Your Baptism

What baptism means:

Once you have accepted the missionaries’ invitation to be baptized and become a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, you can begin to prepare yourself spiritually for your baptismal service.  Mormons practice baptism by immersion for the remission (or removal) of sins.  Baptism is a symbol of your covenant, or promise, with Jesus that you will take His name upon you and keep His commandments in return for which, He will forgive you of your sins and bring you back to live in Heaven with Him.A Book of Mormon prophet named Alma taught us about what baptism means. 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;  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– 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? (Mosiah 18:8-10, pg 181)

This is known as the baptismal covenant.  When we are baptized we covenant to

Because only a person old enough to understand this commitment can enter into this covenant, Mormons do not baptize little children.  A child is not baptized until he or she reaches at least the age of eight, called the age of accountability.  Children under the age of eight are saved by Jesus Christ’s Atonement.  God in turn promises that those who keep their baptismal covenants will

How do I prepare for baptism?

How Do I Prepare for Mormon Baptism?

The fourth Article of Faith says:

We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

This teaches us the basic steps we must follow in making Jesus Christ’s sacrifice active in our life.  Mormons believe that baptism represents the gate to Eternal Life and these four steps represent the foundation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Faith

First, search your heart in personal study and prayer so that you will be sure you have faith in Jesus Christ.  Faith is more than believing Jesus exists, it means believing Him when He says that you will be forgiven of your sins and saved in His Kingdom.  Another Book of Mormon prophet, also named Alma, taught us how to develop faith (see Alma 32:18-43, pgs 289-291).  We begin by being humble and teachable.  If we are arrogant, the Spirit of God cannot work within us.  Second, we desire to believe.  Alma compares this to planting a seed and watering it.  We plant the seed by desiring to believe in Jesus Christ and in the Book of Mormon, which teaches of Him.  We nurture the seed through prayer, scripture study, service to others, and keeping the commandments.  As we do this, the Holy Sprit will enter our hearts and we will know that what we are studying and doing is true.  Mormons often refer to this as a testimony.  If we do not experiment with our faith by keeping the commandments, praying, and attending church, the Spirit will not tell us whether the scriptures are true.

Repentance

Once we begin to develop faith in Jesus Christ, we will realize that many things in our life might be out of harmony with His teachings.  This leads us to repentance.  Repentance is a wonderful gift from a loving Father in Heaven.  Through repentance we can overcome weaknesses and move beyond mistakes we have made in the past.

To repent we must acknowledge our mistakes and weaknesses.  We must take responsibility for our own actions and recognize that what we have done has hurt others and offended God.  Second, we must forsake the sin.  This means we must stop doing it and never return to it again.  We must, if possible, make restitution.  This means that if we stole something, we should return it or pay the person for what we took.  If we lied or hurt someone’s feelings, we must apologize.  Restitution is not always possible, but we must always apologize and ask for forgiveness from those we offended or hurt.  God is able to heal all wounds and when we trust in Him, we can be forgiven.  Finally, we must ask for forgiveness from God through prayer.  If the sin is very serious, like sexual activity outside of marriage, we should also talk to our bishop to receive counseling and advice from him.  God has commanded us to confess our serious sins to the bishop as part of our repentance.

When we have done this, we have this promise from God:

Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more. By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins–behold, he will confess them and forsake them (Doctrine and Covenants 58:42-43, pg 106).

When we have sincerely repented, we have God’s promise, and God cannot lie, that we are forgiven.  To become clean from all our sins and become a new creature in Christ, we must follow repentance with baptism.  However, as everyone continues to make mistakes, we must repent throughout our lives and continually turn towards God for strength and forgiveness.  Through the sacrament, which Mormons partake of every Sunday, we renew the covenants made at baptism and thus renew the cleansing of the Holy Spirit.

Baptism by water for the remission of sins

Once you have begun to develop faith in Jesus Christ and have repented of your sins, you are prepared to be baptized.  At baptism you will commit to follow Jesus Christ for the rest of your life and to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as the Mormon Church is officially known.

