Baptism

I was baptized like many active young LDS at the age of eight. I was part of a stake youth baptism day and I believe I had three or four other children accompany me that day. I remember being happy, but mostly because I felt I had made my parents proud. I can honestly say though that even having followed all the steps and participated in primary and family home evenings, I did not fully understand what I was committing to that day. My husband and I have often conversed over our feelings on baptism at such a young age. I will try and say this carefully. While I have faith that the age of accountability set by prophets cannot be inappropriate, I feel that they are not at an age where they can understand the scope of what they are doing.

Baptism by immersion is a representation of death of our sinful selves and rebirth as followers of Christ. It is a symbol of the death and resurrection of our Savior. Just as you cannot be partially dead, or partially alive, you cannot be a partial servant of the Lord. We are either slave to our own passions and sins or allow ourselves to be servants to a higher law. I don't know that at eight years old we can really understand what that means.

I think at times I'm looking at this commitment retrospectively. From the point of view of someone who has gone on to make more covenants. Taking that first step is what puts us on a path that leads to the temple and eternal marriage and eternal family. Is it necessary that the first step be taken at a young age? I know many people that have taken it with huge success at later stages in life. As my own children near the age to be baptized, it's something that my husband and I will have to pray over. Not necessarily if they should be baptized or not, but how we can prepare them in a way that will help them make their own decision. Help guide them in a manner that will allow them to see the context and scope of their actions. I hope and pray that it's a path they continue on as they grow, only time will tell. I do know however, that as I've taught others in the past, baptism is the gate and in order for them to become disciples of Christ, it has to be opened.

Forgiveness

Well this is an important topic for me this week. I recently gave birth to our third child, and any of you that have children know how disruptive a new arrival can be to your family dynamic. Amid the struggles of parenting a new child, my husband and I had somehow lost sight of each other. We were not taking the time to be kind and considerate, instead we were both focused on our own agendas; finding fault, offending, and being easily offended in turn. The tone in our home has not been productive, to say the least. When Paul states "For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me?", it calls to mind that the one I was hurting, my husband, is also the source of my greatest joy on this earth. We had to stop and confront the fact that the environment that had been created was a product of both of our choices and in turn, there was a need for apologies and forgiveness from both sides. At the end of our conversation it hit me like a ton of bricks "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices." We are not as susceptible to obvious temptations like infidelity or breeches in the Word of Wisdom. However getting us to withhold forgiveness and cling to our pride is a wonderful way for the advisory to get his foot in our family. It became clear as day that we had allowed his influence into our lives. While we're still working on coming back from this slump, I know that that in the long run that is all it is, a slump. As long as we are willing to apply to atonement of Christ, repenting and asking forgiveness and giving that pardon when it is asked, we'll be moving in the right direction.

Counsel to Members

From 1 Thes 3-5 and 2 Thes 3:1-6, 11
Paul gives a cheat sheet of what we need to work on as members of the Church of Christ.

• Increase in Love
• Abound in Love
• Know the Commandments
• Abstain from Fornication
• No man Defraud His Brother
• Love One Another
• Study to be Quiet
• Work With Your Own Hands
• Watch and Be Sober
• Put on the:
• Breastplate of Faith and Love
• Helmet of Hope of  Salvation
• Comfort and Edify Each Other
• Know and Esteem your Leaders
• Warn the Unruly
• Comfort the Feebleminded
• Support the Weak
• Be Patient Toward All Men
• Rejoice Ever More
• Pray Without Ceasing
• In Everything Give Thanks
• Quench Not the Spirit
• Despise Not Prophesyings
• Abstain from Appearance of Evil
• Be Not Weary in Well Doing

There's more, but for the five of you that look at this, I thought that would get the picture across. It can often feel overwhelming to me the amount of good things that we are supposed to be doing. I get feelings of inadequacy when I see a list like that and think of all the things that I need to improve. I know however that those feelings are not from the Lord. It's so much easier to see fault than to see what is good. I have to see Paul's advice not as a linear task sheet to check off, but as a much more circular globe. Much of the advice interconnects and it all goes back to our Savior. If I can keep my focus on Him, I can't really be headed in the wrong direction or working on the wrong virtue. It's all progress!

Acts 7: The Martyrdom of Stephen

In this chapter I was most familiar with verse 56:

• "...Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God."

I can't tell you how any times I used that verse as a missionary to teach about the nature of the Godhead. I used it, not out of context per se, but without striving to understand the whole picture. I never considered to personal experience of Stephen building up to this event. I recently watched a film "The Stoning of Soraya M." that depicts the events that lead a woman to be stoned to death for adultury that she did not commit. It has a quite graphic scene when they finally do stone her, it is far from what would be considered a pleasant way to die. Stephen would have known what was coming and his final words and thoughts were not to plead for mercy from the people, but to cast his view on the heavens.

Similarly Abinadi was facing an excruciating death by fire and bore a testimony so strong that he literally shone. Abinadi, like Stephen also called his accusers to repentance, even from captivity. They were fearless. I think we can't help but place ourselves in their positions and wonder what we would do, if we would behave with such courage and faith. I don't have an answer for myself, I am not sure if I have that sort of fortitude. Then again, we are often not sure of our capacity until it has been tested. I look at my own life and do not see anything that has been insurmountable to me. I do not consider anything I have gone through to be a monumental trial. Others though often tell me that they could "never have their husband deploy to a war zone" and "I don't know how you handle that". I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that if the Lord ever put me in a position where my declaration of faith would have to be so strong, that it would be because he already knows what my answer would be.