Conversion and Discipleship

My message today is a tribute to the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who diligently seek to become true disciples of Jesus Christ and who keep the sacred covenants they have made with God. It is a tribute to those who are truly converted to Christ.Today I will be talking about conversion and discipleship.Let’s start with conversion.
 
Conversion is the process of changing or causing something to change from one form to another. President Nelson said: “Conversion is a turning from the ways of the world and staying with the ways of the Lord. Conversion includes repentance and obedience. Conversion brings a mighty change of heart. Thus, a true convert is born again, walking with a newness of life.” (Jesus Christ the Master Healer - General Conference October 2005).
 
Elder Richard G. Scott said: “Stated simply, true conversion is the fruit of faith, repentance, and consistent obedience. Faith comes by hearing the word of God and responding to it. You will receive from the Holy Ghost a confirming witness of things you accepted on faith by willingly doing them. You will be led to repent of errors resulting from wrong things done or right things not done. As a consequence, your capacity to obey will be strengthened. This cycle of faith, repentance, and consistent obedience will lead you to greater conversion with its attendant blessings. True conversion will strengthen your capacity to do what you know you should do, when you should do it, regardless of the circumstances.” (What is true conversion -Liahona February 2009).
 
Conversion can be a process and take a long time to happen, or it can happen quickly, immediately even.
Let’s look at two examples to illustrate what I mean:
 
1.  It took many years for my mother-in-law to be converted. My wife joined the church long before her mother. She shared with her the Gospel of Christ by teachings and by example. It took my mother-in-law 50 years to decide to be baptized into the Church of Christ.   
2.  My wife Margareth’s conversion was very different. She met the missionaries when she was 14 years old. They taught her, and immediately she knew that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was true. She wanted to be baptized but, as she was under 18, she needed her father’s permission, and he did not authorize her baptism. For 3 years she faithfully attended all her Church meetings and activities and when she was 17, she had a serious conversation with her father about baptism and he then authorized her to be baptized.
 
In my years of service in the Church, I have had the opportunity to meet many converts. In 1990 I was called to open a new mission for the Church: I was called to preside over the Brazil Manaus Mission. My wife, our 4 children, and I moved to Manaus where the mission headquarters was located. Manaus was a big city located in the middle of the Amazon jungle with 2 million inhabitants. The mission’s boundaries covered 6 states in northern Brazil. It occupied a huge territory of 2 million square miles. This entire mission had only 1 stake. All other units were branches under my responsibility.
 
The Lord sent us extraordinary missionaries, and together we met, taught, and baptized many converts. These new converts, upon learning about the blessings of the holy temple, greatly desired to have their families sealed together for all eternity. They wanted to make the necessary covenants to do so.
 
Brazil only had one temple at the time. It was located on the other end of the country in São Paulo. Plane tickets from Manaus to São Paulo were very expensive and it was not possible for these brothers and sisters to pay the corresponding amount. The most economical way to travel to the Temple was by river and land, which would take them 7 days one way and then 7 days back.
 
Our faithful members decided to organize a caravan to make the long journey to the Temple. For a full year they saved everything they could to pay for the trip. Several of these brave saints sold their possessions, means of transport, work tools, furniture, stoves, refrigerators, etc. to obtain the necessary amount. I will never forget being at the Manaus port on the day of their departure. Their faces shone with joy and happiness.
 
They endured many challenges during the journey. The first leg of the trip was done by boat where they had to sleep in hammocks one right next to the other for 4 days. A few days in, they ran out of drinking water. With great faith these members asked the Lord to give them rain to fill their water storage containers, and the Lord answered them with enough rain for the entire journey.
 
Once on land, their old bus broke down in a remote dirt road where no help was available. Again, they prayed, and the Lord granted them the miracle of finding a mechanic. The bus was fixed, but the trip was delayed.
 
Finally, after traveling for 8 days, they arrived at the Temple.  These wonderful members spent the next entire 5 days inside the House of the Lord performing ordinances for their families and for their deceased ancestors. They then made the 7-day trip back to Manaus. No one complained about the inconveniences of the trip, on the contrary, they said that it was the best trip of their lives. They were very happy and fulfilled. Now they had an eternal family!
 
The true conversion and faith of these new church members led them to make great sacrifices to have their families sealed for all eternity. They repeated this journey to the Temple for 20 years until the Lord gave them a temple on June 10th, 2012. All of them and their families are active in the church to this day. They have served in church leadership roles and have helped the church grow a lot there. Today there are 9 stakes of Zion in Manaus.
 