Baptismal services in the Mormon Church can be held on any day, but are typically held either Saturday night, especially when eight-year-old children are being baptized, or on Sunday.  Your baptismal service will likely be on Sunday.  You can plan the service with the missionaries and invite whomever you wish.  This will be a great time to share the message of the Gospel with friends and family.  The Spirit of God is powerful at baptismal services, so you should invite family members and friends to attend and share this important step in your life with them.  Many who might not accept an invitation to church or to meet with missionaries will come to your baptism, since it is something personal for you.  Plan ahead and invite as many people as you like.

You can select any worthy priesthood holder to baptize you.  Many new members like to have one of the missionaries baptize them, or a friend from Church who holds the priesthood.  The missionaries can help you pick someone who is eligible.  Priesthood, or God’s authority to act in His name, is essential to perform ordinances like baptism.  Without it, the ordinance is not valid.  You also need to choose two witnesses, who also hold the priesthood, to certify that the ordinance is done properly.

The baptismal service itself is simple and brief.  There will be prayers and singing.  You can either ask some of your new friends in the Church to pray, or let the missionaries choose.  Many people like to have the congregation sing their favorite hymn.  You can also select someone to share a short message about the importance of baptism and the gospel of Jesus Christ.  After this you will change into white clothes to symbolize purity and innocence and enter the baptismal font.

The baptism will begin when you and the person who will baptize you enter the font.  He will hold your arms with his left hand and hold his right arm up while he says the baptismal prayer.  The prayer is the same for everyone who gets baptized.  You and he will close your eyes as he says:

Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, amen.

He will then assist you as you lower yourself under the water.  You can use your hands to plug your nose.  Because baptism symbolizes the death, burial and resurrection of our Savior, you must go completely under the water.  If you do not, the baptism will be repeated.  After you come out of the water, you can change back into your regular clothes.

Baptism by Fire and the Holy Ghost

John the Baptist said,

“I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire” (Matthew 3:11).

After baptism by water, we must be baptized by the Holy Ghost.  Modern prophets have taught us that this second baptism is an essential part of being baptized and entering a covenant with Jesus.  It is through this baptism of the Holy Ghost that you will be cleansed of your sins.  In the Mormon Church, this ordinance is called confirmation and it typically occurs in the Sunday services in the week following your baptism or “at the water’s edge.” This entails confirmation right after the baptism.

You must select someone to confirm you, and he must hold the Melchizedek priesthood.  In confirmation, also called the laying on of hands, a priesthood holder will lay his hands upon your head and bless you.  This blessing is similar to a prayer.  He will call you by name and through the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, he will confirm you a member of the Mormon Church and give the gift of the Holy Ghost, which means the right to have the Holy Spirit with you as a constant companion.  Finally, he will pronounce blessings and promises as the Spirit inspires him and will close in the name of Jesus Christ.  Once this is done, you are a member of Christ’s Church here on earth.

Changing Hearts and Habits

Repentance is one of the greatest gifts that God has given to mankind.  Through the repentance process, hearts can be made whole, relationships can be healed, and you can find peace for your heart and soul.  True repentance brings peace, joy, and the knowledge that you are approved of God.  Sometimes, repentance is easy, but sometimes it can be a great struggle.  What matters is the sincerity of your heart and your willingness to put right what went wrong and to change.

We repent as we grow in faith.  The more we learn about God, the more we will want to improve our lives.  The Apostle Paul said:

Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.  For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.  For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. (2 Corinthians 7:9-11)

Paul mentions “godly sorrow” which brings us to repentance.  This can come as we learn that certain things in our life are out of harmony with God’s will and commandments.  The Spirit of God will rest upon you and help you realize what things you need to change, but for serious sin, the Holy Ghost is but a temporary visitor until repentance is complete and the body becomes a purified tabernacle for the Spirit.

Godly sorrow means that we know we have done wrong and know we have offended God.  Perhaps we lied to a loved one, or stole something from a store.  Perhaps we have committed sexual sins.  Whatever it is, godly sorrow will prod us to change our thoughts and habits.  Note that Paul says how godly sorrow brings carefulness, clearing of ourselves, desire, zeal, and so forth.  This means we must stop doing whatever sin we have been committing.  We must, if possible, fix the wrong we have done.  If we stole, we should return what we stole; if we lied, we should apologize and tell the truth.  Sometimes we cannot easily make up for actions.  In those circumstances we should do all we can.  We should apologize to whoever might have been hurt, and commit not to do it again.  We should also ask forgiveness of whomever we have hurt.  Finally, we must pray to God and ask Him to forgive us.  The basic steps of repentance can be summarized as follows:

• Recognition: First we must recognize that we have done something wrong
• Godly Sorrow: We must feel sorrow that our actions have hurt others and offended God
• Confession:  We must confess our sins to God, to those we have offended, and to our Bishop if it is very serious
• Restitution: We must try to make up for what we have done
• Seek forgiveness: We must ask forgiveness of those we have hurt or offended and from God
• Renounce:  We must never do it again.

