A university is a place where we learn things. But it should also be a place where we become things. Today, I want to talk about becoming. I want to talk about conversion.
President Dallin H. Oaks beautifully contrasts having a testimony with being converted. He recounted the time when:
“Jesus asked His disciples, ‘Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?’ Next He asked, ‘But whom say ye that I am?’
‘And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
‘And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed itunto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.’”
President Oaks continued:
“Peter had a testimony. He knew that Jesus was the Christ, the promised Messiah, and he declared it. To testify is to know and to declare …
“Later the Savior confirmed the importance of being converted, even for those with a testimony of the truth. In the sublime instructions given at the Last Supper, He told Simon Peter, ‘I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.’
“In order to strengthen his brethren—to nourish and lead the flock of God—this man who had followed Jesus for three years, who had been given the authority of the holy apostleship, who had been a valiant teacher and testifier of the Christian gospel, and whose testimony had caused the Master to declare him blessed still had to be “converted.” [1]
Some years ago, when I was working for BYU-Pathway Worldwide, we had the opportunity of gathering our students worldwide to meet with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and other General Authorities and Officers of the Church. Elder Holland spoke of conversion and quoted from the Apostle Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, chapter 8. He encouraged everyone to study the entire chapter. I followed his counsel and engaged in some very close reading—perhaps more earnest study than I had ever engaged in before.
We all know the story of Paul’s remarkable vision on the Road to Damascus. But what touched me about Romans 8 was how applicable it was to those of us who had not had miraculous visions. It wasn’t just about Paul’s conversion. It was about all of us.
I want to read some verses from this chapter to you today.
Paul begins in Romans chapter 8 verse 1:
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” [2]
A quick read of this chapter, and of the whole book of Romans, can give the impression that conversion, being “saved,” is a once in a lifetime experience. That when it happens, you’re bound for glory. I like to think of it more as what President Russell M. Nelson called “being on the covenant path.” President Nelson told us that “Once we make a covenant with God, we leave neutral ground forever.” He also said that those who make covenants with God “have access to a special kind of love and mercy.” [3]
God will not force us to accept his help. He wants us to love him willingly, not to be compelled.
But when we covenant with Him, we accept his help of our own free will. We do not suddenly and immediately overcome all of our weaknesses. Rather, being on the covenant path allows the work of conversion to operate. It makes operational in our lives the commandments of the Father, the atonement of Jesus Christ, and the companionship of the Holy Ghost. All three members of the Godhead are now acting on our behalf.
When I was in the 10th grade, I suffered my first crush. And I do mean suffered. She was two years older than I and was my stand partner in band. I sat by her every day for a year, turning the pages for her, and never ever worked up the courage to say one word to her. You see, I was terribly shy. It was paralyzing, and I knew that if I didn’t get a grip on it, it was going to hold me back all my life. And so I took it to God. I prayed fervently about it, and not just as part of daily prayers, but whenever I recognized a challenging situation. And little by little, I got better. I could feel a power beyond my own giving me courage, helping me to know what to say in the moment. It was my first experience with asking God to help me on my covenant path. The Lord was an excellent teacher. He didn’t make the circumstances easy. He still hasn’t. But I learned where to get help when I needed it.
I know that God offers that power to change to anyone who seeks it. But we have to be willing to become what He wants us to become.
Paul continues in verse 5:
“For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.” [4]
What are you looking for? Gratification? Image? Control? Or do you try to align your will with God’s? Are you filled with charity for others? It’s not a question of being perfect, just what you’re trying to be.
“For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” [5]
This is not future tense—Paul’s promises are full of “is.” He is speaking of what is now. The carnal mind is already a kind of death: a deadening of the soul, a shutting off of joy. The spiritually minded do not wait for heaven; they begin to live it now. They start to feel the peace now.
The flesh, as Paul uses the term, is not the body in itself—it’s the life lived apart from God. It’s what happens when we give ourselves to base impulses, to fear, to pride, to bitterness, to comparison. And so, “they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” Not because God withholds love, but because the fleshly mind cannot feel God’s love, cannot receive the Spirit’s gifts, and refuses God’s help because it does not want what pleases Him.
And what pleases God? That we will return and live with him.
