Gospel Doctrine, Lesson 26: Converted unto the Lord,

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Alma 23-29

#1 When you climb up a ladder, you must begin at the bottom, and ascend step by step, until you arrive at the top; and so it is with the principles of the gospelyou must begin with the first, and go on until you learn all the principles of exaltation. But it will be a great while after you have passed through the veil before you will have learned them. It is not all to be comprehended in this world; it will be a great work to learn our salvation and exaltation even beyond the grave. (History of the Church, 6:302-317) #2 John Taylor, the third President of the Church, said: I heard the Prophet Joseph say, in speaking to the Twelve on one occasion: You will have all kinds of trials to pass through. And it is quite as necessary for you to be tried as it was for Abraham and other men of God, and (said he) God will feel after you, and He will take hold of you and wrench your very heart strings, and if you cannot stand it you will not be fit for an inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom of God. (Deseret News: Semi-Weekly, Aug. 21, 1883, p. 1.) #3 Joseph Smith taught: These teachings of the Savior most clearly show unto us the nature of salvation, and what he proposed unto the human family when he proposed to save themthat he proposed to make them like unto himself; and he was like the Father, the great prototype of all saved beings; and for any portion of the human family to be assimilated into their likeness is to be saved; and to be unlike them is to be destroyed; and on this hinge turns the door of salvation. (Lectures on Faith, Lecture 7) #4 Hugh Nibley taught: You know that Nephi-Lehi means a combination of Nephi and Lehi, and anti means combination, face-to-face meeting...a joining together with somebody. We are going to find later on about an Anti-Christ, who is a person who pretends to be Christ. (Teachings of the Book of Mormon, Semester 2, Lecture 53. http://
maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=117&chapid=1373)

Holding Places of the Heart

S. Michael Wilcox Occasionally, answers arent given or the blessings we desire dont come or the trials we bear continue because there is no place in our hearts for God to put the answer we need. Life must carve or hollow out this place. The very experiences we are going through help to create these holding places. Yet he still hears our prayers and promises the resolution will come in time. When the Missouri persecutions were raging, the Lord comforted the Saints by telling them: Fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks; waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and testamentthe Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted (D&C 98:12). Not yet, nevertheless they will be granted. He giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my names glory (D&C 98:3). Moses once asked the Lord a question after having been shown the multitude of Gods creations. Why do you create all these wonders? he puzzled. The Lord answered, I have my reasons. These are his words: For mine own purpose have I made these things. Here is wisdom and it remaineth in me (Moses 1:31). Now thats a very polite way of saying, Im not go-

ing to answer your question, Moses. You want to know why I create all these things? I have a purpose and its a wise purpose, but Im not going to make it known to you right now. We

know that God eventually answered Moses question. The answer is a very famous one: This is my work and my gloryto bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (Moses 1:39). I create all these worlds to make men gods, the Lord was saying. I have often asked myself why the Lord didnt answer Moses when he initially asked the question. A close reading reveals that God wanted Moses to understand a few things before the answer camethings that would make the answer even more powerful. He was creating a holding place in Moses heart to receive it. Let me illustrate this particular concept by a personal story. When I was just a baby, my father, because of concerns in his own life and challenges that he was having, left our family. Our mother alone, therefore, raised my sisters and me, and as I was growing up, my father had very little to do with us as children. I realize he was working with things in his own life, but his decisions created certain challenges and hardships for my mother, my sisters, and me. At age fourteen or fifteen, if you were in my situation, and you knelt down and said: Father in Heaven, help me find peace concerning my father leaving us and really having nothing to do with us for all these years. Help me forgive my father, would you not think that was an appropriate prayer, one that deserved an answer? But no answer came at age fourteen and fifteen. Twenty, twenty-one comes, same prayers, still no answer. Twenty-five, twenty-six passes, same prayers, yet still no answer. Thirty, thirty-one, thirty-three, thirty-four all come and go. Surely Im in the fourth watch by now, would you not agree? Then one day I was asked to prepare a talk on families. I thought I would speak about my mother. My mother was a saint. In my eyes she could do no wrong. I would talk about my

motherher wisdom and goodness, and how she raised us. But the Spirit seemed to whisper, Speak about your father. And I thought, What am I going to say about my father? I have hardly had anything to do with my father growing up. Yet the Spirit seemed to urge that I think about him. Just at that moment, my two sons came into the room where I was working. I was married, and I had two daughters and two sons at the time. The eldest son was about six, his younger brother was around two, and they stood in front of me, just stood there staring at me. I looked at my boys and all at once the Spirit literally flooded my mind with wonderful memories of things that I had shared with them. We are told that a whole life can pass before us just before we die and we see everything all at once. It was that kind of experience. All the simple little memories, none of them major, came into focuscarving Halloween pumpkins; trick-or-treating with bags bulging with candy; Christmas mornings and the aroma of gingerbread; listening to their tiny-voice prayers; their first tearful, hesitant Primary talks; a squirming puppy wrapped in the tangle of their arms; walks by the pond to see the turtles; piggy-back rides; reading stories at night with mimicked voices; catching a fish out of the same hole where I caught my first fish twenty-five years earlier; the smell of saddle leather as I lifted them up for their first horseback ride. All these simple, tiny, little, everyday memories that I shared in those years with my sons washed into my soul. And then the Spirit said: I am now ready to answer your question. Now that you are a

father, now that you know a fathers love, would you be the son who lost his father, or the father who lost his son? When I heard those words, I just began to weep. I grabbed my sons

and hugged them and just sobbed and sobbed. My wife came into the room; I was holding those two boys and crying. Not for me! For my father! Because I knew what he had missed. He doesnt know what he missed. Theres a mercy in that. But I knew what he missed, and I knew it was a greater tragedy to be the father who lost his son than to be the son who lost his father. My wife became concerned and said, For heavens sake, Mike, what is the matter? I said, I cant talk about it now. I went up and shut myself in the bathroom and cried myself dry. Have you ever done that? There are no tears comingyoure still crying, and theres nothing coming? Why didnt my Father in Heaven give me that answer at fifteen, or twenty-one, or twenty -five, or when I was married, or when my daughters were born? He needed to wait until I was a father of sons and had enough experiences with my boys to understand what a sweet thing it is to be a father and share memories with sons. The holding place had to be carved in my heart, and as soon as I could really receive and comprehend the answer, the Lord gave it to me. Maybe we are in the fourth watch, but the Lord is saying to us: Ill answer your prayer. Im

aware of your needs. It is recorded in heaven, and Im going to answer it. But right now in your life theres no place for me to put the answer. Life will create a holding place, and as soon as you are able to receive it, I will give it to you.
(http://seek.deseretbook.com/s-michael-wilcox-holding-places-heart/I Also in his book: When Your Prayers Seem Unanswered, 31-34)

Other thoughts too great not to include:

LeGrand Richards I used to enjoy very much hearing President Grant tell of the Scandinavian Brother who came over to Utah. He had not been taught much about the gospel; all he knew was that it was true. The bishop went to him and taught him the law of tithing. He paid his tithing. He taught him about fast offering. He paid his fast offering. He taught him about ward maintenance (budget) and he paid that. Then the bishop went to him to get a donation to help build the meeting house. The man felt that ought to come out of the tithing, but before the bishop was through with him, he paid his contribution toward the meeting house. Then the bishop went to him to get his son to go on a mission. The good brother said, That is the straw that breaks the camels back. He is the only child we have, and his mother cant miss him. Then the bishop countered, Brother so and so, who do you love in this world more than anyone outside of your immediate family? He thought a few minutes and said he guessed he loved that Mormon Elder who came up to the land of the midnight sun and taught him the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Then the Bishop countered, Brother so and so, how would you like someone to love your boy just like you love that young Mormon Elder The brother said, Bishop, you win again. Take him. I will be glad to support him in the mission field. (Just To Illustrate, p. 52) Spencer J. Condie Following Nephis counsel to liken all scriptures unto us, we can use the conversion of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies as a metaphor for our own lives. When we become truly converted, the testimony of our conversion may well be borne in our burying deep in the earth our sharp tongues in lieu of sharp swords. Our post-conversion sanitary landfill might also be used to discard our hot tempers, our evil speech patterns, our penchant for off-color jokes, our ethnic epithets, our greediness, unkindness, and lack of compassion. (Your Agency: Handle With Care, p. 140) Neal A. Maxwell When we reach a point of consecration, our afflictions will be swallowed up in the joy of Christ. It does not mean we wont have afflictions, but they will be put in a perspective that permits us to deal with them. With our steady pursuit of joy and with each increasing measure of righteousness, we will experience one more drop of delight-one drop after anotheruntil, in the words of a prophet, our hearts are brim with joy. At last, the souls cup finally runs over! (Brim with Joy, p. 13.) Daniel C. Peterson [Alma 27:22] Jershon, for instance, designates a place that was given to the people of AntiNephi-Lehi as a land for an inheritance. In Hebrew, Jershon means a place of inheritance. Joseph Smith simply would not have known this in the late 1820s. (Ensign, Jan. 2000.)

