Tuesday, March 1, 2011

"Come Follow Me"

Jesus Christ is such an important part of my life. I've realized as a missionary the impact His life has had on the world. He is the only Begotten of the Father. He is full of grace and truth. He is the Holy Messiah. As I look back on my life I am so grateful for this knowledge. I love Him for what he has done for all of us. I know that through Him I can be cleansed from my sins. Through Him I have received peace and happiness. I have a hope for eternal life because I know that through Jesus Christ I can return to live with God.

My relationship with Christ has grown as I have read the Book of Mormon. It teaches clearly what Jesus Christ has done for us and what he expects from us. Within the Book of Mormon is the "fullness of the everlasting Gospel" (Intro). It is taught so simply that no one can misunderstand. With this additional testament of Jesus Christ we know more fully that, "Without the grace and mercy made possible by His Atonement, we could not be saved from sin."(http://mormon.org/) This doctrine is taught so simply within the pages of this book.

Recorded in the Book of Mormon is Christ's personal ministry amongst the people that lived in America. He taught His disciples there that, "No unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their sins, and their faithfulness unto the end. Now this is the commandment: Repent, all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day. Verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel." (3 Nephi 27:19-21) It is taught plainly there what we need to do to return to live with God.

Nephi, a prophet in the Book of Mormon actually witnessed in vision the baptism of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem almost 600 years before Christ was born. He explains why this was shown to him, "for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost."(2 Nephi 31: 17) The Book of Mormon is flooded with simple doctrinal truths such as this.

We can learn through the scriptures that everyone needs to enter in at the gate by being baptized so that they can recieve a remission of their sins through the Gift of the Holy Ghost. I'm so thankful to know the simplicity of the Gospel. Our decision to follow Christ must be coupled with baptism by authority in order for one to recieve a remission of sins! Jesus Christ taught the importance of this authority clearly when he visited the people in the America's. He also taught the manner in which people were to be baptized. We read:

"I give unto you power that ye shall baptize this people when I am again ascended into heaven. And again the Lord called others, and said unto them likewise; and he gave unto them power to baptize. And he said unto them: On this wise shall ye baptize; and there shall be no disputations among you. Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins through your words, and desireth to be baptized in my name, on this wise shall ye baptize them—Behold, ye shall go down and stand in the water, and in my name shall ye baptize them. And now behold, these are the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, saying: Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water." (3 Nephi 11: 21-26)

I'm so thankful to have the Book of Mormon in these last days to help me to understand what I need to do to be cleansed from my sins. I know that through Jesus Christ we can be cleansed from all sin as we obey His Gospel. The first step in that being repentance and baptism. That's the gate. That is where it all begins. No one can fully enjoy the blessings of Jesus Christ's Atonement until they are baptized by someone holding the authority of Jesus Christ. I'm so grateful to know that this authority is again on the earth. I'm so grateful for the infinite wisdom of my Savior and my Redeemer: Jesus Christ. The way to eternal life is prepared, the gate is narrow, and the path is straight.

To learn more about the Gospel of Jesus Christ click on this link.

To learn more about the authority to baptize click on this link.

1 comment:

  1. I am so grateful that Jesus Christ has again established his gospel for the use of all mankind! I have seen countless blessings come into my life by following his teachings and inviting others to do the same! Great post, keep it up

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