Baptism

Christmas is in 6 more days. Hope all of your shopping is done, or almost done. Be sure to take some time out and enjoy some Christmas music. If you have any good news that you would like to share with us, email it to me at utahgalkelly@roadrunner.com and I’ll post it the news. We would love to hear from you. Your experiences are ours.

Our discussion on Sunday was on Baptism (Chapter 20) given by Marietta Sperry. If don’t have your manual, go and get it and follow along. I’ll wait! … Got it! O.k., here we go, page 107.

The Commandment to Be Baptized:
Why must we be baptized? We believe that the first principle and ordinances of the gospel are first, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, second repentance, third baptism by immersion for the remission of sin and forth, laying on the hand to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. That is the 4th Article of Faith. What is a Gospel principle? It’s a true belief or teaching and an ordinance is a rite or a ceremony. These are the first two principles of the gospel, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and repentance, which we discussed in last week discussion. Baptism is the first ordinances of the gospel while Faith is the first principle. In Matthew 28:19-20, it says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” What is faith? Faith is having a belief in Jesus, that Jesus is the son of God and that he lives; faith in the atonement, in repentance. These are important for us to have before we can be fully baptized.

1) We Must Be Baptized for the Remission of Our Sins. When we have faith in Jesus, repent of our sins and get baptized, our sins are forgiven through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Peter taught that we must repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins (Act 2:38). John the Baptist baptized in the wilderness and preached baptism of repentance for the remission of our sins (Mark 1:4). And Paul on his conversion, Ananias said to him, “Arise, and be baptized, and wash away they sins” (Act 22:16).

2) We Must Be Baptized to Become Members of the Church of Jesus Christ. “All those who humble themselves before God, and desire to be baptized…that…have truly repented of al their sins…shall be received by baptism into his church” (D&C 20:37.

3) We Must Be Baptized before We Can Received the Gift of the Holy Ghost. “If thou wilt turn unto me, and …repent of all they transgressions [sins], and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, …ye shall receive the fit of the Holy Ghost” (Moses 6:52). What is the Holy Ghost? It is peace, protection and our 2nd witness to our belief in Jesus Christ and our Heavenly Father. He guides us and helps to make correct decision and is our constant companion.

4) We Must Be Baptized to Show Obedience. Even though Jesus was without sin, he was baptized because it was necessary for him “to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). In 2 Nephi 31:12-13, Nephi said, “Follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do…with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism”.

5) We Must Be Baptized to Enter the Celestial Kingdom. “Whoso believeth in me, and is baptized…shall inherit the kingdom of God. And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned” (Nephi 11:33-34). Baptism is the only way back to our Heavenly Father; it is the only path to the celestial kingdom. You can find more information on that in 2 Nephi 31:17-18.

The Correct Mode of Baptism:
How should we be baptized?
There is only way proper way to be baptized. A person must have the proper authority to baptize through the proper priesthood and they ‘shall go down into the water with the person who has presented himself or herself for baptism…Then shall he immerse him or her in the water, and come forth again out of the water” (D&C 20:73-74). The immersion is very important. It is the key to the whole process. Paul taught that by being immersed in the water and coming out again is the symbolic of death, burial and resurrection. It is you and I being reborn once again, leaving all our sins in the water. Paul said, “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection” (Romans 6:3-5).

Baptism at the Age of Accountability:
Who should be baptized? Every person who has reached the accountable and responsible age of eight! One must understand his or her actions and know the difference of right and wrong. Little children should not be baptized because they are innocent, “Of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14). Little children are not capable of sinning. We are not born with sin upon us, we learn to sin as we grow up. People who are mentally incapable of knowing right and wrong are also not baptized (Moroni 8:9-22). Everyone one else must be baptized.

We Make Covenants When We Are Baptized:
When we are baptized, we make certain covenants with the Lord. We promise to do certain things and in return for our faithfulness, we are promised with blessing in return. Our Heavenly Father is bound by his word. That is his promise to us. “I am bound if he keep my commandments, but it do not keep my commandments, ye have not promise” D&C 82:10. Love that scripture! We must be willing to help and comfort each other. We must stand as a witness of God at all times and in all things and in all places. We must keep his commandments and serve him and we come into the fold of God. We must study the scriptures. As we do these things, we will be redeemed, we will be remembered in the first resurrection (Mosiah 18:9), we will have eternal life (Mosiah 18:9), we will receive the precious of the Holy Ghost and have that daily guidance and have remission of our sins (Acts 2:38, D&C 20:77 & Mosiah 18:10). Yes, God will forgive us of all of our sins (Acts 2:38; D&C 49:13). Alma taught the people of the gospel saying, “Behold, here are the waters of Mormon…And now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, …what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?” (Mosiah 18: 8, 10).

Baptism Gives Us a New Beginning:
A new beginning! What does that mean? A new begin is a new way of life. This is why it is called a “rebirth”. Cindy Westenkow brought up a good point, she said that we as mothers who have given birth, there is water, blood and a spirit there. The same with us being baptized, there is water, spirit and blood (the atonement). Jesus said, “unless we are born of the water and of the Spirit, we cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:3-5). Adam said, “Inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten” (Moses 6:59).

The Apostle Paul said that after our baptism, we should begin a new life: “We are buried with him by baptism; even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Roman 6:4). One of the greatest thing that baptism brings to us is that it provides us with a fresh start on life, a fresh path leading to our Heavenly Father. And even though we will sin and maybe even lose our way, through the repentance process, we can always find our way back to the path of righteousness, that one way path that leads to our heavenly Father, toward eternal life. Nella McLaughton shared a personal experience that she had when she lost her way. She was baptized when she was eight and later in life, she lost her way and was dis-fellowshipped from the church. She explained that she had to go through court after she had repented of her sins and through fasting and prayer, the court reinstated her back into full fellowshipment of the church. She expressed her feelings of how she felt clean and this heavy burden was lifted off of her shoulders. She felt like she had been reborn again through the waters of baptism even though she didn’t actually get re-baptized. But through the atonement of our Savior Jesus, she could be forgiven of her sins on continue on her way to eternal life. And that’s what it is all about. With out that gift and being baptized we have nothing. That is why everyone must be baptized in order to enter into the kingdom of God.

This discussion really puts everything together from repentance last week to baptism this week. If you have not read it yet, please take the time to do so. Repentance and baptism are very important step for us to take in order for us to return to our Heavenly Father and obtain our eternal life. Please feel free to share your thoughts on Baptism with us. We would love to hear from you. You just might uplift someone who may need to read about your experiences. Next week our discussion is Teaching For Our Times, “Let There Be Light” talk by Elder Quentin L. Cook, taught by Debbie Adams. Please be sure to join us. Until that time, take some time out and read ahead. It’s in the Conference Ensign issue. Enjoy and Merry Christmas. Thanks for reading, until next time…

Kelly