Conversion: One Stretch at a Time

There I sat, listening intently to a lecture, minding my own business, when I noticed the cracks in the sole of my shoe. These are new shoes! I thought. Well, kind of new. Ok, maybe not that new. How long had it been? I don’t know. But I remember they were pretty stiff when I got them. I bought the same kind of shoes I’d had before because I knew they were comfortable and durable. (What can I say? I like what works.) I’d forgotten that they had needed to be broken in before they really became comfortable. The stiffness bothered me at first, but at some point I stopped thinking about it and the shoes just worked.

The lecture was interesting (I think) yet I found myself wondering at what point my shoes had made that transition from stiff to comfortable. I couldn’t say. It probably doesn’t matter. Likely the shoes were not stiff one day and comfortable the next. It took time. However, my cracked sole got me thinking about my SOUL (that’s s-o-u-l, not s-o-l-e). More precisely, I thought about spiritual conversion. It’s a weird transition, but go with me on this.

Can you point to the day when you were 100% converted to the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ? You can probably think of pivotal experiences or insights you’ve had, but can you identify at what point you actually transitioned from un-converted to converted? By conversion I don’t mean just a realization that the Church is true. I mean conversion in the sense that your whole being has changed to become more like the Savior. In my case, I can’t point to a time when that transition occurred. It’s sort of like how I broke in my shoes: it happened over time as I kept walking, kept stretching the (probably faux) leather. Gradually the Spirit worked upon my soul and the fit became truer. 

Of course the Spirit is still working on me, and I continue to become more deeply converted by acting on the things I know to be true. I don’t think that’s a process that will ever end in this life. But isn’t it interesting how we can look back and see our progress over time, yet in the moment (across the many moments) conversion is nearly imperceptible? 

If you’re concerned about cracks in your soul, maybe it’s worth looking back on your journey. Fish out that old set of scriptures where you wrote in the margins. Re-read some journal entries from spiritual events in your life like a baptism, a temple trip, or the night before you entered the mission field. Pray and ask Heavenly Father to help you see how far you’ve come. I bet your spiritual soles are more comfortable than you realize.