Good morning brothers and sisters. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Chloe Rogers and I'm a freshman at Edison High School.
In the April 2022 General Conference, Elder Quentin L. Cook gave a talk on conversion to the will of God. In his talk he spoke about how our personal conversion includes the responsibility to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the world. When he said that, the first thing that came to my mind was missionaries and missionary work. In Doctrine and Covenants 18:15 it says, "And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying repentance unto this people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me, how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father." People often think you have to be on a mission to do missionary work. This is not true. Same goes with conversion to the will of the Lord. You don't have to be a non-member or be a convert to have a story of true conversion.
Conversion to the will of the Lord is a very sacred and personal thing. It comes in different ways and at different times for everyone. While preparing my talk I decided to search up the exact definition of conversion. It said that, "Conversion is the process of changing or causing something to change from one form to another." Something I liked about this is that conversion is a process. It isn't something that will just happen overnight because you want it to. You become converted as a result of righteous efforts to follow the Savior. It takes time, effort and work. Converting to the will of the Lord is deepening your relationship with our Heavenly Father and being more open minded to His teachings.
When my grandpa was younger, he and his family were not members of any church and didn't believe in God or the gospel. Sometimes on special occasions, like Easter and Christmas, he would go with his mom to a Baptist church, but never really took anything from it. When he grew up and was old enough to make his own choices, he decided to not go to church. He never really had any interest in the gospel and and never felt the need of a Heavenly Father in his life. One day he and some friends decided to go to a bunch of different churches and try to understand what all the fuss was about. He would go to several different churches throughout the week and would talk to many different people.
He never really clicked with any of them until one day when he met my grandma. My grandma was born and raised in the church and had a strong testimony of the gospel. She handed my grandpa a Book of Mormon and told him to go to church. He went to church several times and really liked it. He met with the missionaries multiple times and really took in their teachings. After meeting with the missionaries and going to church for several months, he met with the bishop. At this time my grandpa loved the church and loved the feeling he had when he was there. He still had his doubts and was unsure whether being baptized in this church was the right thing. His bishop promised him that after he got baptized he would know immediately that he made the right decision and that this was the right church. Sure enough, my grandpa knew right away that this was the true church and that he had made the right decision.
The Savior graciously invites us to be His voice and His hands. The love of the Savior will be our guiding light. The Savior taught His disciples, "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations." If we humble our hearts and listen to the Lord we will find light and we will be converted to the will of the Lord.
Ever since I got baptized my grandma has always told me about what true conversion to her was. She always says that true conversion is when you know without a doubt that the gospel is true. It is when nothing life throws at you will make you turn your back to the church and its teachings. It is a feeling in your heart and something you just know.
One last thing I'd like to leave with you is this quote from Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson, she said, "True conversion is more than merely having a knowledge of gospel principles and implies even more than just having a testimony of those principles. It is possible to have a testimony of the gospel without living it. Being truly converted means we are acting upon what we believe and allowing it to create "mighty change in us, or in our hearts.'"
I'd like to leave this with you in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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