Hi, friends! I was asked to give a talk in church today about baptism. I know most of you aren't members of the same church that I am, but I thought I'd share it with you anyway because you're my friends and I thought you may enjoy it. :) Love you all! :) Sarah :)
Good morning, brothers and
sisters. Today I am talking to you about baptism. What an important topic this
is. I hope that the spirit whispers to you the things you need to hear, and I
hope that you walk away with a greater knowledge about baptism. What I learned
by writing this talk is that baptism isn’t something we do once and are done
with, but it’s a covenant that should act as a changing agent in our lives
forever. Each and every day.
I want you to close your eyes
and remember the day of your baptism. Remember getting dressed in white.
Remember the loving eyes that watched you and the many friends that were there
for you. Remember the warm feelings you had as you entered the water, as the
prayer was said, the songs were sung, and the hugs of congratulations were
given. Remember the quiet whisper in your heart that said you were doing the
right thing, the hugs from angels around you who were welcoming you into God’s
kingdom on earth.
I remember my baptism like it
was yesterday. I was so excited to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints that I requested to be baptized on my eighth birthday, which
for those who may not know is the soonest you can be baptized in the church,
for age eight is what the Lord has revealed is “the age of accountablility,”
where a child can knowingly make the choice to be baptized. I remember singing
“I’m trying to be like Jesus” in my little white dress for everyone who came,
the love everyone showed that day, the joy everyone felt. The famous quote in my
family from my baptism was what I said to my mother after getting confirmed
with the gift of the Holy Ghost. “Mom, I feel so warm inside,” I said, “like I
just got out of the dryer.” I cherish that feeling that I was able to recognize
back then, and even now I feel that same feeling when I recognize the Holy
Ghost touching my heart.
Why is it so important to be
baptized?
Elder Bednar, of the quorum
of the 12 apostles, said this:
“The purpose of our mortal
journey is not merely to see the sights on earth or expand our allotment of
time on self-centered pursuits; rather, we are to “walk in newness of life,” to
become sanctified by yielding our hearts unto God, and to obtain “the mind of
Christ.” We are commanded and instructed to so live that our fallen nature is
changed through the sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost.”
We are here to become more
like our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I love how he says we are to obtain
“the mind of Christ.” We want to think like Christ, talk like Christ, act like
Christ, love like Christ. We are here to learn and grow so that we can become
more like Him and someday live with Him again with our families.
Baptism is the gate by which
that happens.
Jesus said to Nicodemus:
“except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom
of God.” John 3:5
Jesus and Nicodemus had this
neat conversation about what it means to be born again, and this scripture I
just read is Christ’s answer. Baptism
is how we are born again. We make a promise from that point forward to obey
God’s commandments and take upon ourselves the name of Christ. This is an every
day commitment; the start of a new life.
Elder Hales, of the quorum of
the 12 apostles, said,
Entering into the kingdom of God is so
important that Jesus was baptized to show us “the
straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the gate, by which [we] should
enter” (2 Ne. 31:9).
“Notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that,
according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth
unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments”
(2 Ne. 31:7).
Wow. Can you imagine how John the Baptist must
have felt, when Jesus asked him to baptize him? This perfect, Holy person,
being baptized? What? Why? Jesus didn’t need a remission of sins! But he did it
anyway. He did it to be obedient to the Father and to be an example to us.
Elder Hales goes on: “Jesus was baptized to
fulfill His Father’s commandment that sons and daughters of God should be
baptized. He set the example for all of us to humble ourselves before our
Heavenly Father. We are all welcome to come into the waters of baptism. He was
baptized to witness to His Father that He would be obedient in keeping His
commandments. He was baptized to show us that we should receive the gift of the
Holy Ghost (see 2 Ne. 31:4–9).
“He was baptized to show us that we should receive the gift
of the Holy Ghost….” Interesting…
So that tells me that baptism is not the means to an end, rather it is a
beginning that should affect us every day of our lives! It is the gate by which
we receive the Holy Ghost, the gate by which we enter into the Kingdom of God
on the earth.
Elder Hales calls this
becoming “citizens in the Kingdom of God.”
We talk about being citizens of
our nation. That means following laws, being responsible, taking care of the
earth, each other, reading the constitution, voting, etc. What does it mean to
be a citizen in the Kingdom of God?
What covenants do we make when we are baptized? What do we need to do?
