Welcome to closer to Christ through general conference
where two friends who love Jesus share our own
approach to studying the most recent general
conference talks. This is Abby and Amy. Let's
jump into it. This talk is Be Reconciled to God
by Kelly R. Johnson of the 70. This talk starts
out by telling us that in his scripture reading,
certain words were popping out to him based on
his life experience. So he had a career in forensic
accounting, and so no surprise that a word that
he picked up on was the word reconcile. Like
as you're aligning your financial reports with
the underlying financial documents to ensure
accuracy and validity. And I think, you know,
it's the same for each of us to a certain degree.
affects our daily life kind of spills into our
scripture study. So we read the scriptures through
our own personal lenses. It's not, you know,
not unique to Elder Johnson. We read the scriptures
through those personal lenses and this one reason
listening to conference or studying the messages
is such a cool experience is because the message
can be the same, the words can be identical,
but what we actually hear and learn from others.
through the spirit is going to be completely
different. That message is going to apply to
us differently. What we're going to do as we
study and learn and take that message into our
lives is going to look different. So when we
talk and we get shared some suggestions, that's
just us talking some things that we've thought
of. What would be so fun is to record 30, you
know, people sitting around chatting about the
topics and bringing up things that we never imagined,
which is what our hope is for the Facebook page
that we have, that it goes way beyond Amy and
I, and we get to hear your input and feedback
on what things you're thinking of, what things
came to mind, what was your wow moment in this
talk? We would love that. And it is different.
That's what I love, Abby, is that it's different
for every person. And it's so personal and they
know it was for them. That's what I love, you
know? Which is the whole reason for church. Can
we just... Can we just study the scriptures on
our own? Yes. When you get into a meeting aside
from your home -based study and people have come
prepared on their own and been impressed by the
Spirit through the week and then they're encouraged
by the Spirit to share some thought that they
have, you never know that the person that that
comment was for. It's typically not for yourself.
The comment that you're supposed to share is
definitely on behalf of somebody else. That's
so good, Abby. So when I was listening to this
talk again, I had the thought to listen for some
of his spiritual gifts, meaning the speaker.
I took the challenge and I landed upon this.
Among other gifts, he has the spiritual gift
of honing in on a word or a principle and then
studying that in depth. He also has the spiritual
gift of teaching or explaining his findings.
I felt like he was a very good teacher. When
you combine these gifts, with His gift of testimony
and then couple these with the gift of the Holy
Ghost. These teachings are carried directly to
our hearts and our minds. And again, each speaker
carries with them a specific set of skills or
spiritual gifts, which makes their message and
their testimony unique. This is one reason, like
what you were saying, Abby, this one reason I
love general conference. Each speaker brings
his unique set of life experiences and then also
his spiritual gifts or her spiritual gifts. with
their own testimony. It reminds me that there
is not one right way, but many right ways to
lead, to be an instrument in God's hand, to share
testimony, teach his gospel, and also to serve
others. Yeah. And it's so awesome. They aren't
just like cookie cutter. For sure. I think somebody
on the outside be like, old. white dude, they
might say something like, not the case. And their
speaking style and the way that we can just resonate
and tune in with them. I know we're not supposed
to have favorites, but let's be honest, we all
have somebody that we're like quite looking forward
to when they get up to speak. And of course they
just open their mouths and you're like, yep,
all of that was so great. And that's exactly
what I needed to hear. And then some of them,
they just grow on us over time. And, you know,
what brought that to mind was I was thinking
on, I thought on Elder Brown's talk, like a few
times, like how could that be? I was like, Heavenly
Father, how is that so impactful? How did it
just make me want to jump up and like cheer?
Like, and I talked to other people, a lot of
people about the same way. He's been referenced
and quoted the last two. Fast and testimony meetings.
It was that powerful, right? So you're talking
about the talk about much later. And so I was
thinking about it. And what came to my mind was
he has unique spiritual gifts that the spirit
carried those. And it was he has a fire of the
testimony. Yes. And he speaks with excitement.
