I’ve a healthy respect for the efforts of our Full-time Missionaries as they go about finding and teaching the principles of the gospel to individuals who are unfamiliar with the teachings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. But what about those who, for one reason or another, have joined the Church and no longer feel a desire to be among us?
While
going over the membership list of the Madisonville Branch, those individuals
I’ve never met, who’ve, for one reason or another have chosen not to meet with
us, the thought occurred to me, could it be they are not truly converted yet? What more could we be doing to invite these
individuals, to impress upon them the importance of the covenant they entered
into when they were baptized?
Then a
more sobering idea occurred to me. A
similar thought was expressed by the disciples during the Last Supper upon
learning one of them would betray the Lord.
“Is it
I?” Am I the individual who has yet to
be converted, to achieve the level of discipleship the Lord would have me
attain?
Have I
been sharing the gospel with friends or even strangers, asking them if they
were familiar with our beliefs. Beyond
that, are my actions in accordance with my beliefs, enough so that others would
recognize me as a follower of Christ?
I
heard Henry B. Eyring cautioning those listening, not sure if it was during
General Conference or elsewhere. This
was some while back, so this is from memory:
“There
is a danger in saying, I’ll do it Someday.
I’ll read my scriptures more, someday, I’ll pay a full tithing,
someday. I’ll attend the temple,
someday. I’ll develop a better
relationship with the Lord, someday.
Then
when all those somedays become lost, you’ll weep, and the Lord will weep for
the lost opportunities of someday”.
(paraphrased)
Isn’t
this the same as saying, I’ll strive to be more like the Savior, someday? Someday I’ll be truly converted to His ways.
The following quote was by Richard C. Edgley, Presiding Bishop of the Church.
“The strength of the Church is in the
millions of humble members striving every day to do the will of the Savior—day by day, one step at
a time. These humble members come from all nationalities, all social strata,
and every economic background. They include those of the highest educational
backgrounds as well as those of the humblest who live in the smallest hamlets
in the most remote areas of the world—all having hearts throbbing with a vital testimony of
Jesus Christ and a desire to serve the Lord.
As I
have pondered these faithful members, I am struck by two qualities they all
seem to have. First, regardless of social or economic status or position, their
humility leads to submissiveness to the Lord’s will. And second, in spite of
the difficulties and trials of life, they are able to maintain a sense of
gratitude for God’s blessings and life’s goodness. Humility and gratitude are
truly the twin characteristics of happiness.”
There
are all sorts of wise sayings posted on social media, items which can be
applied to our lives as we strive to improve.
This one fits the criteria:
“If we
are not careful, we will begin to chase after the temporal more than the
spiritual. Our pursuit of the spiritual
and eternal will then take a backseat.”
Michael John U. The, a member of the Quorum of the Seveny
The
Lord reminded Peter of this important aspect of discipleship.
“So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter,
Simon, son of
Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou
knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.” John 21:15
In a talk, The Great Commandment, given during the
October 2007 General Conference by Joseph Wirthlin he asked:
“Do you love the Lord?
Spend time with Him. Meditate on His
words. Take His yoke upon you. Seek to understand and obey, because “this is
the love of God, that we keep his commandments.” When we love the Lord,
obedience ceases to be a burden. Obedience becomes a delight. When we love the
Lord, we seek less for things that benefit us and turn our hearts toward things
that will bless and uplift others.”
Elder Wirthlin could easily have asked,
“Have you been converted to the Lord?”
President Russell M. Nelson in the April
General Conference back in 2017 stated:
“When you reach up for the Lord’s power in
your life with that same intensity that a drowning person has when grasping and
gasping for air, power from Jesus Christ will be yours. When the Savior knows you truly want to reach
up to Him when He can feel that the greatest desire of your heart is to draw
His power into your life you will be led by the Holy Ghost to know exactly what
you should do.
When you spiritually stretch beyond
anything you have ever done before, then His power will flow into you. And then you will understand the deep meaning of words
we sing in the hymn “The Spirit of God”.
Think about that statement, ponder on how
it applies to each of us. Does this kind
of spiritual expansion occur all at once; say for example, when we decide to
accept the gospel in our lives and be baptized?
Or… does it happen when we have our Endowments bestowed upon us at the
temple? To some degree, yes; but as the
disciple Simon Peter was reminded, having given his life over to the bidding of
our Lord, his conversion process was on going… and required a fresh commitment
with each day.
“…Yea,
Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.”
Your family and friends
will likely be more open to the gospel and of your own conversion by observing your
actions rather than your words.
As mentioned earlier, “… I am struck by two
qualities ... First, regardless of social or economic status or position, their
humility leads to submissiveness to the Lord’s will. And second, in spite of
the difficulties and trials of life, they are able to maintain a sense of
gratitude for God’s blessings and life’s goodness. Humility and gratitude are
truly the twin characteristics of happiness.”
May humility
and gratitude be manifest to those around us as expressions of our love of the
Savior and serve as evidence of our conversion to the gospel. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
