Church Talks
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAITH AND CONVERSION
[Talk given by John E. Enslen in a sacrament meeting of the Wetumpka Ward, Montgomery Alabama Stake, on July 14, 2024.]
I am grateful to be here today by way of assignment from the bishopric whom I love, sustain, and appreciate. That trio includes my special grandson-in-law, Brother Ben Allen, who co-sponsored my first great-grandchild.
I have been requested to speak for thirteen and a half minutes on “The Relationship Between Faith and Conversion.” If I were to sum up that relationship in three compound sentences, I would say that “faith” is the correct commencement for our celestial quest, and “conversion” results from that which we decidedly “do” correctly toward determining our celestial destination. Sentence number two: Believing and acting in faith is the beginning; conversion is the conclusion. Sentence number three, in chiastic format: We can have some faith without conversion, but we cannot have conversion without a lot of faith. Because those three sentences did not consume thirteen and a half minutes, I will endeavor to put more meat on those definitional bones.
All of the things we decidedly do daily, in other words all of our works, from moment to moment, reflect the current status of our conversion. In the end, our accumulated daily works over our lifetimes will constitute the full extent of the evidence to be considered in our final judgments.
Ironically, “works” include the words we utter from our mouths. There is no debate titled “words” versus “works” because words are a type of work, and we are admonished by God to strengthen our brothers and sisters in all of our conversations. (D&C 108:7) Works will also include the private thoughts we entertain in our minds, which are known only to us and to God. (Alma 12:14) Because we will have in the hereafter a perfect, bright recollection of all our works (Alma 11:43; Alma 5:18), to include all thoughts and words and actions of every nature, we will know for ourselves better than anyone else that our final judgment by a perfect God was fair and just. There will be no appeal from that decision to a higher court.
Here is the good news to counter those scary propositions: When we sincerely repent and forsake, the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ will erase, wipe out, extinguish, blot out, cancel, nullify, delete, eliminate, and obliterate our bad-choice works that we should never have done. Those bad-choice works for which we repent will not be considered in the final judgment. They are forgotten as if they had never occurred. (D&C 58:42) Only the angelic version of ourselves will be summoned to judgment court. That is the gospel, which means “good news.”
Here is the bad news: We are over-estimating the mercy of Christ when we claim to be in the process of repenting but are in actuality repeating the same sins. Are we repenting or are we repeating? Repenting or repeating? That is the question.
For a consideration of the relationship between belief and conversion, let’s look at the temple recommend questions. Some of those questions deal with that which we believe—our state of mind which is generally known only to the applicant and God. Those are the “inside-the-heart-and-mind” questions. They start with phrases like “Do you have faith in?” or “Do you have a testimony of?” Those are the more comfortable questions.
On the other hand, some of the temple recommend questions deal with that which we decidedly do or refrain from doing. That overt, conversion-revealing conduct produces outward proof which is observable and measurable with respect to our “strivings.” Absent out-right lying, which is a gravely serious bad-choice work (D&C 63:17), a person cannot fake the right answers. The depth of our conversion reveals itself in our honest responses to those questions. For instance: “Do you strive to keep the Sabbath Day Holy?” [which we all know means “Do you shop on Sunday?”; “Do you participate in organized sports on Sunday?”; Do you voluntarily labor to earn money on Sunday?”; “Are you attached to public entertainment on Sunday?”] We all rationalize the personal exceptions we want for ourselves when we answer that worthiness question.
The overt, conversion-revealing questions continue: “Do you obey the Word of Wisdom?” [which we all know means “Do you sip on an occasional beer or glass of wine or cup of coffee?”; Do you drag on an occasional cigarette or maybe pinch a little chew?”] The Word of Wisdom, adapted to the capacity of the weakest among all of us (D&C 89:3), may have less to do with health than it does with obedience, self-control, and self-restraint.
Here is a profound, overt, conversion-revealing, litmus test question: “Are you a full tithe payer?” Because the answer to this probing question cannot be easily faked, it probably prevents more people from obtaining a temple recommend than any other question. Sometimes I wonder what would be the outcome of our interviews if our faith and testimony were as easily measured as our tithing status?
There was probably a little exasperation in the Lord’s voice when he said:
“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46) It seems to me that the Lord favors “doers” of the word, like Nephi who consistently followed up with committed personal actions after declaring: “I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded….” (1 Ne. 3:7)
Come Follow Me Reading This Week
In our “Come Follow Me” reading for this week, Alma Chapters 23-29, we read about those who displayed the ultimate evidence of conversion—voluntarily relinquishing their mortal lives in obedience to their special covenants with God. People who are wrongfully judged as incorrigible can actually repent or change, even permanently, and the change penetrates the deepest recesses of their hearts and souls. Those changes are made through the conversion power of Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost that testifies of Him. For the new converts in Alma, there was no time to engage in a gradual conversion process. The time between their first belief and their full conversion was very short. Are we making the grave mistake of procrastinating the day of our repentance (Alma 34:33; Alma 13:27), believing, perhaps falsely, that we have the luxury of a very gradual conversion process? I know that death and judgment are coming. The pine box coffin in which I plan to be buried sits at the foot of my bed and serves for the time being as a blanket chest.
It is easy for God to command the elements and they readily obey without question. God’s greatest miracle is the miracle of conversion when children of God use their own agency to surrender their wills to His will. We measure conversion by an undeviating lifestyle of obedience to Heavenly Father’s commandments. The resulting peace and joy and happiness that we feel motivates us to share with others that which we have learned and experienced, and thus we become engaged in the greatest adventure ever undertaken by mankind, to proclaim the gospel to, and gather the elect from, every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.
Conclusion
This week we also read in Alma a scripture that I profoundly treasure and cherish on a personal level: “Who could have supposed that [my] God would have been so merciful as to have snatched [me] from [my] awful, sinful, and polluted state?” (Alma 26:17) When I think about the beginning of my conversion to the restored gospel in 1973 and my on-going conversion thereafter which has too gradually continued to this day, I believe the greatest practical, mortal benefit that has come from it, when viewed from the limited perspective of this life, is that it literally saved our small, young, two-child family and created for us a larger, expanded and expanding family. It is impossible for me to estimate the depth of the personal unhappiness and suffering that was prevented by my embrace of and obedience to the restored gospel. There can never be enough thanks to my personal Savior for his atonement and for his two missionary servants, one of whom died this past week, who shared with me the fullness of our Heavenly Father’s plan of happiness.
We cannot let our choices in life be based upon what the world values or what temporarily feels good. That course does not bring happiness. The essential elements of a happy life are quite simple. Make good choices based on obedience to the commandments. Provide for and build a righteous family. Love others and serve whenever and wherever you are called, either by a church leader or the Holy Ghost, and thus prepare to meet God. Everything else will take care of itself.
In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.