I mean, and so then I was like, well, that's
cool about something that was very difficult
to forge that testimony amongst serious adversity
from all of his peers. And it's still on fire
like that. So that's when I had the thought of
every single speaker has unique spiritual gifts
that the Lord has given them, which is a portion
of his spirit. And it comes to each person and
it touches people differently. And we're each
in different places of our lives. So I just love
that because I felt like God sees us as unique
individuals. Agreed. Then, you know, he said
that he kind of was honing in on certain words.
He found the word reconciled in Corinthians 520.
It says where Paul is pleading with the Corinthians
to be reconciled to God. So to be reconciled
to God means to be brought back into harmony
with God or to restore a relationship with God
that has been strained or broken because of our
sins or actions. So simply put, being reconciled
to God means aligning our will and actions with
God's will or as taught by President Nelson,
letting God prevail in our lives. Huge component
of that is the agency that it takes. who want
to allow him to take that lead. We still have
to offer up our hearts as being willing to be
led. I love that Abby. The scriptures teach us
that we are free to act for ourselves, to choose
the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal
life. But if we are not diligent, this freedom
to act for ourselves may lead us or may lead
to a loss of alignment with the will of God.
I love that. I've said it a very good way. Prophet
Jacob taught that when we find ourselves in disharmony
or misalignment with God, the only way we can
achieve reconciliation is to be reconciled unto
God through the atonement of Christ. So, I mean,
when you were reading that, I was like, yes,
it does take like diligent action to just stay
on that path and to stay out of the captivity
that poor decisions make, but that it's never
impossible to come back into alignment with God.
because of the atonement of Jesus Christ. So
I'm just glad that we had that follow -up quote.
Through the atonement of Jesus Christ, the key
principle is reconciliation is dependent on Jesus
Christ's gracious act of the atonement. As we
utilize this gift, reconciliation to God is possible
in our personal lives. Yes. So good. I feel like
he was a really good teacher. I loved it. So
Elder Johnson, at this point, he gives us an
action item. This is his invitation to us. He
says, as you ponder your own life, think about
a time. when you felt distant from Heavenly Father
because you moved away from Him. As I was listening
to this talk, like on a second and third pass,
I listened to this part and then also had the
part before, Abby, that you talked about with
having our will aligned with His. And I thought,
you know, I'm doing pretty well at remembering
to repent daily on some days I forget. And if
that's the case, I just jump in the next day,
you know, and repent then. And so I was thinking,
how does this question apply to me right now
in this season of life? And as I thought on it,
I felt my view broaden as I saw a collective
rather than the daily repentance. And I had the
clear impression that I could reconcile myself
to God. So I asked in my heart, well, how do
I do this? If I'm repenting almost daily, then
where can my will be reconciled to His will?
And that, or what is God's will for me right
now? So I just asked that because I hadn't really
thought that it had changed, right? Like, but
it felt like that I needed to ask that question.
I had the scripture pop into my head, man is
that he might have joy, and of course women.
And then I realized through the impression of
the Holy Ghost, and also my series of like our
last ones, we talked about the self -reflection
questions, that for the past two months I've
gotten up gotten caught up in doing the things
I'm supposed to do quote. I've been following
that in fairness more like a way to personal
way to protect yourself. You had so much going
on and your like health regimen right now is
so intense that I can see what would you like
to naturally just flow is just just naturally
doing things. You kind of have to be like, okay,
and then here's the time that I can allot this
for, this for, can I juggle that in my day with
all these health things I'm dealing with? And
it was a lot to get, I'm more used to it now.
We always talk about seasons, but it's cool that
you got to a moment where you can reflect back
on it and see that it's time to reset that. That
means you're healthier. I totally am. I feel
so much better. I feel like, thank you, Abby.
So, I've been following a health protocol that
takes up to about four hours a day for home therapies.
And instead of feeling joy in being led by a
Heavenly Father who loves me, I was getting caught
up in the weeds of making sure I got everything
in and was getting really weighed down by the
burden of that. To step back from that, it's
like each of those pieces of the therapies that
you were doing came by revelation. They did.
