Sometimes I look at people passing in office hallways, supermarket lines, really anywhere. Christ’s authority is back on the earth again! We have a living prophet! We can be sealed to our families for eternity! I don’t normally use that many exclamation marks, but if they were ever justified, it’s in proclaiming these truths to the world.
We honestly have the most exhilarating news since the resurrection. It changes your motivations and your very heart.” It gives you clear purpose, radiant hope, abiding peace. It makes you want to share what you know with others. Real conversion isn’t just sitting back and knowing. Daily diligence becomes monthly diligence, and then no diligence at all. Soon we cease to feel promptings from the Holy Ghost. We justify carelessness in keeping the commandments. We stop striving for even greater closeness with our Father in Heaven. It happens slowly, in almost imperceptible increments. I once wrote, “It’s the same with falling away from the truth-we think we’re safe, so we let our guard down. Satan gives us endless excuses and tells us that as long as we know, we’re in. This is when some of us falter in scripture study, prayer, and temple attendance. Done.Īnd then we turn our attention elsewhere. Satan lulls us into feeling content-we have our testimony, we know the restoration was real, we follow the prophet. Even excited new converts are eventually at risk. It comes nipping at our heels at every opportunity.