Chapters

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Lifelong Conversion: Continuing to Advance in the Principles of Truth

Taught by Holly S.



 What does the word conversion mean???  the word conversion means simply to turn in a new direction, to embrace new conduct.  Conversion is becoming a true disciple of Christ.  It is not a single event but a lifelong process.  
To convert is to BECOME!

When we become and are converted it is a part of our being and soul.  It is who we are and how we live our lives.  It is more than just believing it is taking action to make a change.

"Conversion is not a one time event.  
It is a life long quest to become 
more like the Savior." 
~ Russell T. Osguthorpe, Sunday School General President, October 2012 general conference~

This quote sums it up best.  I love how he uses the word quest.  A quest is an action word which to me indicates that we must be working and doing every day!  We should all be on a quest every day to become converted.

For some of us it has been a while since we made our baptismal covenant.  How are we different from the day that we were baptized until now?  Have we grown spiritually?  When we were baptized were we completely converted?  Just some questions to ask ourselves and help us to think about what we are doing daily to continue our conversion process.

What holds us back from our conversion?

Poor time management, media, the world, laziness, being complacent, wrongful ambition and losing our focus are just a few things that can make it hard for us to continue our conversion process.  We need to try and keep our focus on the Gospel and make it our priority every day.

You might remember an interesting general conference address in which Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve apostles compared the process of conversion to the process of pickling a cucumber.  "Place a cucumber in a barrel of vinegar and there is but little effect produced upon it the first hour, nor in the first 12 hours.  Examine it and you will find that the effect produced is merely upon the rind, for it requires a longer time to pickle it.  A person's being baptized into this church has an effect upon him, but not the effect to pickle him immediately.  It does not establish the law of right and of duty in him during the first 12 or 24 hours; he must remain in the church, like the cucumber in the vinegar, until he becomes saturated with the right spirit."


We need to saturate ourselves with the spirit daily.  Not a little sprinkle or dollop every Sunday but throughout our week we need to be completely submerging ourselves in our spiritual vinegar so that we can BECOME converted and be more like our Savior.





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