I watched the process of like, should I try this
for myself? I know about this treatment or we
can go this route. No, that's not the one. What
about this? What about this doctor? What about
this protocol? And it took months to come together.
And so as he's gotten you to that, then it's
like you're doing, you're taking care of your
body with stuff that you've worked with Heavenly
Father to decide what the right path to be was.
So funny to think, you know, at the end of the
day, Yeah, all these things that you're willing
to do are going to take four hours of your time
and that it just feels like a burden when really
they're an answer to the prayers that have been
issued on your behalf and the blessings and all
of the people that are invested in you getting
healthier. Absolutely. So I really appreciate
you sharing that. Any other insights from that
period of time? Yes. So a few days later after
this, I had this come to mind. I had this happen.
I felt these words. The burden is the same. The
difference is how you carry it. And I was like,
oh, that's so interesting. Like you're trying
to do the carrying all by yourself. Yes. So what
I understood was this. I'm putting four hours
a day into my health regardless, right? That
weight is the same. That's four hours. That stays
the same, but my capacity grows as I lean on
the Lord and ask him, like you just said, Abby,
to help me carry the load as I carry it in gratitude
for the health I've recaptured. And I do it with
joy. my therapies took the same. So I put this
into practice. My therapies look the same, but
I redirect my thoughts of what am I missing out
on in life, you know, in these four hours that
I'm doing this every day, or am I the only one
who has to do this? And I smile and I thank the
Lord for helping me to find different doctors
and modalities this whole year that have collectively
improved my health. So yes, like you said, these
are answers to prayers. I've changed my whole
attitude to gratitude and joy that replaced wondering
and ruminating. And it really has made a big
difference. I do feel lighter. I do feel like
the load is less to carry because I just decided
gratitude and joy. Why not? What a great thing
to just get the regimen under your belt and be
doing it fall into that trap like we all would
have like overwhelmed by it and then have this
moment to want things to change, not want to
feel so burdened by it and then have this like
enlightening moment to say, why are these challenges
happening in my life? Because it forces you to
have a deeper relationship with Heavenly Father
Jesus Christ. Learn something about yourself
and know that carrying that burden yourself is
not the most favorable way to do it. Right. And
I didn't realize I was doing it until I heard
or felt the words joy and gratitude. And I'm
like, okay, you know what I mean? It just was
different. Yeah. Um, reminds me of what this
talk says, just as we choose to distance ourselves
from God, we must choose to initiate the effort
to reconcile. Like that's what I'm saying. You
had to get to a certain breaking point on the
process as it was to say, is there a better way?
Yeah. And so you use your agency to like submit
and say, I want there to be a different way.
Is there a better way? And sometimes you might
be like, there is no better way. Yeah, because
I had asked that for a while, but I did it for
two full months before I got that answer. I feel
like, I think Marjorie Pay Hinckley said, first
I do and then I understand. First I obey then
I understand. Well, too often I think somebody
might take this list that you've procured of,
you know, the regimen that you could do. And
then they'd be like, but I don't want to start
it. I want you to tell me if it's going to, like,
I want to know the end goal, the outcome, the
consequences of doing these things. Is it really
going to pay off? you know, rather than just,
just getting busy and doing the things that you're
impressed to do. Is it the exact right way or
the right thing to do? Who knows? This is health
related. This is education related. This is seeking
a spouse related. This is any action. Like a
lot of people, they get an impression to do something
and then they... kind of try to mentally just
think through what the end is going to be of
that. And he's like, yeah, yeah, right. I'm not
giving you that. You just have to put on your
shoes and get busy doing whatever you're doing.
Totally. I can course correct you when you physically
have momentum in a direction. I can't just pick
you up and move you. And I like that. I love
that. The Lord emphasized our responsibility
when he said, Draw near unto me and I will draw
near unto you. So we have to do the first drawing.
