If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it’s that conversion doesn’t happen in an instant. It’s not a fleeting spark that ignites a perfect flame, but rather an ember that burns over time, fed by God’s patience and by the sincere desire of a soul seeking to heal, understand, and love. Today, I want to write from the depths of my heart about a truth that has accompanied me during the hardest moments of my life: God works slowly—not because He cannot act quickly, but because true restoration takes time.
When I read Rachel Cope’s words in the book The Slow Work of God, I felt as if someone had opened a window to my soul: “The Doctrine and Covenants shows us how fractured relationships—human and divine—are slowly restored…” I’ve seen that restoration in my own life. I’ve felt that faith is not imposed, it is cultivated. I’ve discovered that resentment doesn’t disappear by decree—it is transformed through grace.
I wasn’t always a patient man. In my youth, I expected life to reward me immediately for every prayer, every effort. I believed forgiveness should be automatic, that testimony would strike like lightning. But it wasn’t that way. Answers came in silence, in pauses, with doubts. I realized the Lord works through time because He is not only interested in healing what is broken—He is interested in teaching us how to heal with Him.
Many of us carry wounds from the past: betrayals, silence, distances that hurt more than shouts. In my case, there were friendships that broke due to pride, family members who drifted away over misunderstandings, and choices I didn’t know how to make right. Yet the Lord has shown me that just as He doesn’t give up on me, I shouldn’t give up on others.
One of the reasons I love the Doctrine and Covenants is because it shows us a very human Joseph Smith—fallible and growing. The revelations didn’t all come at once. Many were corrections, adjustments, even rebukes. In D&C 3, the Lord rebukes him for losing the 116 manuscript pages. Yet instead of discarding him, He gives him another chance.
Rachel Cope speaks of how the Doctrine and Covenants teaches us “the spiritual life of a visionary in development.” I would say we are all visionaries in development. We’re all seeing only fragments of the divine. No one has the full picture. But as we move forward, the Spirit expands our vision.
One of the great challenges of our generation is that we live in a rush. Everything is immediate—messages, answers, results. But heaven’s rhythm is different. Heaven doesn’t work by stopwatches, but by conversions.
The Doctrine and Covenants is not just a personal record. It’s a communal guide. It invites us to restore not only our own souls, but our families, neighborhoods, and communities. Every section echoes a God who wants us to build relationships based on love, trust, and repentance.
One of the most misunderstood gifts of the gospel is repentance. It’s not a punishment. It’s an invitation. It is the language of restoration. Every time I kneel and confess my weakness, I’m not going backward—I’m moving forward.
Again and again, I have seen promises slowly fulfilled. A patriarchal blessing that seemed dormant. A relationship I thought was dead. A wound that hadn’t healed in years. But as Rachel says, “conversion is a continuous journey.” God’s promises do not expire. They simply mature.
Today, after many years walking with the Lord, I can say without doubt that the slow work of God is also His deepest work. There are no shortcuts to transformation. No express routes to redemption. But there are outstretched hands, whispers of the Spirit, and revelations that guide us step by step.
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