Stephen Robinson illustrates the ongoing process and challenges entailed in the mighty change:
From the moment of their conversion (or reconversion), the people of Benjamin changed their orientation and wanted righteousness rather than wickedness. It became their one goal. But that does not mean they achieved their goal instantaneously! It does not mean they never had another carnal thought or that they never subsequently lost any struggle against their carnal natures. At that moment, filled with the Spirit and clearly seeing the two paths before them, the people of Benjamin lost all desire to follow the path of evil. I feel the same way when I feel the Spirit, but I do not always feel the Spirit. And as with Moses, when the epiphany (divine appearance) is over, Satan sometimes takes his best shot (Moses 1:9–12). Therefore we must recharge our spiritual batteries regularly.
Great spiritual damage can be done by teaching the Saints that “the mighty change” means once truly converted we are never again tempted to sin. For if the Saints believe that the truly converted are never subsequently tempted, then when they are tempted—and they will be—they will conclude they are not really converted. However, being truly converted does not end the tests of mortality, for we will continue to be tested and tempted as long as we are in the flesh. Even as covenant members of the church of Jesus Christ, we will continue to be subject to the carnal impulses and other weaknesses that are a consequence of the Fall.
Since my own conversion, if at any time an angel had somehow presented me with two options and said, “Push button A and you will never sin again; push button B and you will,” I’d have pushed button A—without hesitation and hard enough to break my thumb! Imperfect as I am, since my conversion I in fact “have no more disposition to do evil but to do good continually,” and most of us feel that way. It’s just that we have difficulty overcoming our carnal natures and the effects of the Fall at all times in order to act according to our predisposition. That our disposition is good is proven by the fact that when we occasionally act otherwise, we feel bad about it, repent, and return to our previous heading toward righteousness. Like a compass needle that may swing this way or that but always comes again to point north, so are the believers who may make this or that temporary misstep but always correct their course and return to their original heading. That is a clear disposition to do good. “The mighty change” is a change of heart, a change of desires, and a change of disposition concerning our goals. It is not a complete victory over the Fall or over our carnal natures all at once. (Following Christ: The Parable of the Divers and More Good News [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1995], 41–42)