In Mosiah chapter 18, Alma is
preparing his people to be baptized and explains in a beautiful way the
covenants that we make and some blessings that come from it:
8 And it came to pass
that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were
they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of
God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s
burdens, that they may be light;
9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that
stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things,
and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed
of God, and be numbered with those of the first
resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—
10 Now I say unto you,
if this be the desire of your hearts, 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?
It makes it so simple,
doesn’t it? I can almost hear him saying- hey- if you want to serve the Lord,
and be more like Christ, then why not
get baptized? You can have eternal life, and His Spirit will be with you all
the time? I’m not seeing any downsides to this one. All he asks of us is to try
to be like Him, to stand as a witness of Him. He asks us to take upon ourselves
his name and serve each other. Be there for each other. “Mourn with those that
mourn, comfort those that stand in need of comfort. Stand as a witness of God
at all times and in all things and in all places.” He wants us to do our best
to obey Him and be more like Him. Then, he will give us this marvelous gift of
having His spirit to be our constant companion, to help us through the journey
of eternal life, back to Him, with our families. Isn’t that amazing?
The other amazing thing about
baptism is that it gives us a remission of sins. No one except Christ is
perfect. No one stands as a witness at ALL times, in ALL things, and in ALL
places. Sometimes, we make mistakes, and the Lord has provided a way for that,
too!! He’s given us a way, through the atonement, that we can have our slates
wiped clean. One of my favorite gospel resources, True to the faith, says: Immersion is
symbolic of the death of a person’s sinful life and the rebirth into a
spiritual life, dedicated to the service of God and His children. It is also
symbolic of death and resurrection. (See Romans 6:3–6.)
I absolutely love this. When we go down in the water, it
symbolizes our sins dying. And when we come up, we are made clean. “though your
sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow,” as Isaiah says.
Another thing I remember about my baptism is how worried I was
that I would make a single mistake after I was made clean. I tried so hard not
to make a single mistake, because gosh darnit, my little eight year old self
was determined I would not make another mistake again for the rest of my life.
What I didn’t understand back then, was the beauty of repentance, the mercy of
God, and the sacrament, and the renewal of these covenants.
I’m going to read the sacrament prayers to you. As you listen, I
want you to think about these prayers in the context of baptism, and what you
have covenanted to do, and what blessings we will have in return. It’s just
beautiful. Listen:
77 O God, theThe
Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and
sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake
of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father,
that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always
remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may
always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.
79 O God, the Eternal
Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify
this wine to the souls of all those who drink of
it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed
for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they
do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.
We promise each week, in
renewal of our baptism covenants, to take upon ourselves His name. To always
remember Him and keep his commandments. In return, He will have His spirit to
be with us. Also, each week when we renew our baptismal covenant, we can, if we
take it serisouly, repent and be completely clean again!
One of my favorite primary
songs puts it so simply: “I know when I am baptized, my wrongs are washed away.
And I can be forgiven and improve myself each day. I want my life to be as
clean as earth right after rain. I want to be the best I can. And live with God
again.
It is my prayer that we will
think often not only of the blessings of baptism, but realize the call to
obedience that we have all been given because of it. Remember this beautiful
covenant that can change our lives forever.
I am thankful to be baptized
as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am thankful
to have the knowledge that I am a daughter of a loving Heavenly Father. I’m
thankful for scriptures and prophets. I’m thankful that I can repent of my sins
and be forgiven because of the loving sacrifice of our prefect Savior, Jesus
Christ. I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for the opportunity, through
the gospel, to be forever families in heaven. I am thankful to have this
wonderful community of people on whom I can rely and be friends with, you guys
mean the world to me. And I know I have all of you in my life because of Him.
I’m thankful that I can teach my daughter that she is a beautiful daughter of
God. I’m thankful that I get to teach her about Christ, and how to be a good
person. I’m thankful that she gets to sing primary songs and learn beautiful
principles of the gospel throughout her life. She won’t have to wonder her
purpose in life, why she’s here, where she’s going, because of the Gospel. She
won’t have to live in fear of sin because she can have faith in the Lord, Jesus
Christ. Because of His atonement. Because of His Gospel. Because of Him. Every
blessing I have in my life is because of Him. I know that. And I will try to
spend every day of my life thanking Him, trying to be more like Him, and
teaching my children the same. I testify of that, in the name of Jesus Christ,
amen.
