay [1966], 244).

That pull upward is far beyond what you would call a desire for self-improvement. When I felt it, I knew I was being urged to live so far above myself that I could never do it on my own. President McKay had it right. You feel an urging to rise above your natural self. What you have felt is an urging from your Heavenly Father to accept this invitation:

“Yea, come unto Christ, and be perfected in him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness; and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by his grace ye may be perfect in Christ; and if by the grace of God ye are perfect in Christ, ye can in nowise deny the power of God.

“And again, if ye by the grace of God are perfect in Christ, and deny not his power, then are ye sanctified in Christ by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ, which is in the covenant of the Father unto the remission of your sins, that ye become holy, without spot” (Moroni 10:32–33).

That urge to rise above yourself is a recognition of your need for the Atonement to work in your life, and your need to be sure that it is working. After all you can do, after all your effort, you need confidence that the Atonement is working for you and on you.