Do infants need baptism?

Because I have been raised in the gospel, the question seems ludicrous to me.  Modern scripture from the Book of Mormon makes it clear as a bell that little children need no baptism.  Christ said, “. . . I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance; the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore, little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin. . . “   

I went to the Topical Guide in my scriptures to see what the Bible has to say about baptism.  There are references to baptism throughout the Bible.  Most of them speak of coming unto Jesus and being baptized.  Most of them take the logical leap that the candidate for baptism has acquired the skill to reason and make choices.  Small children have not reached that point.  So it is a logical thing to me that they (small children) should not be baptized. 

Study of this topic gives me great gratitude for the sacrifices made by many prophets and apostles so I could have access to God’s word via other scripture.  I wonder what my opinions would be if I had no knowledge of modern scripture at all. 

So my thoughts for this day will be turned to my gratitude for the many things I know because of latter-day prophets who have revealed truths lost from the original writings.  I will quote the 8^th Article of Faith:  “We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly.  We also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.”  The 9^th Article of Faith goes hand-in-hand with the 8^th:  “We believe all that God has revealed (Bible) all that he does now reveal (Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price), and we believe that he will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.” 

Many miracles happened to translate the Bible into English.  It is obvious from studying this, that the Lord had his hands in these miracles.  I am grateful to so many for these miracles.  I’m also grateful for the chance I have to own a copy of it and the Book of Mormon, that I can make it a daily habit to study them and draw closer to my Heavenly Father.

Why does God allow evil and suffering to occur?

My assignment this morning was to answer this question from the Book of Mormon.  2 Nephi 2 has always been one of my favorite chapters.  It is the chapter that explains the purpose of Adam and Eve having the option to choose to live in the Garden of Eden forever or to move on with their lives and have experiences.  By moving on, they were also given mortal lives and the opportunity to choose good over evil and to find joy or misery according to their choices.  This chapter also explains quite clearly “the plan” for those who make poor choices and desire to change.  There was a Redeemer, even Jesus Christ, who made intercession for all of those who would believe in him (v9). 

It is important that we experience opposition in this life (v11).  Had we never experiences bad, how could we know to appreciate the good?  This is very pertinent to me today as I just passed my 44^th anniversary of my first marriage – a miserable choice with serious consequences indeed.  There is never a day pass that I don’t thank my Heavenly Father for the opportunity to correct that mistake and live a life more in keeping with His plan for me.  I pondered this morning where I would be had the Atonement not been in place for me.  I shutter to think. 

With the current events in the world today, one wonders why there are so many innocent people who are required to suffer.  The senseless shooting spree last week that caused the death of 20 small children and six adults at the hands of a mentally ill young man in Connecticut last week is just one of many.  Why? We ask.  The Lord answers that very clearly in Alma 14:9-11 when Alma and Amulek are required to watch the slaughters of many righteous people because they chose to believe in the message they gave them.  They would not deny their testimonies and were burned to death.  Those killed were taken back to Heavenly Father.  Their blood stands as a witness against those who killed them.  The Lord allows this kind of suffering so that His judgments “may be just” (v11). 

Alma 60:13 puts it this way: “For the Lord suffereth the righteous to be slain that his justice and judgment may come upon the wicked; therefore ye need not suppose that the righteous are lost because they are slain; but behold, they do enter into the rest of the Lord their God.”  To the believer, this verse brings a great deal of comfort. 

So how would I comfort someone reeling in the senseless death of a righteous loved one?  If the pain were fresh, all I could do at the moment would be to love and comfort them.  Somehow, I would try to explain the Lord has a plan for each of His children and we need to have faith in that plan.  It would be a difficult place to be, but we need to be able to turn to these answers quickly when necessary.  So I guess my order of the day is to ponder these verses, memorize where they are so I can find them quickly and be grateful – ever so grateful, that I know these things are true.  

The Purpose of Life

My assignment this morning comes from Preach My Gospel and I am asked:  What is the purpose of life?

Alma 34:10 stopped me.  It says: For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea, not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl; for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and eternal sacrifice.

Expedient – wise, good thing

Great and last sacrifice – there will be no other.  Christ was sacrificed for our sins, but he was really a human sacrifice.  What exactly is being said here?  Could it be that we sacrifice ourselves?  It is what we put on the altar – those sins we cling to we must sacrifice. 

Infinite – never ending.  As we sin daily, we must sacrifice these sins for eternal life.

