The Apostle Paul taught that the Lord's teachings and teachers
were given that we may all attain
"the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ."
This process requires far more than acquiring knowledge.
It is not even enough for us to be convinced of the gospel;
we must act and think so that we are converted by it.
In contrast to the institutions of the world, which
teach us to know something, the gospel of Jesus Christ
challenges us to become something.
Many Bible and modern scriptures speak
of a final judgment at which all persons will be rewarded
according to their deeds or works
or the desires of their hearts.
But other scriptures enlarge upon this
by referring to our being judged by the condition we
have achieved.
The prophet Nephi describes the Final Judgment in terms of what
we have become: "And if their works have been filthiness they
must needs be filthy; and if they be filthy it must needs be
that they cannot dwell in the kingdom of God."
Moroni declares, "He that is filthy shall be filthy still;
and he that is righteous shall be righteous still."
The same would be true of "selfish" or "disobedient"
or any other personal attribute inconsistent
with the requirements of God.
Referring to the "state" of the wicked in the Final Judgment,
Alma explains that if we are condemned by our words,
our works, and our thoughts, "we shall not be found spotless;
... and in this awful state we shall not dare to look up
to our God."
From such teachings we conclude that the Final Judgment is not
just an evaluation of a sum total of good and evil
acts--what we have done.
It is an acknowledgment of the final effect of our acts
and thoughts--what we have become.
It is not enough for anyone just to go through the motions.
The commandments, ordinances, and covenants of the gospel
are not a list of deposits required to be
made in some heavenly account.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is a plan
that shows us how to become what our Heavenly Father desires
us to become.
A parable illustrates this understanding.
A wealthy father knew that if he were
to bestow his wealth upon a child who had not yet developed
the needed wisdom and stature, the inheritance would probably
be wasted.
The father said to his child:
"All that I have I desire to give you--not only my wealth,
but also my position and standing among men.
That which I have I can easily give you,
but that which I am you must obtain for yourself.
You will qualify for your inheritance
by learning what I have learned and by living as I have lived.
I will give you the laws and principles by which I have
acquired my wisdom and stature.
Follow my example, mastering as I have mastered,
and you will become as I am, and all that I have will be yours."
This parable parallels the pattern of heaven.
The gospel of Jesus Christ promises
the incomparable inheritance of eternal life, the fulness
of the Father, and reveals the laws and principles
by which it can be obtained.
We qualify for eternal life through a process
of conversion.
As used here, this word of many meanings
signifies not just a convincing but a profound change
of nature.
Jesus used this meaning when He taught
His chief Apostle the difference between a testimony
and a conversion.
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 it unto thee, but my Father which
is in heaven."
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 on, Jesus taught these same men
about conversion, which is far more than testimony.
When the disciples asked who was the greatest in the kingdom
of heaven, "Jesus called a little child unto him,
and set him in the midst of them,
"And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted,
and become as little children, ye
shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
"Whosoever therefore shall humble himself
as this little child, the same is greatest
in the kingdom of heaven."
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."
Jesus's challenge shows that the conversion
He required for those who would enter the kingdom of heaven
was far more than just being converted
to testify to the truthfulness of the gospel.
To testify is to know and to declare.
The gospel challenges us to be "converted," which requires
us to do and to become.
If any of us relies solely upon our knowledge and our testimony
of the gospel, we are in the same position
as the blessed but still unfinished Apostles
whom Jesus challenged to be "converted."
We all know someone who has a strong testimony
but does not act upon it so as to be converted.
For example, returned missionaries,
are you still seeking to be converted,
or are you caught up in the ways of the world?
The needed conversion by the gospel
begins with the introductory experience
the scriptures call being "born again."
In the waters of baptism and by receiving
the gift of the Holy Ghost, we become the spiritual "sons
and daughters" of Jesus Christ, "new creatures" who can
"inherit the kingdom of God."
In teaching the Nephites, the Savior
referred to what they must become.
He challenged them to repent and be baptized and be sanctified
by the reception of the Holy Ghost,
"that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day."
He concluded: "Therefore, what manner of men ought ye to be?
Verily I say unto you, even as I am."
The gospel of Jesus Christ is the plan
by which we can become what children of God
are supposed to become.
This spotless and perfected state
will result from a steady succession of covenants,
ordinances, and actions, an accumulation of right choices,
and from continuing repentance.
"This life is the time for men to prepare to meet God."
Now is the time for each of us to work
toward our personal conversion, toward becoming what
our Heavenly Father desires us to become.