I love that. Seek me diligently and ye shall
find me. Ask and ye shall receive knock and it
shall be open to you. All of those cutesy little
phrases that we've all come to know and love
have an action on our part followed by a reciprocal
action on his part. Then the trick is to follow
the step or steps that we're feeling guided to
do by the Holy Ghost. I think it's interesting
to Abby. I was reading, um, I started the Book
of Mormon again and I was listening to the part
about Nephi saying, um, that the Lord had commanded
him to, Oh, he said, I actually start, I don't
know his exact words, but he was saying, I started
writing this down before I was commanded to do
it. And I just, I love that. And I also love
that Nephi, I mean, if I'm going to look at it
in that way, like a scriptural type of way, these
things are personal commandments to me. I do
feel commanded by God, meaning Amy, if you want
health, follow these steps. It felt like a personal
commandment to me. And I love how he talks about
God in such a way that you can tell there's a
relationship like a father, right? He refers
to him often. And I just, I just like their relationship.
My follow up to that is an experience that we
know from Adam. He's offering sacrifices and
somebody asks him why he's doing that. And he
says, I know not save. I've been commanded by
the father. I also love when, yes, you are specifically
told a thing to do. But you don't know why. Totally.
I love Nephi giving us the example of doing a
thing before he's asked to do it. Yeah. And then
this verse like, hey, that's exactly what I was
hoping that you would do. Right? Both of those
are like the epitome of what I want. Very good
example. Yeah. I want to be so like reconciled
with God that those things just come naturally.
So good, Abby. Thank you. Enos is also a great
example of reconciliation. He said this, and
my soul hungered and I kneeled down before my
maker and I cried unto him in my deep prayer
and supplication for mine own soul and all the
day long did I cry unto him that it reached the
heavens. example, it sounds like a humble seeker
of God to me. His reconciliation with God was
confirmed when a voice said unto him, Enos thy
sins are forgiven thee and thou shalt be blessed.
Enos recognized the impact that repentance and
reconciliation had on him when he said, I Enos
knew that God could not lie, wherefore my guilt
was swept away. And I love how certain he was
in God's word. And at this point, he's able to
let go of his burden and just go on his way being
a disciple of Christ. I love that, that he had
the confidence to do that. You know what I mean?
Like that he truly believed him and went on his
way. So I love this part. We're going to talk
about the fruit of reconciliation to God. So
one of them is relief from guilt, feelings of
guilt, which we learned from Enos. Another is
peace with ourselves and also with others. Also,
reconciliation to God heals relationships, softens
hearts, and strengthens our discipleship, bringing
increased confidence before God, which is exactly
what. Enos just showed us what brings me a lot
of hope and competence is another fruit of reconciliation
described by Enos He says this after I Enos had
heard these words my faith began to be unshaken
in the Lord love that Elder Johnson shared an
analogy of being unshaken in our faith and in
our our connection with Christ You know how that
connection can look and he tells about cherry
picking as a boy He would help his grandpa by
climbing into the trees with a bucket to pick
cherries. And then years later, things evolved
and grandpa got a machine called the cherry shaker.
So you take the machine, you stick it around
the trunk of the tree, and then you would put
it into shaking action and those cherries would
just fall into these nets that were down below.
What's interesting that it didn't matter if the
tree were shaken for 10 seconds or 60 seconds,
the tree that fell would do so at the very beginning
of the process. Those cherries that were ready
to fall, they fall immediately. You can't just
sit and shake the strongest connected ones out.
They're just not going to come off. So this is
due to a hormone called ethylene. So when the
cherry ripens, it weakens the connection between
the cherry and the tree. They're ready to fall
at this particular time. So another question
we can ask ourselves from this analogy is, am
I unshaken in the Lord? No matter how hard the
winds of persecution and trial come with life.