Eternal – forever

Why did this stop me in my tracks?  Christ’s atonement is the “great and last sacrifice”.  (v14)  It will bring salvation to all who believe on his name (v15).  What is salvation?  It is eternal life.  He sacrificed his life for us.  For some reason, my mind slipped into the fact my daughter is making a great sacrifice to bring her baby into the world.  This baby will call her ‘mother’.  She will have delivered this baby.  Christ has delivered us as well.  He made the ultimate sacrifice of his life so that we might have eternal life, and he is the father of our spirits.  He created us. 

So what is our purpose in this life?  We are here to prepare to meet God (v32).  To perform our labors.  What are our labors?  Our labors are to grow in the gospel, to raise righteous families and to help others.  Interesting to me that the Relief Society purpose is exactly that. 

We are to improve our time while in this life.  What does that look like?  We are required to learn all we can while on this earthly existence. 

We are to work our out salvation before God and not deny the coming of Christ.  We are not to contend with the Holy Ghost, but receive it.  We are to take upon us the name of Christ, aka we ARE Christians.  We are to be humble, worship God at all times, be thankful daily for the many mercies and blessings that he doth bestow (v38).  Pray continually to be led away from temptation.  Be patient and bear afflictions.  Have hope that one day we will rest from all our afflictions.  And I would say these are my marching orders today and every day.

What do I know?

I finished reading The Book of Mormon today – Moroni Chapter 10.  As soon as I began to read the first verse, a feeling of gratitude, sadness and awe filled my soul.  It is hard to pray for a witness of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon when you already have been given that witness numerous times.  But I do so out of obedience.  I know the Book of Mormon is filled with truth and living in accordance with the principles of the gospel therein, we will find joy in our lives.  That doesn’t mean there won’t be sorrows, trials and heartache, but they are swallowed up in the knowledge we have of our Savior.  As we read the Book of Mormon, we can know of His love for us.  We will understand more fully the tremendous price He paid so we might know of our Heavenly Father and be able to return to them when we leave this earthly existence.

Chapter 10 teaches us some valuable things.  I think I want to make a bullet list:

• We must ponder and pray. (v3)
• We must ask Heavenly Father for this confirmation of truth. (v3)
• By the power of the Holy Ghost we can know the truth of all things. (v4)
• If it’s good, it comes from Christ. (v6 & v18)
• We have been given gifts. (v8)
• Our gifts are for the profit of all and come from Christ. (v8)
• God is the same yesterday, today and forever. (v19)
• There must be faith, hope and charity. (v20)
• Charity is the greatest gift of all. (v21)
• Despair comes because of iniquity. (v22)
• If we have faith we can do all things the Lord asks of us. (v23)
• If we lose our gifts, it is because we lost our faith. (v24)
• We will see Moroni at the judgment day. (v27)
• I can be perfected in Christ. (v32)
• We can believe in the uniting of our spirit and body. (v34)

I know these are truths.  I know God lives and loves each of us.  I know he is involved in the details of our lives.  I know I will see Him again.  I know for some reason I have been abundantly blessed with this knowledge and that I need to find ways to share it with others.  That is the hard part.  If I have anyone who reads my blog, I pray you will have the courage to read the Book of Mormon and watch it change your life for good as you apply its teachings in your life.  You too will know of its truth and be on a path that will leave you in awe at how carefully it has been crafted just for you.

Who's On the Lord's Side?

A post from two day's of reading:

This morning I read the last letter Moroni received from his father.  Given the events of yesterday, it hit my heart with such sorrow.  Are we as depraved a nation as were the Lamanites and Nephites at this time in history?  Sometimes I wonder.  To my knowledge we haven’t resorted to cannibalism.  And I believe there are some people who are still good.  Even as bad as we are fiscally, it’s because one party wants to ease all the pains and burdens of those who will not lift a hand to help themselves.  Of course, they are well paid for their failed efforts. 

I must mention that a young man walked into an elementary school yesterday and before taking his own life, took the lives of 26 people – 20 of them being small children.  How can a person be so past feeling?  This act sickened a nation, and we all mourn for the families who are grieving.  We all mourn for the innocence of which our own children have been robbed.  When will it end?  When we will be a nation of peace again?  We see tiny glimpses of which are usually at the day’s end of a day like yesterday. 

Ironically, I just opened my Ensign to read the next talk.  The last talk I read was Elder Dallin H. Oaks’ talk entitled “Protect the Children”.  Where is my post?  Sitting – unsaved, on my computer!  I must include it here.

(Yesterday)  As I read my scriptures and conference talk this morning, there was a serious background of laughter and Christmas chatter by my daughter’s children.  This is a little distracting, but fit in beautifully with the conference talk by Elder Oaks, which is what I was reading.  How blessed these five little children are to have the example of righteous parents who are trying to do the right thing as they raise their family.