As we do so, we should remember that our family
relationships--even more than our Church callings--are
the setting in which the most important part of that
development can occur.
The conversion we must achieve requires
us to be a good husband and father or a good wife
and mother.
Being a successful Church leader is not enough.
Exaltation is an eternal family experience,
and it is our mortal family experiences that are best
suited to prepare us for it.
The Apostle John spoke of what we
are challenged to become when he said: "Beloved, now
are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we
shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear,
we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."
I hope the importance of conversion
and becoming will cause our local leaders
to reduce their concentration on statistical measures of actions
and to focus more on what our brothers and sisters are
and what they are striving to become.
Our needed conversions are often achieved more readily
by suffering and adversity than by comfort and tranquility,
as Elder Hales taught us so beautifully this morning.
Father Lehi promised his son Jacob
that God would "consecrate [his] afflictions for [his] gain."
The Prophet Joseph was promised that "thine adversity
and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;
and then, if thou endure it well,
God shall exalt thee on high."
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.
We are challenged to move through a process of conversion
toward that status and condition called eternal life.
This is achieved not just by doing what is right,
but by doing it for the right reason--for the pure love
of Christ.
The Apostle Paul illustrated this in his famous teaching
about the importance of charity.
The reason charity never fails and the reason charity
is greater than even the most significant acts of goodness
he cited is that charity, "the pure love of Christ,"
is not an act but a condition or state of being.
Charity is attained through a succession of acts
that result in a conversion.
Charity is something one becomes.
Thus, as Moroni declared, "except men shall have charity
they cannot inherit" the place prepared for them
in the mansions of the Father.
All of this helps us understand an important meaning
of the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, which
the Savior gave to explain what the kingdom of heaven is like.
As you remember, the owner of the vineyard
hired laborers at different times of the day.
Some he sent into the vineyard early in the morning,
others about the third hour, and others
in the sixth and ninth hours.
Finally, in the eleventh hour he sent others into the vineyard,
promising that he would also pay them "whatsoever is right."
At the end of the day the owner of the vineyard
gave the same wage to every worker,
even to those who had come in the eleventh hour.
When those who had worked the entire day saw this,
"they murmured against the goodman of the house."
The owner did not yield but merely pointed out
that he had done no one any wrong, since he had paid
each man the agreed amount.
Like other parables, this one can
teach several different and valuable principles.
For present purposes its lesson is
that the Master's reward in the Final Judgment
will not be based on how long we have labored in the vineyard.
We do not obtain our heavenly reward
by punching a time clock.
What is essential is that our labors
in the workplace of the Lord have
caused us to become something.
For some of us, this requires a longer time than for others.
What is important in the end is what
we have become by our labors.
Many who come in the eleventh hour
have been refined and prepared by the Lord in ways
other than formal employment in the vineyard.
These workers are like the prepared dry mix to which it is
only necessary to "add water"--the perfecting
ordinance of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost.
With that addition--even in the eleventh hour--these workers
are in the same state of development and qualified
to receive the same reward as those who have labored long
in the vineyard.
This parable teaches us that we should never
give up hope and loving associations with family
members and friends whose fine qualities evidence
their progress toward what a loving Father would have them
become.
Similarly, the power of the Atonement
and the principle of repentance show that we should never
give up on loved ones who now seem to be
making many wrong choices.
Instead of being judgmental about others,
we should be concerned about ourselves.
We must not give up hope.
We must not stop striving.
We are children of God, and it is possible for us
to become what our Heavenly Father would have us become.
How can we measure our progress?
The scriptures suggest various ways.
I will mention only two.
After King Benjamin's great sermon, many of his hearers
cried out that the Spirit of the Lord
"has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts,
that we have no more disposition to do evil,
but to do good continually."
If we are losing our desire to do evil,
we are progressing toward our heavenly goal.
The Apostle Paul said that persons
who have received the Spirit of God "have the mind of Christ."
I understand this to mean that persons
who are proceeding toward the needed conversion
are beginning to see things as our Heavenly Father
and His Son, Jesus Christ, see them.
They are hearing His voice instead
of the voice of the world, and they
are doing things in His way instead of
by the ways of the world.
I testify of Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Redeemer,
whose Church this is.
I testify with gratitude of the plan of the Father under which,
through the Resurrection and Atonement of our Savior,
we have the assurance of immortality
and the opportunity to become what
is necessary for eternal life.
In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.