Thinking Celestial - A ”Follow The Prophet” Series Podcast · SLCC Institute of Religion

Ep 189 S7 Kirk Burbidge ‘Be Reconciled to God’ Kelly R. Johnson

·28 min·1 clip

Elder Johnson says people can become "unwilling to change," not unable to change.

1. Thinking Celestial - A “Follow The Prophet” Series Podcast reviews Elder Kelly R. Johnson’s October 2025 General Conference talk, “Be Reconciled to God.” 2. Kirk Burbage hosts the episode and identifies himself as an educator for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a father of six, and a grandfather of one. 3. The episode asks what reconcile means in a gospel setting and answers it by connecting financial accuracy, repentance, and letting God prevail. 4. Burbage introduces Johnson as an accountant and former forensic accountant, then uses that background to frame reconciliation as a matter of alignment. 5. He quotes the invitation to "draw near unto me, and I will draw near unto you" and links it to agency. 6. He says reconciliation starts when a person chooses to stop distancing from Heavenly Father through prayer and commandments. 7. He reads a definition of reconcile that includes restoring friendly relations, making ideas consistent, and aligning financial records. 8. He compares that definition to discipleship by saying the "numbers in our column" do not equal what God foresees for us. 9. He uses a laser-pointer classroom example to illustrate how hard it is to align two things precisely. 10. He says that "letting God prevail" means allowing God’s will to become our will, even when we do not fully understand it. 11. Burbage quotes a mission president who told him, "You are nothing without the Lord," and uses that memory to argue for humility. 12. He brings in Enos, saying Enos felt something missing, prayed "all the day long," and learned that his guilt was "swept away." 13. He highlights Enos’s question, "Lord, how is it done?" and the answer that it happened "because of thy faith in Christ." 14. He says reconciliation brings relief from guilt, peace with ourselves and others, softer hearts, and increased confidence from God. 15. He discusses the cherry-tree analogy and says disobedience, doubts, and fears can weaken a connection. 16. He distinguishes doubts from questions and says questions can coexist with faith while trauma and disappointment can still be real. 17. He turns to Doctrine and Covenants 20 and says the church’s baptismal order shows how justification and sanctification relate to reconciliation. 18. He summarizes Elder Johnson’s cycle: desire to be reconciled leads to repentance, repentance leads to the blessings of the Atonement, and unshaken faith leads back to reconciliation. 19. The tone is personal, devotional, and heavily extemporaneous, with repeated readings from scripture and many autobiographical asides. 20. Listeners who like Latter-day Saint scripture study and repentance themes will get the most from it. 21. Listeners looking for a short, tightly edited interview will probably skip it.

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