There is a serious bullet list of the ways children can be harmed.  I’ll take them in the order Elder Oaks spoke of them:

• Child pornography
• Deny Heavenly Father’s children the right to be born via abortion or birth control.
• Expectant mothers not eating nutritionally
• Orphaned
• Psychological abuse
• Physical abuse
• Divorce
• Unwed mothers
• Parents not marrying but cohabitating
• Same gender parents

There was a day when children were considered a blessing to parents, and to be protected at all cost.  This trend is reversing quickly.

Elder Oaks calls us to “. . .unite to increase our concern for the welfare and future of our children – the rising generation.”  This is not just to members of the church but also to all people throughout the world who have ears to hear.  Our world is in crisis mode.  The next generation is privileged to solve or live with the burdens we have cast upon them.  Who is teaching them to do so in moralistic ways?  Who is setting the example for them to do what is right in the eyes of God?  Who is teaching them to have faith in a Heavenly Father who is mindful of all that happens to us? 

When you read such sobering statistics, i.e. “. . .41 percent of all births in the United States were to women who were not married”, it is quite clear we have a problem on our hands.  Our missionaries are finding it challenging to find families where they can baptize a father and potential priesthood holder.  Most are baptizing mothers and children.  It doesn’t take a great deal of pondering to see the seriousness and potential impact of this statistic.  Many of the parents teaching their children today are parents who were not taught values as children.  It is sad to say the very least.

So as I prepare to move forward with my day, I feel an even heavier obligation to set a righteous example for my children and grandchildren – and all children,  and to “unite” my concern with that of others for the welfare of children everywhere.  What does this look like?

And it looks like I was distracted by those adorable chattering children and never posted this input.  Ironic that it was on the day before we took a huge hit yesterday on children throughout our nation and world.  Why was it so widespread?  Because the innocence of children has been robbed!

I was well on my way with today’s post when I realized I did not even save the last.  Life gets crazy.  What was I about to say?

Children are innocent.  Mormon grieved for the innocence lost of those too young to even realize what was happening in their world.  It grieves me every time I read the last book (Moroni) of the Book of Mormon.  It is a warning to us as a people – a nation – a world, that we must put down our weapons of rebellion and let the Savior into our lives, to accept Him as our Savior and live worthy of the sacrifice He made for us.  It is a warning that should we choose to continue in our depravity, we too can expect similar results. 

Our Savior will come again.  I know this to be true.  We know the outcome of the battle that is being fought between bad and good.  The only unknown is which side we will be on when the Savior returns.  I believe it was Elder Holland who said it.  My goal is to be on the Lord’s side, to be a key player in His work as those who have never heard the gospel will have the opportunity to do so. 

Trial of Your Faith – The Choice is Ours

I will never cease to be amazed at how carving out time to really study provides me with wonderful lessons – probably only lessons for me, but I’m important to Heavenly Father and these lessons help me to know He is very near and knows the happenings in my life.

I think our household may be in a bit of an upheaval.  A car hit our little dog, Charlie, last night and his life seems to be hanging in the balance currently.  This is a struggle to watch our little grandchildren hurt so deeply at the possible loss of this little dog who has brought such joy into our lives.

So how does this relate to my studying this morning?  I read from Ether 14, my next chapter in the Book of Mormon.  I didn’t feel a whole lot other than I was able to draw a parallel between this ancient civilization that was eventually destroyed and our current-day woes in society as we deal with slippery wealth and rampant wickedness in the world.  I did not necessarily feel the need to comment on yet more evidence that we are in the later days.  So I continued reading from Preach My Gospel.

The question asked that I decided to persue was “Is there a God?”  Alma 22 answers that question and there is a progression from that question to an eventual answer.  It requires certain actions: 

• As the question
• Believe
• Learn Plan of Salvation
• Repent
• Pray for forgiveness

Still not satisfied and having the luxury of a little extra time, I picked up my Conference issue of the Ensign.  Can I say how fully I KNOW there is a God?  This isn’t really a question that occupies much of my time.  The next talk through my Conference magazine was Elder Neil L. Andersen’s talk on “Trial of Your Faith”.  His first story was about the Marriott family whose daughter was hit by a car and killed.  The talk covers beautifully the topic of trials, why we have them, and how we need to deal with them – even to the point of being grateful for them! 

