Converted to Jesus Christ

I have written before about the prevalence of the phrase “converted unto the Lord” in the Book of Mormon, especially as it relates to descriptions of the Lamanites taught by the sons of Mosiah.  Nine times that exact phrase was used to describe the conversion of those taught by Ammon and his brethren.  He was careful to suggest that they were not simply converted; they were converted to the Lord Jesus Christ.  For example, Mormon recorded that “as many of the Lamanites as believed in their preaching, and were converted unto the Lord, never did fall away” (Alma 23:6).  They were taught by the missionaries and believed in their words, even considering them angels, but they were not converted to the sons of Mosiah—they were converted only to the Lord.  This is in contrast with what seemed to have been happening in Corinth, where some converts were focusing on who baptized or converted them, saying, “I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ… For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos.”  Paul asked the rhetorical question in response, “Is Christ divided?” encouraging them to center their discipleship on Him and not on a mortal.  What is important is not who taught or baptized someone, but it is Christ who should be the primary focus and in whom we should rely and base our own conversion (1 Corinthians 1:12, 3:4).  We should not be converted to the Church or to the prophet or even to the scriptures—it is Christ to whom we are converted. 

                I believe this idea of being converted to the Lord is part of what is behind President Nelson’s focus for the Church to properly use the name of the Savior’s Church.  He said, “When we omit His name from His Church, we are inadvertently removing Him as the central focus of our lives.”  It can be easy to become attached to specific leaders or programs or popular speakers or even to particular commandments, but we must not let our focus stray from the Savior Himself.  Properly using His name to speak of His Church instead of nicknames helps to direct our thoughts and focus on Jesus Christ and center our conversion on His power to redeem and refine us.  As Helaman taught, “It is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that [we] must build [our] foundation” (Helaman 5:12).  As helpful as other disciples and teachers and mentors can be to guide us on our journey back to our Heavenly Father, we cannot let them become more important in our spiritual focus than the Savior Himself.  As King Benjamin taught, “There shall be no other name given nor any other way nor means whereby salvation can come unto the children of men, only in and through the name of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent” (Mosiah 3:17).   

                As I’ve thought about this idea, I realize that it is crucial for me to focus on this kind of conversion as a parent of young children learning the gospel.  While I seek to have them look up to me and to believe my preaching of the principles of the gospel, they ultimately must be able to stand independent and trust in the Lord and not in their parents.  They must become converted to the Lord; not to Primary or to the belief of their mother and father or to animated scripture videos—only a conversion in the Lord will be of lasting power to see them through this life.  I think the Lord emphasized this idea in our dispensation when He commanded parents to “children in Zion” are to teach them “to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God. And they shall also teach their children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord” (Doctrine and Covenants 68:28).  We must teach them faith in the living Christ, not faith in us or in anyone else.  Our goal for our children should be that they want to do what is right not because they are afraid of how their parents will respond, but because they want to walk uprightly before God.  As our focus shifts from others around us to the Lord, then can our conversion be unto Him, and like those faithful Lamanites, “never [will we] fall away.”