BYU Education Week: The process of becoming like Christ through change

PROVO, Utah — Is there a formula to convert or change people?

That’s the question that Gregory Johnson, a principal with Seminaries and Institutes of Religion, asked listeners at Brigham Young University’s Education Week 2023. Listeners proposed elements for the formula, like desire, a change of heart, faith and a personal encounter with the divine.

These pieces, said Johnson, “play a big part, but maybe bigger with some and not as big with others. But Christ has to be a part of every conversion. ... Jesus is the formula.”

On Thursday, Aug. 24, among the classes of Education Week, Johnson taught a lecture called “Conversion: The Process of Becoming Like Christ.”

Gregory Johnson at the front of a lecture hall, standing next to a presentation slide with an image of the Savior and the words “Convert ... to change — 3 Nephi 28:23.”