Conversion to the will of God was one of the major themes of the April 2022 General Conference. At least seven of the addresses given touched or focused on this topic. For me, conversion is a process that occurs throughout one’s lifetime.

I will be taking my points from the following addresses:

• A Mighty Change of Heart – Elder Gavarret
• Then Will I Make Weak Things Become Strong – Elder Hamilton
• Conversion to the Will of God – Elder Cook
• Covenants With God Strengthen, Protect, and Prepare Us for Eternal Glory – Sister Bingham
• The Covenant Path: The Way to Eternal Life – Elder Ojediran
• Conversion Is Our Goal – Brother Pace
• Come Into the Fold of God – Elder Funk

Initial Conversion

Conversion to the will of God starts when one finds and aligns oneself to His Church. Elder Gavarret talks about a mighty change of heart that leads to joining. Elder Hamilton discusses being humble in order to change. Elder Cook presents us with three questions. Sister Bingham reminds us that the gate to converting to His will is baptism. Finally, Elder Funk reminds us that we must choose to come into the fold of God.

Mom’s Experience

My family’s initial conversion began with my mother. Mom was always a spiritual person. Around the fall of 1976 and into 1977 she was having doubts about which church was right for her and our family. She began to ask God to know the truth. She had faith that He would answer her prayers and help her find where He wanted her to be.

This didn’t happen overnight, but in the Spring of 1977 two missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints knocked on our door. I don’t know what they presented at that time, but it touched my mom enough to let them into our home. They began to share with us about God and the restored church on the earth today. My mother felt the Spirit and soon came to know that this was where God wanted her to be. She accepted the invitation to be baptized and was converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I was seven years old when this happened. I remember the missionaries coming into our home and gathering in our living room to hear the discussions. I remember the day they discussed the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood. They showed us a picture of Peter, James, and John ordaining Joseph Smith to the priesthood. One of the missionaries asked me if I knew who the three men were. I confidently stated that I did and proceeded to point to each one of the three in turn and state “that’s God, that’s Jesus, and that’s the Holy Ghost.” Yes, they laughed, but it’s a moment in my conversion story I will never forget.

Conversion Is a Process

Conversion is not a one-time event. It is a process that allows us to bring our total will into alignment with God’s will. As we continue on the covenant path, our conversion also continues.

Elder Gavarret states “This change of heart is not an event; it takes faith, repentance, and constant spiritual work to happen.”

Elder Cook tells us “True conversion is brought about by the conscious acceptance and commitment to follow the will of God.”

Sister Bingham “The spiritual equipment that keeps us from being broken on the rocks of adversity is our testimony of Jesus Christ and the covenants we make. … However, we each must put on the harness and make sure the knots are securely tied. We must choose to be anchored to the Savior, to be bound to Him by our covenants.”

Elder Ojediran “Nephi counseled that all is not done by merely getting into the strait and narrow path; we ‘must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men’ (see 2 Nephi 31:19-20)”

Brother Pace quotes the Come Follow Me manual “The aim of all gospel learning and teaching is to deepen our conversion to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. …

“… The kind of gospel learning that strengthens our faith and leads to the miracle of conversion doesn’t happen all at once. It extends beyond a classroom into our hearts and homes. It requires consistent, daily efforts to understand and live the gospel. Gospel learning that leads to true conversion requires the influence of the Holy Ghost.”

My Experience (so far)

Above I have talked about my family’s initial conversion to the gospel. Over the years I have learned a lot more about the gospel than what the missionaries shared in the six discussions before my mom’s baptism. Growing up I learned more and more about the gospel but also ran through a period of doubt that wasn’t resolved until my freshman year of college. That’s when I had another personal revelation of the truthfulness of the gospel. A second initial conversion if you will. It also led to my receiving my Patriarchal Blessing. This helped me to understand that God was watching over me, understood my trials and doubts, and reinforced His confidence in me.

The next big moment was my decision to serve a mission. A two-year commitment to share the gospel is not something to be taken lightly. It also isn’t something you want to do if you’re not sure you can follow God’s will. Again, personal revelation helped me to decide. If God thought I could do it, then I could too.

Part of going on a mission is going through the temple and receiving the temple endowment. I was able to go through the temple with my mother present. Having her there and knowing the process she went through to get her own endowment helped me to understand its importance. I will admit that the first time through was a lot. I had a massive headache after trying to comprehend everything. I didn’t understand at that time that I had started a process of continual learning, and also conversion, in the temple.

There are a lot of pieces to God’s will that we must convert to. One of the biggest for me was the paying of tithing. Again, my mother was an example of this. When she worked she paid her tithing. I don’t ever recall seeing the blessings that came from her doing so, but I knew she had faith she would be blessed.

Growing up we didn’t have a lot of money, but we had enough for our needs and to have some luxuries. However, I grew up understanding the need to be careful also with my finances. This meant that paying tithing had to be something that would fit into my financial view and made sense. However, since I couldn’t see the immediate benefit of paying my tithing, I was reluctant.

Sometimes in order to bring our will into alignment with God’s we need to take a leap of faith. So it was with me and tithing. I decided to “prove [God] herewith” (Malachi 3:8-12) and see if the blessings of paying my tithing would be manifest in my life. I have never regretted this decision. Even when times got tough, I still paid my tithing trusting that I would be blessed for doing so.

This is just one story of how I have continuously tried to bring my will into alignment with God’s. I have found that some are easier than others. I have had to take some leaps of faith as I did with the law of tithing. I have wrestled with myself at times on things I know I should do. I’m not anywhere near-total alignment with His will, but I am trying to get there.

Conclusion

Conversion to the will of God is a process. Coming into the fold of God is the first step. However, it requires a continual walk on the covenant path and the endurance to make weak things strong. Will we ever be perfectly aligned to His will in this life? I don’t think so, but we strive to get as close as we can.