"There is a no miracle like the miracle of conversion. It is the great process by which those with responsive hearts listen to the teachings and testimonies of missionaries and change their lives, leaving the past behind them, and moving forward into a new life. There is no miracle quite like it in all the world." (Gordon B. Hinckley Stand A Little Taller, p 30)
"Although conversion is miraculous and life changing, it is a quiet miracle." (Study by topic)
These two quotes got me thinking about the miracles I have witnessed through my own conversion story and from those around me. I think sometimes we get so busy looking for external miracles that we forget to look for the miracles inside of us. I want to take a closer look at the topic of conversion and use this opportunity to stop and focus on the quiet miracles happening within.
Miracle 1 - Knowing Who I Am
- Conversion begins with the understanding that you are a child of God.
"I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High" (Ps. 82:6)
Part of the conversion process is learning of God and our relationship with Him. I was fortunate to be taught from a young age that I am a child of God. I am more than just another human being wondering the Earth, I am a child of loving Heavenly Parents. It was so easy to believe this when I was a child and the world seemed like such a happy place. However, the world only allows us a short time to stay in that innocent state and then it comes at us in full force.
It is in these times of attack that our belief can either dwindle and disappear or it can become something more than just believing; it becomes knowing. The conversion from believing to knowing that my Father in Heaven and my savior, Jesus Christ, love me was a quiet miracle that happened within. There wasn't a lot of fanfare or a major event that occurred to bring this about, it was just a quiet prompting from the Spirit that settled in my heart and has never left.
This miracle of knowing who I am has been a huge part of my life. I have leaned on that knowledge many times when I was feeling unloved by the people around me. I have been blessed with many trials in my life, some of them would have led me down a different path had I not understood who I am. This miracle saved me from what I could have become had I not had the assurance that God loves me and knows me personally. Instead of a life filled with confusion and sorrow, I have been blessed with direction and joy. For that I am eternally grateful.
Take a moment and think about what miracles have come to your life because you learned that you are a child of God. Would you be the person you are today without those miracles?
Miracle 2 - Having a Purpose
- Conversion denotes changing one’s views, in a conscious acceptance of the will of God.
"Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God?...Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." (Job 13:8, 15)
I love the words of Job. He has an amazing ability to see things with a clarity that I sometimes lack. His trust in the Lord's will is astounding considering all that he had been through. He understood that even if God were to kill him, it would serve a purpose. What a miracle to view your life, no matter how difficult it is at times, as fulfilling a part of God's great plan!
The world is filled with people telling you what your purpose is or should be. The problem with listening to the world is that before you can fulfill one purpose, the world has changed and requires something different from you. At times this can cause a lot of confusion and unhappiness in our lives. A person can begin to fill like the world will use you up if you let it.
The change of looking at our purpose from a worldly perspective to a more divine, eternal perspective brings with it consistency and clarity. God's expectations are the same for each of us, He wants us to trust Him and in return He will bless us and those we come in contact with. There are no secret agendas; just plain and simple truths that He gives to all His children.
The Lord does not ask us to do things that He would not do Himself and He doesn't expect us to make up a plan as we go. He gives us the plan, we just have to read the scriptures and ask for His guidance to find it. The real challenge is accepting what He wants us to do and doing it. That is how we measure how committed we are to the Lord. That is how we know that our views have been changed. That is when we know that the miracle of conversion has occurred, when we willingly set aside our own desires to fulfill the Lord's will. What an awesome miracle we can have in our daily lives; knowing that we are important to God's plan and that He will bless us if we follow it.
The miracle of having a purpose blesses the life of every convert. How has it blessed your life? Can you see the benefits of knowing your purpose rather than groping around in the world trying to find a purpose?
Miracle 3 - Becoming New Again
I love the words of Job. He has an amazing ability to see things with a clarity that I sometimes lack. His trust in the Lord's will is astounding considering all that he had been through. He understood that even if God were to kill him, it would serve a purpose. What a miracle to view your life, no matter how difficult it is at times, as fulfilling a part of God's great plan!
The world is filled with people telling you what your purpose is or should be. The problem with listening to the world is that before you can fulfill one purpose, the world has changed and requires something different from you. At times this can cause a lot of confusion and unhappiness in our lives. A person can begin to fill like the world will use you up if you let it.
The change of looking at our purpose from a worldly perspective to a more divine, eternal perspective brings with it consistency and clarity. God's expectations are the same for each of us, He wants us to trust Him and in return He will bless us and those we come in contact with. There are no secret agendas; just plain and simple truths that He gives to all His children.