Across the longitude of my life, I have been called upon to do many things that I was not ready to do, and to change things about myself that were deeply ingrained. But let me tell you something very important: You can change. You can be better than you are. Don’t believe the voices that tell you that you are a prisoner to your impulses. That might be the case if you were left to your own devices. But Christ overcame the world, its pain and suffering, its challenges and temptations. He doesn’t just bring good advice or a better way of thinking about things. He took upon himself our sins, then died to pay the price for them, then vanquished death and became the first fruits of the resurrection. Thus, He brings us a Godly power that is beyond anything we could do on our own.
Let’s go back to Romans 8, verse 15:
“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.” [6]
“The spirit of bondage again to fear”—to the Israelites, it recalled Egypt. Bound in slavery, mired in the slime pits cranking out bricks for Pharaoh’s treasure cities. Or perhaps Paul is drawing on the fear that haunted his own past—the Law as a burden, the old covenant of rules and punishments. But we have not received that kind of spirit. We have received the Spirit of adoption—not merely saved, but welcomed as children. So much so that Paul uses Abba, Papa—the same name Jesus used in Gethsemane.
Paul again:
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” [7]
It is the first Primary song we learn. And President Nelson told us it is our primary identity.
“And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” [8]
And not just children—but heirs of God. Joint-heirs with Christ. That means that everything Christ receives in glory—he shares. With us. He doesn't hoard it. He brings us with him.
But here’s the mystery: “if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”
President Oaks said:
“Most of us experience some measure of what the scriptures call ‘the furnace of affliction.’ Some are submerged in service to a disadvantaged family member. Others suffer the death of a loved one or the loss or postponement of a righteous goal like marriage or childbearing. Still others struggle with personal impairments or with feelings of rejection, inadequacy, or depression. Through the justice and mercy of a loving Father in Heaven, the refinement and sanctification possible through such experiences can help us achieve what God desires us to become.” [9]
There’s no shortcut. Glory comes through Gethsemane. Resurrection through the cross. We experience afflictions in this life. But as Lehi told his son Jacob, the Lord consecrates our afflictions to our gain.
Even so, Paul tells us:
“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. …
“For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. …
“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” [10]
I remember a time when I was really at the bottom of my life. In my extremity, I threw myself on my bed on my face and cried out Jesus’s name. The cry was not really a prayer. But it had no sooner escaped my lips when I felt my heart change, and it became a prayer. It was the uttering of the Spirit who knew what I needed. I needed hope. And he gave it to me. I knew the Lord loved me, that I was not alone. I received no other advice. I was still as perplexed about the specific situation as ever. But I was going to be all right.
Brothers and sisters, God keeps his covenants. After a long life, still, like Nephi, I do not know the meaning of all things. But I know God loves his children.
In conclusion, let me join my testimony to Paul’s:
“For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” [11]
In his sacred name, amen.
Notes
[1] Dallin H. Oaks, “The Challenge to Become,” Ensign, Oct. 2000, 33.
[2] Romans 8:1-2.
[3] Russell M. Nelson, “The Everlasting Covenant,” Liahona, Oct. 2022.
[4] Romans 8:5.
[5] Romans 8:6-8.
[6] Romans 8:15.
[7] Romans 8:16.
[8] Romans 8:17.
[9] Dallin H. Oaks, “The Challenge to Become,” 33-34.
[10] Romans 8:18-26.
[11] Romans 8:38-39.
About Jon Linford
Jon Linford currently serves as the Academic Vice President at Brigham Young University–Idaho, where he oversees Academic Administration, college deans, and faculty. Jon attended Ricks College before earning both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Brigham Young University. He also earned a doctoral degree from Arizona State University.
Prior to joining BYU–Idaho, Jon was an operatic baritone and Professor of Voice and Opera at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He later joined the BYU-Idaho Music Department teaching voice and opera. In 2010, Jon was invited to serve as the Dean of Foundations and Interdisciplinary Studies. In 2015, he became the Online Vice President and served in this role until April 2021.
Jon was raised on a sheep ranch in southeastern Idaho. He served in the Scotland Glasgow mission from 1978 to 1980. He and his wife Evelyn are the parents of three children and grandparents of three grandchildren. Jon is a passionate gardener and spends most of his free time in his own and others’ gardens.