Am I so firmly bound to Christ that it doesn't
matter how hard? whether that's a brief moment
of persecution trials, hard times, or years,
we'll call the 60 seconds of cherry shaking,
years and years of those trials. Very good. Very
good question. Just as the ethylene weakens the
connection of a ripe cherry stem, disobedience.
doubts and fears can weaken our connection to
the stem of Jesse or Jesus Christ, allowing us
to be easily shaken and then separated from him.
So what does easily shaken look like? Being right
for destruction with impending consequences for
actions. Another way to say it is a state of
decay, corruption or decline that makes something
susceptible to collapse or ruin. Again, he's
very good at getting deep into words, right,
Elder Johnson? More than his ability to share
experience. His experience, like if I get up
there and give a story about the connection that
a cherry tree has to its tree, so inauthentic,
but he shares it and I'm like, there were cute
little memes that were going on. It's like a
cherry and it's like stems trying to like, hold
on for dear life as it's being shaken. I just,
I loved that he brought that up. In the Doctrine
and Covenants, it says, even the faithful are
given this warning. There is a possibility that
man may fall from grace and depart from the living
God. The Lord continues, Yea, even let those
who are sanctified take heed also to avoid following
the Lord counsels. Therefore, let the church
take heed and pray always lest they fall into
temptation. What does this ripeness represent?
Does it mean that we can reach a point where
we are unable to change? No, I think it means
that we can reach a point in time where we are
unwilling to change. I loved that part. I was
like, that is so true because it's true. We can
always change because of Jesus Christ, right?
The atonement is always there. it's, are we willing
to? So what's the antidote of being easily shaken
or being right for destruction? Simply put, we
do the opposite. We do the things that will strengthen
our connection to Jesus Christ. Yeah, and from
your comments before, like the fruits of being
reconciled with God, peace and I can't find exactly
where you coded it. But anyway, you gave a long
list of things like, why wouldn't we want to
feel that way? And if we're feeling anything
but that way, it's what Satan offers us when
we make choices that lead us to him. So, this
is their strength and repentance. Regular, prompt,
frequent repentance. I was thinking that too.
It's like if you make a misstep and you quickly
recognize it as just not the path that you wanted
to go, you get back on. Like how simple that
reconciliation process is rather than letting
Satan get in the midst of that and making us
think there's no way Coming back from that so
then you just you've done it. Yeah, you give
up the hope that it's even possible President
Nelson taught us nothing is more liberating more
ennobling more crucial to our individual progression
than regular daily focus on repentance I love
the emphasis he put on daily repentance. So do
I just cuz he's like it's it's available to you
if you pick it up a year from now a week from
now, but it's also available if you just want
to unload that burden daily. And the mistakes
that we make are completely different. If we
get used to that piece that we're filling with
daily repentance, then that's our norm. Then
there's like another step of growth that we can
have on top of that. I feel like some things
that you said earlier really touched on that
better. So I'm going to leave that at that. Being
aware of God's hand in our lives, seeking and
receiving revelation and listening to God when
He speaks, those are the fruits of daily repentance.
Absolutely. Jacob said it this way, in Jacob
4 -6, he says, our faith becomes unshaken. And
surprise, surprise, this is a process. It's a
circular pattern. So this is the way he describes
it. A desire to be reconciled to God must be
accompanied by a desire to repent. Repenting
and experiencing the blessings of the atonement
of Jesus Christ leads us to unshaken faith. And
then unshaken faith leads us leads to a desire
to always be reconciled to God. So it's a circle,
right? It's over and over. And Abby, I think
we've talked about this before. I used to think
that if I was in the same lesson or learning
the same lesson, it was because I didn't learn
it properly the first time through the years
as I've lived the gospel and put principles to
work in my own life. I feel like I've learned
something. The lessons don't keep coming around
because I didn't learn them the first time. It's
not a matter of failing like I thought it was
before. So I'd try again. But the way that God
built this pattern is circular. And every time
we take part in applying the principles of the
gospel of Jesus Christ, we learn these principles
and lessons on a deeper level. So another way
to say that we learn line upon line. That would
be another way to say that. And that's why those
lessons keep circling around. It's not because
we failed the first time. It's because a God
in His infinite wisdom is giving us another layer
of discipleship, another connection to our Savior,
Jesus Christ, and endless opportunities to exercise
our agency and to choose Him. Different way of
looking at it. Abby, do you have anything to
add? I know you love the iterative patterns of
the Lord. Yeah, you're talking and I'm getting
this vision. So you mentioned the word circular,
you said circular, because it's like the pride
cycle. You get prideful, you make wicked choices,
you fall, you're brought to repentance, then
you correct it, then you're with God and things,
you're prospering, like a circle, right? On this
one, you mess up, you fall, Satan's got you captive.