We must center our faith on God and His Son, Jesus Christ.  That faith is bolstered by our knowledge.  What does bolster mean?  To give a boost.   When we have faith that God lives and that His Son is our Savior, this faith begins to increase our knowledge.  I love that he said, “We treasure our faith, work to strengthen our faith, pray for increased faith, and do all within our power to protect and defend our faith.”  It is our faith that sees us through difficult times.  We know there is a Father in Heaven who loves us and allows us experiences to grow in spiritual righteousness.  As we suffer through the trials of life, we must remind ourselves that these things are for our good and our experience and will eventually bless our lives.  This isn’t always an easy lesson to learn.  I told our grandchildren last night as they were reeling from the devastation of their hurt dog: Be grateful Heavenly Father is allowing you this opportunity to grow.  You will be able to learn from this experience when you have the warmth of a loving family surrounding you. 

Do I believe in God?  There is no doubt in my mind he is very aware of even the every-day events in our lives and it is through experiences like this morning that I am made even more aware of these things.  He loves us and is allowing us experiences that will be a challenge.  Why?  These experiences allow us to see His hand in our lives and increase our faith.  The choice is ours how we handle our challenges.  We can be mad at God and turn away, or we can look to Him as a loving Father who is molding us to become greater than we are and be worthy to live with Him again.

Faith and the Power to Change

I read from Ether 11 and 12 this morning.  Chapter 11 covers a lot of years I'm sure, but it seems in reading that there is a fast spiral from righteous living to wickedness among all the people.  That is why I moved onto Chapter 12.

Reading Chapter 12 was like stepping onto a secure lily pad in water.  I love this chapter that explains faith so completely.  As I read I can't help but reflect on my rescue from a dark world and gradually seeing the light.  It was an amazing event in my life and one for which I will be forever grateful.  I don't grieve over the years lost anymore as I use to.

So what is faith?  Moroni says it in a nutshell in v6:  ". . . faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith."

What was the trial of my faith?  I was in a miserable marriage.  I was being asked to do things that would have destroyed my spirit and I really feel confident I would not have recovered.  My "missionaries" at work were teaching me from the scriptures, and I'm sure scriptures such as this chapter were being discussed with me.  My work environment was like going to church every day.  I was being taught by bishops, high councilmen, return missionaries and seventies.  It was great!

My trial?  I had to have the faith to walk away from what was familiar in hopes that what my future held would be an improvement.  I've often said a known bad is better than an unknown might be better.  This is what keeps so many people from taking that leap of faith.  The "what if's".  I was a working mother who really had no other financial help.  It should have been a no brainer.

I grew in my faith that what I wanted more in my life than anything else was to have the gospel in my life.  I wanted to speak freely about the scriptures and read them without being mocked.  I wanted to share these things with my family.  I wanted to attend my meetings and learn.  I wanted my daughter to have these things in her life.  I wanted to enter the temple and receive the promises and blessings promised.  I wanted to be free from the chains that bound me, from the hostile environment I was living in and from the wickedness that was so normal to those with whom my husband associated.  The big challenge?  I had never really been on my own and I was afraid.  Ah!  Fear and faith cannot coexist.

And I finally took the leap of faith it required.  I allowed my family and friends to help me.  I asked them to stay near me during the hard stuff and I made my escape.  It was not without conflict and trials, but as I prayed for help to overcome, miracles happened along the way to let me know the Lord was walking alongside me.  It was one of the sweetest yet difficult experiences of my life and gave me the courage to face whatever challenge the Lord has in store for me.

I know the Lord has a plan for me, for my children and husband and for all of His children.  We have to have the faith necessary to do the hard things - to break the addictions and break free of the chains of wickedness in order to find the joy that comes from living as our Heavenly Father has commanded.

Do I have hard things in my life today?  Probably the hardest thing I deal with daily is the heartache of an adult child who is struggling with her testimony and has turned away from the Lord.  She has said she does not believe as I believe.  Yet her life is miserable.  She cries daily, claims she has no friends, and is angry at the world.  I welcome any opportunity she will give me to counsel, but she isn't much interested in "my way".  That is my challenge and for the most part is dealt with on my knees.  The power to change is hers; not mine.

So once we believe and are converted, our assignment is to help others as they deal with the chains that bind men down.

Remember and Work, Work, Work!

A chunk of time is included in this short chapter.  It is interesting to me to note that they were blessed in accordance to their ability to remember the blessings of the past and act accordingly.

Another interesting word is "work".  Notice at the end of the chapter how they worked in all manner of ore and workmanship.  They also made beautiful linens.  As they did so, they prospered in the land.