The Lord does not ask us to do things that He would not do Himself and He doesn't expect us to make up a plan as we go. He gives us the plan, we just have to read the scriptures and ask for His guidance to find it. The real challenge is accepting what He wants us to do and doing it. That is how we measure how committed we are to the Lord. That is how we know that our views have been changed. That is when we know that the miracle of conversion has occurred, when we willingly set aside our own desires to fulfill the Lord's will. What an awesome miracle we can have in our daily lives; knowing that we are important to God's plan and that He will bless us if we follow it.
The miracle of having a purpose blesses the life of every convert. How has it blessed your life? Can you see the benefits of knowing your purpose rather than groping around in the world trying to find a purpose?
Miracle 3 - Becoming New Again
- If followed by continued faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism in water for the remission of sins, and the reception of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, conversion will become complete, and will change a natural man into a sanctified, born again, purified person—a new creature in Christ Jesus.
This is one of the greatest miracles that comes from letting the Lord into your heart. The label 'sinner' belongs to all of us and should make us feel uncomfortable. But the Lord has provided a way for those that choose to keep Him in their hearts (to be converted), to overcome the natural man, to have a fresh start, to become a new, purified person. It is through the Atonement, which Christ took upon himself, that we can be forgiven and made whole again.
The miracle of repentance can make an earthly man, heavenly; a carnal man, spiritual; a proud man, humbled, a loose man, precise; a covetous man, liberal; a harsh man, meek; a weak man, strong; and a sorrowful man, joyful. Did you notice that these are all behaviors that come from within? There is power in the miracle of the Atonement to quietly change the inner man. What can compare to that?
Miracle 4 - Trials and Testing
- Complete conversion comes after many trials and much testing.
Earlier in this blog I stated that I have been blessed with many trials in my life. I have come to see them as miracles because it is through the trials and testing that I come closer to the miracle of reaching perfection.
We are constantly in the process of being perfected. Perfection does not come without a refining process. Facing the world and all it has to offer, both good and evil, is part of that process. It is through our refining that the miracles of discernment, faith, mercy, hope, compassion, and charity become a part of our very beings, a part of our soul. And although we may go through this life kicking and screaming through the rough times, the refinement part takes place in the quiet moments when we are still. It is then that the Spirit testifies to us that we are not alone, that God is with us, and He will not leave us. Part of being perfected is the ability to love the Lord during all the times in our lives, both good and bad.
As we learn to accept God in our lives we learn to lean on Him for help to overcome the temptations and trials in this life. There are situations put into our lives that we will never overcome on our own. We were never meant to face them alone; we were meant to learn from them and see the power of God working through them. This is not an easy thing to do. We tend to be slow learners and require a lot of repetition before the lessons are etched in our hearts. I think it is a miracle that God does not give up on us, but keeps giving us chances to be refined.
We all have the miracle of trial and testing in our lives. Take a moment to reflect on all that you have faced in your life and and ask yourself: What miracles have I seen in myself because of the trials I have overcome?
Miracle 5 - A Desire to Share
- To labor for the conversion of one’s self and others is a noble task.
One of the most amazing miracles of true conversion is when you experience the miracles of knowing who you are, what your purpose is, being new again, and personal growth through trials and testing, you begin to see that a life with God included in it is so much better than one without, and, you start to think about how the people around you could benefit from having God in their lives.
What is it that happens within us that makes us want to share the good news of Christ? For me it is the compassion and charity that comes from becoming closer to God. I feel the unconditional love and hope that comes with loving the Lord and I want others to know that they can have it too.
We all have people in our lives that are experiencing grief, guilt, loneliness, and despair. The miracle of conversion is that we no longer can turn away from these people, but have a desire to help them. We desire to share their burdens, to make them lighter. It is no longer about one person, but about all people as a whole.
I have had the opportunity to be on both sides of this situation and I am so grateful for the comfort that comes when another shares my burdens and also for the joy that comes when I share their burdens. It is in those moments that I feel closer to God than at any other time.
Can you see the perfection in this miracle? We become stronger in our faith and closer to God when we care for others. All parties benefit. What a great miracle!
I am so grateful for this opportunity to stop and look at the miracles in my life that have come because of my own conversion process. I am still a work in progress and taking these moments to see how the Lord has quietly worked in me and through me has strengthened my testimony of His goodness and love for all His children. I hope it will do the same for you.
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