DISCIPLESHIP
 
A disciple is a follower of Jesus Christ who lives according to Christ’s teachings. I am very happy that, in this school, here, in the college, you are learning to be a better disciple too. Congratulations for that. Congratulations for your desire to become a disciple of Christ.
 
The Lord said in Doctrine and Covenants 41:5 - He that receives my law and doeth it, the same is my disciple, and he that saith he receives it and doeth it not, the same is not my disciple and shall be cast out from among you.
 
And in John 8:31 - Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed...
 
Certainly, we all want to be true disciples of Christ, and we are striving to achieve this blessing in our lives. We live in a troubled world full of teachings that are contrary to what Christ taught us and continues to teach us through his prophets and leaders.

President Nelson, then Elder Nelson, said in General Conference of April 2017:
“My dear brothers and sisters, we live in a most difficult dispensation. Challenges, controversies, and complexities swirl around us. These turbulent times were foreseen by the Savior. He warned us that in our day the adversary would stir up anger in the hearts of men and lead them astray. Yet our Heavenly Father never intended that we would deal with the maze of personal problems and social issues on our own. God so loved the world that He sent His Only Begotten Son to help us. And His son Jesus Christ, gave His life for us. All so that we could have access to godly power-power sufficient to deal with the burdens, obstacles, and temptations of our day.”
 
As you can see, you are not alone in this mortal life. Our dear Father in Heaven has a plan of salvation and happiness for all of you. He will never leave you alone. Never! Through the gift of the Holy Ghost, you can receive help to make decisions in your everyday lives. As disciples of Christ, you have the power necessary to fight against evil. Our Father in Heaven will fight for you when you do your part.
 
I vividly remember the Worldwide Devotional in which President and Sister Nelson spoke to all the young adults around the world on May 15, 2022. Sister Nelson talked about a question that could change your life. She shared that she had met with 30 young people your age about this question. She challenged them to ask this question daily for 30 days. Then she challenged all the young adults throughout the church to take up the same challenge. The question was: WHAT WOULD A HOLY YOUNG ADULT DO…? Do you remember this? I don’t ask you to raise your hand, but please answer to yourself: DID YOU DO THIS?
 
I now want to add some examples of my own of what these questions may sound like
WHAT WOULD A HOLY YOUNG ADULT DO…
⁃         In a difficult situation?
⁃         When faced with temptation?
⁃         To decide what career to pursue.
⁃         On the Lord’s day? (Sunday).
⁃         To be a disciple of Christ?
⁃         To attend the temple more frequently?
⁃         To avoid spending excessive and unnecessary time on social media?
⁃         To be happy?
 
I believe that asking questions like these can help each of you grow even more as a disciple of Christ.
 
 In the same devotional President Nelson spoke about 3 things that are very important for you to know about yourself:
1.  Know the truth about who you are.
2.  Know the truth about what the Father and His Son have to offer to you.
3.  Know the truth related to your conversion.
 
He talked about various labels or titles that each person holds. He gave, as example, his own titles: Child of God, Son of the Covenant, Disciple of Jesus Christ, Devoted member of the Church, Husband, father, Apostle of Jesus Christ, Medical Doctor, surgeon, researcher, professor, Lieutenant, Capitan, PHD, American and then, he made it very clear that the 3 most important ones were:
1.  Child of God
2.  Child of the Covenant
3.  Disciple of Jesus Christ.

He then plead with you not to replace these 3 paramount and unchanged identifiers for any others.
 
 I recommend you to watch this devotional again and again. Have you ever considered that the Prophet of God spoke exclusively and directly to you? You can search the scriptures, and you will not find another moment like this. A prophet speaking for the whole world—for the young of the whole world.This is great!It was a message from God through His Prophet to all young adults of the world and specially to you, disciples of Christ.
 