I remember a class I took once where the word prosper really means that the Lord was present in their lives.  I did a search for a reference.  This is one of 11 times in the Book of Mormon it says,

2 Nephi 1:20
20 .  .  .  Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence.

Why is work so important in remembering and prospering in the land - as well as having the Lord in your life (which is the same thing)?  Is it not in working that we apply the lessons we are taught in our youth.  In so doing, do we remember our parents and those who taught us?  We remember if we're smart.  There are those who insist on charting their own course and in so doing become lazy and forget.

As we watch the affairs of the world - and especially our nation - unfold, we can see that a vast majority of people have forgotten a whole lot.  Maybe they were never taught.  I was disgusted at a "man-on-the-street" survey I saw last night on television.  The question was "What is Christmas about?"  Very few people knew why this is a holiday.  Fewer knew the key players in the first Christmas.  Some said Jesus was a great prophet.  It was obvious to me they had not been taught by their parents, and certainly they are not passing the knowledge of this sacred event onto their children and grandchildren.  So what becomes of a nation thus inflicted?  I believe the answer to that question is found in the Book of Mormon.  Those who forget are taken captive - raised in captivity.

What does it look like to be raised in captivity?  Obviously they were marrying and having children in the Book of Mormon whilst living in captivity.  Does captivity mean their freedoms to worship as they choose were gone?  Does it mean the money they worked for was taken away from them to support a wicked king?  Is this a captivity we can see our nation spiraling toward?  My answer to that is "YES"!  We are fast losing freedoms.  There are those who would take away our freedom to bear arms to protect ourselves and our families.  There are those who would make it illegal to pray in public.  It is already illegal to pray in public schools.  There are those who would make some drugs available without being arrested.  This is a first step to captivity of an individual.  It is a slippery slope.  There are those who have forced our nation to pay for health care for all.  That's not the bad part.  The bad part is that limiting births is part of that health care.  And the list goes on. . . .

So, what do I gain from reading this morning?  Of most critical importance is to remember.  I remember my own captivity and the tender mercies afforded me as I reached out for help.  I know those tender mercies are there for anyone who reaches out for help.  It is through the Atonement of our Savior, Jesus Christ, that we are given this opportunity to repent and turn our lives around and over to our Savior.  If we don't remember these things, we too are doomed to be raised in captivity.

Remember and be Humble

As I read from Ether 6, 5wo things gave me cause to pause this morning.  One was the trip the Jaredites had over the ocean to the Promised Land.  Oh how I wish they had been a little more detailed.  In reading Ether 6, the people were singing praises to the Lord as they were being blown toward the Promised Land in the little barges. As I read this I'm thinking to myself, could I really deal with this? They still have physical needs, i.e. exercise, food, elimination, sleep, etc. Yet they did sing praises all the day long. 
1 Chronicles 16:7-36 teaches us how to thank the Lord and sing praises to him all the day long. This would be a good scripture to try to memorize.  We are currently sharing our home with our daughter’s family of seven plus a little dog.  Our home is spacious, yet we sometimes get in each other’s way.  People need their private space.  Three hundred and forty-four days is a long time.  Also, how was everything secured so as not to spill, etc. when the barges were turned upside down and they had to have done.  I won’t even begin to touch on the animal issue.  How did they do this?

My second pause comes from Ether 6:30: “And it came to pass that Orihah did walk humbly before the Lord, and did remember how great things the Lord had done for his father, and also taught his people how great things the Lord had done for their fathers.”

They prospered with a king.  Why?  Because this king remembered the Lord and the great things he had done for them.  What can we learn from them?  We can prosper if we remember the Lord and walk humbly before him.  How is this done?  That's the real question. 

A search in the dictionary makes it quite clear.  The words used to define humble is “not haughty” or “not arrogant”.  What does it mean to be haughty?  Blatantly and disdainfully proud.  What about arrogant?  I love this one:  exaggerating one’s own worth or importance often by a overbearing manner.  I don’t see it in the dictionary, but our prophets teach us that being humble means we are teachable.  We learn as we go.  We see the Lord's hand in our lives.  We recognize our dependence on Him. 

Sometimes I worry that our lives are comfortable and good.  Am I thankful enough?  Do I sing praises to the Lord enough?  Do I sing all the day long?  Probably not all day, but I try to be quick to see the Lord’s hand in the beauties that surround me, and I acknowledge His blessings in my life.  Is that sufficient? 

We can learn lessons from the Jaredites that will help us in our lives.  We need to remember to be humble, teachable and acknowledge the Lord’s hand in our lives.  We need to remember the Lord in all things.  While I’m at it, I need to apply this lesson to me as it pertains to living with others.  Maybe I need to be singing more praises to my Heavenly Father.  We are happy enough with our daughter’s family in our home, but it has its challenges.  I need to put this scripture reference on my bathroom mirror.