To Do the Will of the Father

In his recent general conference talk, Elder Cook suggested that we need to be converted to the will of God. He said this: “Over a lifetime of service and spiritual experiences, I have come to understand that true conversion is the result of the conscious acceptance of the will of God and that we can be guided in our actions by the Holy Ghost…. True conversion is brought about by the conscious acceptance and commitment to follow the will of God.” To be converted to the gospel of Jesus Christ is to not only know of its truth but to be committing to doing whatever the Lord would have us do. One of the greatest examples of true conversion in the scriptures is that of the Lamanites who were taught by the sons of Mosiah. We read, “And as sure as the Lord liveth, so sure as many as believed, or as many as were brought to the knowledge of the truth, through the preaching of Ammon and his brethren, according to the spirit of revelation and of prophecy, and the power of God working miracles in them—yea, I say unto you, 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). They were converted “unto the Lord” and thus were committed to doing whatever He wanted of them. They could not fall away because they were converted to doing His will. And for them they knew that His will was to never fight again, and so they buried their weapons of war. So great was their conversion to the will of God that they “would suffer even unto death rather than commit sin.” When their brethren came up against them, instead of defending themselves, they “prostrated themselves before them to the earth, and began to call on the name of the Lord; and thus they were in this attitude when the Lamanites began to fall upon them, and began to slay them with the sword. And thus without meeting any resistance, they did slay a thousand and five of them (Alma 24:19-22). So powerful was their conversion to the will of the Lord that they laid down their lives to follow Him and do as He desired of them. Mormon summarized, “They were also distinguished for their zeal towards God, and also towards men…. they would suffer death in the most aggravating and distressing manner which could be inflicted by their brethren, before they would take the sword or cimeter to smite them. And thus they were a zealous and beloved people, a highly favored people of the Lord” (Alma 27:27-30). They knew that the Lord wanted of them, and not even the threat of death or suffering could stop them from accomplishing His will.

                So for us to be truly converted we too must learn the will of God and then make that the ultimate priority of our lives. Of course it was the Savior who showed us how to do that as He “came into the world to do the will of [His] Father” (3 Nephi 27:13). He declared, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work” (John 4:34). He further explained, “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me” (John 5:30). He similarly said, “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me” (John 6:38). On another occasion He also stated, “I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things…. For I do always those things that please Him” (John 8:28-29). And of course when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane, He cried out, “Not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). He was laser-focused on doing the will of His Father and accomplished that perfectly throughout His life. And so for us to find true conversion we must also seek with all our hearts to do the will of the Lord for us. That includes keeping His commandments and learning from His Spirit the desires He has for us. We are to “reconcile [ourselves] to the will of God” and seek to keep His instructions with all our hearts (2 Nephi 10:24). Elder Cook stated, “The Savior graciously invites us to be His voice and His hands. The love of the Savior will be our guiding light.” We can be His voice and hands as we learn to do His will. As Sister Porter did, we too must ask the Lord with all our heart “What would Thou have me do?” and then seek in our own lives to accomplish it. If our greatest desire is to do what He would have us do, then we will know that we are truly converted.