It is wonderful to meet with you and see that you are making great choices. Congratulations on choosing to attend college. President Nelson gave a message to the young people of the church about the importance of education. He explained that it is our religious obligation to get good secular and spiritual education. My counsel to you is the same. Do your best to be a very good student and do your best to attend Institute Classes. And if you feel that you are not giving your best in both fields, start today. Please. I can see your great capacity to do great things in life. It will help you both spiritually and intellectually. Study the Scriptures daily, meditate about its teachings, and look for applications in your own life. In 1 Nephi 19:23-24 we learn:
 
23-And I did read many things unto them which were written in the books of Moses; but that I might more fully persuade them to believe in the Lord their Redeemer I did read unto them that which was written by the prophet Isaiah; for I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.
24-Wherefore I spake unto them saying: Hear ye the words of the prophet, ye who are a remnant of the house of Israel, a branch who have been broken off; hear ye the words of the prophet, which were written unto all the house of Israel, and liken them unto yourselves, that ye may have hope as well as your brethren from whom ye have been broken off; for after this manner has the prophet written.
 
We learn the words of God by studying the scriptures. As we apply His words in our lives, we make better decisions, and we learn His will for us individually.
 
Today is a good day to review your goals and plans based on what the Spirit has taught you. Make the necessary changes to become more and more like Christ.
 
It was a privilege to learn more and to grow spiritually as I studied God’s words to prepare this message. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share a few words about conversion and discipleship.
 
I’m a convert too. I was baptized when I was 20 years old. My conversion is one of the greatest blessings of my life. I can see the powerful hand of God in my conversion process.
 
My parents and my siblings were baptized in The Church before me. My father was serving as a Ward Mission Leader when I decided to visit for an extended stay. Every afternoon the missionaries would come to my parents' home to meet with my father and coordinate the missionary work. They would only stay for about 10 minutes and leave to continue their work. At that time 2 sisters missionaries were serving in my parents’ ward. When they learned that I was not a member of the church they offered to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ to me. I refused them... a couple of times.
 
The sister missionaries started teaching a young lady at my parent’s home. She had no family and had met the church through my sister. Their lessons were usually held around the same time. My lunch time. I usually ate lunch, then left to meet with my friends. The missionaries taught this young woman in the living room next to the dining room of the house where I was. I used to close the door that separated these two rooms. One day the sisters left the door a little open hoping I would listen to some of their teachings. They were teaching the young woman about Joseph Smith’s first vision. They then invited her to read Joseph Smith’s story and ask God if it was true. As usual, I went to meet with my friends after lunch. As I walked, the Spirit began to wrestle with me, asking why I wasn’t doing what the missionaries invited the girl to do. The feeling inside my heart was so strong, that I decided to go home, read Joseph Smith’s story and ask God if it was true. I asked my mom where I could find his story. She opened her scriptures to Joseph Smith’s history and handed them to me.
 
With real intention of knowing the truth, I read the story. I read and I prayed paragraph by paragraph. This lasted the whole night. 14 hours after I started, I finished my search. God had shown me Joseph’s story was true.
 
I ran to the missionaries’ house. They were not home. I sat on their doorstep and waited a few hours. When they got home, they asked me what I needed. I told them, “I want to get baptized right now. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet and the Church is true. I don’t want to waste another day of my life without the true baptism”. To make a long story short, I was baptized the next day, and I have been very active from then on. I know that God had a purpose in my rapid conversion process. One month after my baptism, I met my wife at a regional singles conference—the best regional singles conference of this Church since the Restoration! And one year later we were married. That was the best day of my life—to have her at my side for the whole of eternity. And all possible because I prayed and decided to be baptized. Four years later I was called to serve as bishop, and I have continued serving God and my brothers and sisters of the Church. I have continued working on becoming a disciple of Christ

I know that God lives. I know He is our Father in Heaven and that He has a plan of happiness for all of us. Since I became a Member of the Church, I cannot remember a single second that I was not happy. I am a 100% happy person. I doesn’t matter what happens, I am happy every day, every single day. I testify to you that Jesus is the Christ. He is our Savioe, our Redeemer. I love Him with all my heart. And I am so grateful for what He did for me, because I know that He suffered all the pains of the physical and the spiritual death for me. And for all of us. I testify to you that Joseph Smith is a prophet. I have more than faith that he is a prophet—I know that he is a prophet of God. And I know that on that beautiful morning he was in the sacred grove, praying, and he saw that light, like he has described. And, in the light, he saw God the Father and Jesus Christ, and they spoke with him. I testify to you that President Nelson is the living prophet of God today. And I testify to you that the First Presidency and Twelve Apostles are prophets, seers, and revelators.

And I testify these things to you, with my love, gratitude and thank you for the wonderful spirit you brought her today.

In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen