Converted Unto the Lord

I’ve often thought that the reason the people in 4 Nephi were so righteous for so long was because of the visit of the Savior that they had just received.  Obviously that was part of it, but it can’t be the whole reason because the people of Jerusalem who had the Savior amidst them for much longer did not have a similar long period of righteousness after He left.  I think the real key was what we read in 4 Nephi 1:2: “And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites.”  It was the fact that they were all truly converted unto the Lord that they had such a long period of peace and righteousness.  Clearly it was the visit of the Lord that was the catalyst, but it was the real conversion of each individual that made it last. 

                We see the same kind of language in other places in the Book of Mormon.  The Lamanites who accepted the teachings of the sons of Mosiah were described this way: “As the Lord liveth, as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away” (Alma 23:6).  Because they were “converted unto the Lord” they made this drastic change in their lives: they “laid down the weapons of their rebellion, yea, all their weapons of war” (Alma 23:13).  This chapter uses the phrase “converted unto the Lord,” and I’m glad that it doesn’t just say “converted” which is the more typical language in our parlance today.  They were not converted unto the missionaries or converted unto this or that aspect of the preaching of Ammon and his brethren; they were converted unto the Lord.  That’s the only type of conversion that will last and sustain us.  And Mormon was careful to use that language it seems, for when he described them again during the great war between the Lamanites and Nephites he said, “By the power and word of God, they had been converted unto the Lord” (Alma 53:10).  We also have the same description for Abish, the Lamanite who had had such a powerful spiritual experience years before Ammon and his brethren came: “She having been converted unto the Lord for many years, on account of a remarkable vision of her father” (Alma 19:16).  Because it was a true conversion and change of heart, she was able to act quickly in a difficult moment to help bring about the great change that took place among her people. 

                At the end of 3 Nephi we read this about the work of the disciples: “They did go forth among all the people of Nephi, and did preach the gospel of Christ unto all people upon the face of the land; and they were converted unto the Lord, and were united unto the church of Christ” (3 Nephi 28:23).  It was nothing less than the true conversion of everyone that allowed for such an incredible time of peace and love among them.  The only real solution to the terrible problems of our society is true conversion to the Lord that will ultimately bring the peace and prosperity that we try to obtain with so many other means.  This is at the root of what President Benson taught: “The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of the people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. … Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature” (“Born of God,” Ensign, Nov. 1985, 6).  And that’s why we spend an enormous amount of time, effort, and money sending missionaries out into the world when others might argue that we should put those resources into more humanitarian type work.  It’s the message of the missionaries that seeks to bring true conversion to the Lord, and that will bring the real solutions to the problems of today.