Firm and Steadfast in the Faith of Christ

Imagine Elijah in our day the way he challenged the priests of Baal.

The gospel should become the defining focus of a person’s heart and character.

There is a difference between a socially motivated participation and a spiritually committed {immersion}.

When is a conversion so complete that it cannot be undone?

The reign of Ahab was one of the periods of apostasy in the northern kingdom of Israel. The prophet Elijah on one occasion told King Ahab to gather the people of Israel as well as the prophets or priests of Baal at Mount Carmel. When the people had come together, Elijah said unto them, “How long halt ye between two opinions? [or in other words, “When will you decide once and for all?”] if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.” So Elijah directed that both he and Baal’s prophets cut up a young bull and place it on a bed of wood on their respective altars but “put no fire under.” Then, “Call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.”

You will recall that the priests of Baal clamored to their nonexistent god for hours to send down fire, but “there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.” When it was Elijah’s turn, he repaired the broken-down altar of the Lord, laid the wood and the offering upon it, and then ordered that it all be doused with water, not once but three times. There was no doubt that neither he nor any other human power could light the fire.

“And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. …

“Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

“And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.”

The people were unwilling to commit to either side but when they said “it is well spoken” they were agreeing to accept the outcome of the challenge. Notice that Elijah rebuilt the altar of the Lord so that it was configured a specified in the law. He also wanted until the time of the evening sacrifice. His offering was very strictly following the protocol. It was not done flippant show off.

When James promised that God “giveth to all men liberally” who seek His wisdom, he also cautioned:

“But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

“For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.

“A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

To persevere firm and steadfast in the faith of Christ requires that the gospel of Jesus Christ penetrate one’s heart and soul, meaning that the gospel becomes not just one of many influences in a person’s life but the defining focus of his or her life and character. The Lord says:

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

“And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

“And … ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.”

This is the covenant we make by our baptism and in temple ordinances. But some have not yet fully received the gospel of Jesus Christ into their lives. Although, as Paul says, they were “buried with [Christ] by baptism,” they are still missing the part that “like as Christ was raised up from the dead … , even so we … should walk in [a] newness of life.” The gospel does not yet define them. They are not yet centered in Christ. They are selective about the doctrines and commandments they will follow and where and when they will serve in the Church. By contrast, it is in keeping their covenants with exactness that those “who are the elect according to the covenant” avoid deception and remain firm in the faith of Christ.

Most of us find ourselves at this moment on a continuum between a socially motivated participation in gospel rituals on the one hand and a fully developed, Christlike commitment to the will of God on the other. Somewhere along that continuum, the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ enters into our heart and takes possession of our soul. It may not happen in an instant, but we should all be moving toward that blessed state.

Where we are on the continuum is not as important as what direction we are moving along it.

A man who grew up in the Church, served as a full-time missionary, and married a lovely woman was surprised when some of his siblings began speaking critically of the Church and the Prophet Joseph Smith. After a time they left the Church and tried to persuade him to follow. … His siblings mocked his faith, telling him he was gullible and misled. He didn’t have answers for all their assertions, and his faith began to waver under the relentless opposition. He wondered if he should stop attending church. He talked with his wife. He talked with people he trusted. He prayed. As he meditated in this troubled state of mind, he recalled occasions when he had felt the Holy Spirit and had received a witness of truth by the Spirit. He concluded, “If I am honest with myself, I must admit that the Spirit has touched me more than once and the testimony of the Spirit is real.” He has a renewed sense of happiness and peace that is shared by his wife and children.

That is a key to conversion – being honest with ourselves when we have been touched by the spirit so that we remember in times of doubt and difficulty.

I believe the principles expressed in these verses apply to all of us. The temptations and tribulations we experience, plus any testing that the Lord sees fit to impose, can lead to our full conversion and healing. But this happens if, and only if, we do not harden our hearts or stiffen our necks against Him. If we remain firm and steadfast, come what may, we achieve the conversion the Savior intended when He said to Peter, “When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren,” a conversion so complete that it cannot be undone. The promised healing is the cleansing and sanctification of our sin-wounded souls, making us holy.

The conversion which cannot be undone comes when we have been fully refined – when we have endured all that the Lord sees fit to give us without hardening our hearts or stiffening our necks against him. After that there will be nothing for the flame to burn off is we receive more affliction.