-The D&C says you may as well baptize a bag of sand if the baptism isn’t done by proper authority, it is worthless, and you remain in an unbaptized state.
– Based on requirements for baptism from D&C 20:37, broken heart means will listen to God, contrite spirit means will obey God. Taking upon you the name of Christ it means to live as if you changed your name to Jesus Christ. To act like he would act.
-*On my mission when Thelma Starks accepted the invitation to baptism and I felt the fire marble stone in my chest quietly penetrate me, I knew that this was one of the most important things that Thelma would be doing with her life.
-*Working with a family on my mission, they wanted their little boy of 9 years old to behave better before getting him baptized. We taught them that if he met the minimal requirements, his baptism would help him make it the rest of the way. We shared 2 Nephi 32:5 showing them that “after ye enter in by the way (baptism), the Holy Ghost will show you all things what you should do.”
-*A family on my mission told me their story of how this sister investigated the church for ten years before being baptized. She told me she learned more in the year after her baptism than all the ten years before her baptism. This is because the Holy Ghost is the mighty teacher, and that companionship has been promised for those who are baptized. John 3:5 relates the Savior teaching us to be born of water and of the spirit, this is the way.
-*earth at 8 God days old was baptized (7 in creation, 1 since Adam)? Circumcision was at 8 days also. It’s the sign of how you are for the Lord and Israel. Baptism is revealed today to be for those of 8 years of age or older who have faith.
-*Baptism only occurs once, for its sort of an indicatory ordinance of bringing you into the program. It’s only if your totally kicked out of the program (excommunicated from the church) that you need to be re-baptized.
-*Most powerful experiences I’ve had attempting to teach the doctrine of baptism have been from using the Book of Mormon.
-Illustrative lesson: shoe polish on hands, then don’t feel like holding the scriptures to get them dirty etc. We feel guilt. Then scrub hands. That hurts. It’s like repentance. Then we are able to dip them in water and it comes off. Like baptism after repentance. Also put on gloves like The Holy Ghost. Can take those gloves off at any time (like not living worthy of the company of the Holy Ghost), but so long as keep them on they’ll keep you from getting dirty, from sin.
-*Since baptism is Moses 6:58-60 shown to be a new birth like birth into this world, we see it is spiritual death to not be baptized!
-*Remembering our baptismal covenants is a good way to remember to act as if the Savior were beside us; remembering that changes the way we act.
– the first fruits of repentance are baptism. Must manifest by our works that we’re ready for baptism; so must repent, and the first fruit of that will be our baptism. That is what repenting yields. It yields that desire and willingness to be baptized. see D&C 20:37, Moroni 8:25.