The Doctrine and Covenants, which contains revelations from God to modern day prophets, teaches us that, “By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins–behold, he will confess them and forsake them” (Doctrine and Covenants 58:43).  This is one of the most important steps, for if we continue to commit the sin, then we have not really repented.  Through repentance, we come to know our weaknesses and our strengths.  For most people this is a very difficult process of self-discovery and finding faith in God.  We must trust that as we do our best, God’s grace will make up for our weakness.  In the Book of Mormon, one prophet prayed about his own weaknesses and received these words from God:

If men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them (Ether 12:27).

By coming unto Jesus Christ and putting our faith in Him by trusting Him and fulfilling His commandments, our weaknesses will be made strong through His grace and we will be forgiven of all sins we have committed.

Repentance brings great joy into our lives and permits us to walk with our heads held high rejoicing in the mercy God has shown us.  True repentance will fill our soul with compassion and love for others and a desire to help them, just as we have been helped by God.

Sometimes, though, we struggle with certain addictions or destructive habits that are difficult if not impossible to overcome on our own.  Our Heavenly Father wants us to be pure and clean, but he also knows that we are sometimes weak.  Things like drug addiction, alcoholism, sex or pornography addiction, same-sex attraction, dependency on coffee, tea, or cigarettes are all harmful not only to our bodies, but also to our spirits, because they block the Spirit of God and numb our feelings.  The following list includes some organizations and methods for helping to overcome these addictions and temptations.  Remember, you should not feel guilty for being tempted, for everyone is tempted by something.  What matters is how you act.  God knows your heart and your desires and hopes the best for you.  Jesus Christ suffered all things that he might know how to succor and help those who are tempted, for Jesus too was tempted, but because he was the Son of God, he never gave in to temptation.  Remember that your closest and best friend in these trials is Jesus Christ, but you can also seek help from counselors, church leaders, friends, and family members.

Organization and Sites with help in overcoming some destructive habits and sins:

Official Mormon Church sites:
Provident Living: guides on budgeting, physical health, job training, etc.
LDS Family Services: A Mormon Church-run social service with counseling, adoption, and addiction recovery resources.
LDS Addiction Recovery Program, The Mormon Church runs this addiction recovery program which covers everything from alcohol, pornography, to gambling.

Tobacco:
How to Quit Smoking, from the Center for Disease Control
Smoke Free, from the U.S. Government
Nicotine Anonymous, a 12 Step program for overcome nicotine addiction

Alcohol:
Alcoholics Anonymous, the website for the oldest 12 step program.
The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; links to agencies and programs that can help with Alcoholism.

Pornography/Sex Addiction/Homosexual Attraction:
Evergreen International, a Mormon-themed organization for overcoming same-sex attraction
Latter-day Sexual Recovery, a Mormon-themed site devoted to helping with all kinds of sexual addictions from a Mormon perspective
Life STAR Network, a site for helping with sexual addiction and pornography addiction
Latter-day Saint Support Center, for all sexual addictions, pornography addictions, and unwanted same-sex attraction.
Exodus International, a Christian-based organization for helping persons overcome unwanted homosexual attractions.
No-Porn, a site that has been helping with pornography addiction since 1997

Drugs:
Narcotics Anonymous, a 12 step program for drug addiction, both illegal and prescription
Sober Recovery, a resource guide to various treatment facilities.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Gambling:
Gamblers Anonymous, a 12 step program for overcoming gambling addiction
Intervention Center, a resource for overcoming computer addictions, gambling, and other destructive addictions

Coffee/Tea:
Teeccino, selling a substitute for coffee
How to Quit Caffeine, from Wikihow