desire to be reconciled. Yeah, you get that desire
to be reconciled. You rely on the Atonement of
Jesus Christ, you fix it. So you're kind of picturing
I'm like north, east, south, west, like I'm going
in the circle. Yeah. If it's a circular pattern
and we think Another mistake again and I'm circling
back and I'm making those same mistakes again
Take that circular vision and cut a thin strip
and make a spiral exactly like this right now
Hold that tip that's in the center point and
rise it vertically 100 % and so yes, that's that's
what the iterative pattern. That's what you should
be thinking When I made this mistake, I made
it a little bit differently totally and I recognized
it sooner and I turned to the Lord quicker and
the repentance felt sweeter and I moved on I'm
not back to the top where I'm in good graces
with him. I'm Elevated also totally because I
got iteratively better and because it was a red
line that gave us that iterative better pattern.
What a mind blowing talk and like one of those
words, I was like, I honestly, I don't even know
that I had it in my vocabulary. Now that I know
it, I'm like, I've heard Bednar say it, this
guy's saying it, I'm hearing it all over. So
clearly, I've heard it before and I'm like, I
didn't know what it was. So I just kind of like,
my brain's like, you don't know that word, move
past it. Now that I know it and I understand
it, I'm like, he is so amazing because it does
play with the line upon line. Like what I'm expected
to know at a certain age or certain life experiences
is completely different than you know, this version
2 .0, 3 .0, 4 .0 of myself. And when it feels
like he's having to teach me the same lessons
again, he is not in fact teaching me the same
lesson again. He's teaching this version of me
something on a deeper level. I agree. And I also
feel like part of the Abbe too is something that's
beautiful from Heavenly Father because these
certain things, let's say we're learning a lesson
on, for me, health right now, right? Each time
I put the Atonement into practice, each time
I turn to Him and I learn and I obey and I do,
and it keeps going around, there is a very specific
spirit that I feel and it is a spirit that the
next time it comes around, it's a familiar one.
And I remember Number one, I turned to the Lord.
Number two, he delivered me. And number three,
I can do this with him. And sometimes you really
need that because it feels like, shoot, what
if this time is different? You know, sometimes
I just think that like, what if this is different?
The answer is it's not. You can always rely on
him and you're always going to come out on top
like you just do. You know, anyways, those are
the thoughts that I had. But it's so cool when
you when you when you throw it to him or you
team up with him faster than maybe you did the
last time. And then even if the situation's way
worse, it doesn't feel way worse. We've said
that in other ways in this podcast. So I'm like,
he carries it in a different way. It's true.
It makes it lighter. You know, I love line upon
line. I love iteratively better. I love all of
that. Another thing that I love is names of our
savior, Jesus Christ, comforter, brother, redeemer.
He is one of his names is the Great Reconciler.
I love that. And especially when it's capital
like that, it reminds you that it is him and
you can't fail when you partner with him. Thank
you, Abby. In closing, he ends with this. Brothers
and sisters, I invite you to be reconciled to
God through the atonement of Jesus Christ. I
testify that making and keeping covenants makes
our connection to the Savior strong, thereby
avoiding becoming ripe for destruction. I testify
that this reconciliation to God through Jesus
Christ's atonement leads to unshakable faith.
Guys, thanks for being with us. Maybe we'll see
you on Facebook sometime this week. And if not,
we'll catch you next week. Have a good one. See
you next time.