Own Your Own Conversion

 The truth is that you must own your own conversion. No one else can do it for you. 

May I invite you to consider a few questions? Do you want to feel peace about concerns that presently plague you? Do you want to feel know Jesus Christ better? Do you want to learn how His divine power can heal your wounds and weaknesses? Do you want to experience the sweet, soothing power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ working in your life?

If your answer to these four questions is "yes," that is evidence that you want to have a strong testimony of Jesus Christ and His restored gospel. I plead with you to take charge of your testimony. Work for it. Own it. Care for it. Nurture it so that it will grow. Feed it truth. Don't pollute it with the false philosophies of unbelieving men and women and then wonder why your testimony is waning.

Engage in daily, earnest, humble prayer. Nourish yourself in the words of ancient and modern prophets. Ask the Lord to teach you how to hear Him better. Spend more time in the temple and in family history work. 

As you make your testimony your highest priority, watch for miracles to happen in your life. 

If you have questions about the gospel and about your life--and I hope you do--seek answers with the fervent desire to believe. Learn all you can about the gospel by turning to truth-filled sources for guidance. We live in the dispensation when "nothing shall be withheld." Thus, in time, the Lord will answer all of your questions.

In the meantime, immerse yourself in the rich reservoir of revelation we have at our fingertips. I promise that doing so will strengthen your testimony, even if some of your questions are not yet answered. Your sincere questions, asked in faith, will always lead to greater faith and more knowledge.

-President Russell M. Nelson, Heart of the Matter, 2023, p. 52-53

President Nelson on Labels and Identity

Who are you?

First and foremost, you are a child of God.

Second, if you are a member of the Church, you are a child of the covenant. When you were baptized, you made very specific covenants with the Lord. You promised to bear others' burdens, mourn with those that mourn, comfort those in need of comfort, and "stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things."

And third, you are a disciple of Jesus Christ.

I plead with you not to replace these three paramount and unchanging identifiers with any others, because doing so could stymie your progress or pigeonhole you into a stereotype that could potentially thwart your eternal progression.

For example, if you are identified mainly as an American, those who are not Americans may thing, "I know everything there is to know about you because you are an American." Because of this erroneous assumption, they may assign erroneous attributes to you. 

If you identify yourself by your political affiliation, you will instantly be categorized as having certain beliefs--though I don't know anyone who believes everything that their preferred political party presently embraces.

I could go on and on, rehearsing the constraints of various labels that we put on ourselves or that other people place upon us.

Some might label me as an "old man." But I'm a lot younger than Adam was--and Noah too. Ageism, racism, nationalism, sexism, and a host of other "isms" are universally limiting and are to be avoided.

...

The adversary rejoices in labels because they divide us and restrict the way we think about ourselves and each other. Labels can divide us into the kinds of tribes that divided the Nephites prior to the Lord's first coming. Tribal divisions almost always lead to animosity, misunderstanding, and even tribal warfare. How limiting it is when we essentially "choose up sides." How sad it is when we honor labels more than we honor each other.

Labels almost inevitable lead to judging and animosity. Any abuse or prejudice toward another because of nationality, race, sexual orientation, gender, educational degrees, culture, or any other significant identifiers is offensive to our Maker! Such mistreatment causes us to live beneath our stature as His covenant sons and daughters!

There are various labels that may be very important to you, of course. Please do not misunderstand me. I am not saying that other designations and identifiers are not important. I am simply saying that no identifier should displace, replace, or take priority over the three paramount, enduring designations, "child of God, "child of the covenant," and "disciple of Jesus Christ."

Any identifier that is not compatible with these three basic designations will ultimately let you down. No other labels have the power to lead you toward eternal life in the celestial kingdom of God.

-President Russell M. Nelson, Heart of the Matter, 2023, p. 48-49.

Nevertheless I went forth.

 The last couple of weeks I have lost a lot of sleep over an immigration case in which a mistake had been made that put us in a situation where I didn't see a path forward for the client, who happens also to be a church member. I prayed and fasted about it and nothing came. Court was a few days away and I felt I had nothing good to tell them. I finally set up an appointment to talk to them and convince them to plan for removal, and in the morning I started listening to the Book of Mormon audiobook on the new app, since I set a goal to read the Book of Mormon between now and the end of the year now that I finished reading D&C. 

One of my favorite verses hit me again in the context of my current situation. "And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do. Nevertheless I went forth..."

I didn't know what to do. And maybe in the end I could do nothing except be with this client through this trial and "comfort those that stand in need of comfort." But I could take the next step I could think of and go forward.

And I met with the clients and gave them the news, and it was so upsetting to the mother that she finally shared some terrible things that had happened that she hadn't told anyone before. And those things gave me the basis for an asylum application that would not be frivolous and that could at least give the client more time if not eventually gain his residency.

So today I've got to put together an entire asylum application package. I'm not sure how I'll get it done.

Nevertheless, I'll go forth.