LESSON 26 OUTLINE Write on Board: Converted Unto the Lord The title of todays lesson is Converted Unto the Lord, so lets explore the word converted, shall we? Show picture of catalytic converter ~Anyone familiar with these? ~What does it do? (changes harmful emissions in your car to non-toxic ones) Show picture of electricity converter ~Who knows what this does? (converts electricity from one voltage to an other) ~How can we relate these examples of converters to being converted to the Lord? What kind of change are we talking about? From what to what? (natural man to being like Him) ~How long of a process is it? (lifelong, and even into the next life) Quotation #1 ~Is it a difficult process? Quotation #2 Show picture of coal & diamond Heres another conversion, which I think is the best analogy so far. ~When coal is changed to diamond, what happens to the carbon atom? (its rearranged) Show picture of carbon molecule arrangements Graphite (coal) has its atoms arranged so that they are connected on horizontal planes, like a stack of paper. Theyre not connected vertically, so they slide around easily. In a diamond these same carbon molecules are rearranged into a much more stable pyramid-like structure, stacked and connected at four points. ~Is it easy to change this structure? What is needed? (a lot of energy in the form of pressure and heat) ~So is a diamond still mostly carbon, just like coal? (yes, just an improved ver sion!) As we will be if we allow the heat and pressure of this life to mold us into what Heav-

enly Father has in mind! And no matter how hard it tries, coal cannot become a diamond on its own. Just like us the potential is there, but through the atonement the trials of life can change our hearts if we let Him. Quotation #3 ~Because the process of conversion is difficult, do some fall away? (Many probably an average of 50%!) I wanted to point that out because this stands in stark contrast to the percentage of the Lamanite converts who fell away. ~Any guesses on the sons of Mosiahs convert retention rate? Alma 23:6 ~Notice what they were converted tonot the church, but what? (unto the Lord) ~Could that have had something to do with their never falling away? ~Why must our testimony be centered in Christ? (Everything else is unreliable) ~What other reasons might people have for joining the church? (boyfriend or girlfriend, personality of the missionaries, friends, they like the social programsdiscuss how none of these is completely reliable) ~What causes people to fall away? (taking offense, family or peer pressure, sin, difficult doctrines or events in church history, social issues of the day) ~The only way to withstand all of this opposition is to have a testimony built on the rock, which is? (Jesus Christ) Lets see, then, what else we can learn from these Lamanite converts. Go over to Alma 23:16. ~What did they do to distinguish themselves from the world? (new name) Quotation #4 ~In verse 18, how else did they change? (began to be very industrious) ~Turn to Alma 27: 27-30. How else were they different from the rest of the Lamanites? (zeal towards God & man, honest, steadfast, didnt fear death, would not take up arms) Lets review what kind of people they were prior to receiving the missionaries: Alma 17:14-15 ~Thats quite a difference, isnt it? But were the Nephites much better? Alma 26:23-24 ~Have you ever harbored similar thoughts? I know I have: Oh, they wouldnt

be interested, theyre covered in tattoos, or whatever! ~What was the Nephite plan instead of sharing the gospel with them? Alma 26:25 ~Can we compare this to our countrys foreign policy? (Something to think about, anyway.) ~Was the Nephite plan at this point Heavenly Fathers plan? (no) ~What was Heavenly Fathers plan? (to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of manto convert as many Lamanites as would listen!) We can see as we read the Book of Mormon that He was working His plan, even back to the time of Zeniff, King Noah, Abinadi, Amulon teaching the Lamanites how to speak and read the Nephite language, etc ~We know Heavenly Father works His plan on a national scale, but what about individuallyin YOUR life? ~Could it be that sometimes we fight Him as He tries to convert us? ~Sometimes does it seem like Hes ignoring our prayers? Is He? (no, that would be contrary to His nature and His work. He sees the big picture and answers our prayers in ways that will convert us from coal to diamond.) I recently read this book: When Your Prayers Seem Unanswered by Michael Wilcox, and he relates a story from his life. Ive never heard a more beautiful explanation of why Heavenly Father answers our prayers in the way He does and when He does. It is, after all, His plan of salvation. I hope you dont mind if I read it to you. If youd like to follow along, its in your handout That we will not give up, that we will truly trust our Father in Heaven, knowing that He can do His work, which is to convert us into His children, is my prayer...

CATALYTIC CONVERTER