59 (3-25-24) Lifelong Conversion

 59 (3-25-24) Lifelong Conversion 

Elder Renlund - Lifelong Conversion 

Mama gave me a talk to read this week by Elder Renlund for Come follow me. If you have time and would like to listen or read it I would recommend it. 

Here are a few of the highlights:

  • Lifelong conversion means that we endure to the end, remaining firm in our commitment to keep the covenants we have made with God—no matter what. Such a commitment cannot be conditional or dependent upon the circumstances in our lives.


  • Engage with the doctrine of Christ
    • We are invited to get on the covenant path, stay on the covenant path, and participate in the ­doctrine’s specified elements.
      • Faith in Jesus Christ- How do we exercise faith? - Only through Obedience to His commandments
      • Repentance - Approaching God with a broken heart and contrite spirit: Daily commitment to change
      • Baptism -  Sacrament: This is the connector of Faith and Repentance to the Holy Ghost The Spirit is the Sanctifier
        • Sanctify -set apart as or declare holy; consecrate
      • Receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost - 
      • Endure to the End - 
        • We endure to the end by repeatedly and iteratively “relying wholly upon” the doctrine and “merits” of Christ. “Repeatedly” means that we cycle through the elements in the doctrine of Christ throughout our lives. “Iteratively” means that we change and improve with each cycle. Even though we cycle repeatedly, we are not spinning in circles like on a merry-go-round without upward motion. If that were the case, the experience would be dizzying and unproductive. Instead, as we cycle through the elements of the doctrine of Christ, we arrive at a higher plane each time. This ascent provides new vistas and perspectives and brings us closer to the Savior. And we eventually return to the presence of our Heavenly Father as an heir to all that He has.


  • Each element in the doctrine of Christ builds on the preceding step—repentance builds on faith, baptism on repentance, and the gift of the Holy Ghost on baptism—and then the sequence recurs.
  • Enduring to the end is actively and intentionally repeating the steps in the doctrine of Christ


For this repetitive cycle of the doctrine of Christ to be iterative, the trajectory has to be upward. For that to happen, we need to be similarly engaged with the other elements of the doctrine of Christ: faith and repentance.


  • You can become “unconverted” at least as easily as you can become “converted.” Your faith and commitment are going to either increase or decrease. The increase depends on your upward movement on the covenant path, cycling through the elements of the doctrine of Christ. The decrease happens if you disengage from the doctrine of Christ.

Love,


Dad

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