Doctrine of Christ: Part 2

So, continuing on from last week. We're in 3 Nephi 27:16, "And it shall come to pass, that whoso repenteth and is baptized in my name shall be filled; and if he endureth to the end, behold, him will I hold guiltless before my Father at that day when I shall stand to judge the world." Now, how does a person come to arrive at this point? First off, they need to have faith, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith in who He is, what He did, and what He is still doing. That his mission was to "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man"  (Moses 1:39). To bring a Savior into the world, to atone for all the sins of mankind. Faith comes to people at different points in their lives, and in many different ways. For me, my faith grew in leaps and bounds. I had the knowledge, after the first lesson with the missionaries, that what they were teaching to me was truth, which is why I signed up for all of my lessons and baptism after the first lesson. That was an act of faith, showing my belief on their knowledge, and the Holy Spirit guiding me through the entire process.

After faith comes repentance. Repentance is a lot more than just saying sorry for something wrong that you have done to another person. It's more than just the guilt or shame you may feel. It's apologizing, making amends, and then resolving to not do the action again. When Elder O'Laughlin and Elder Colvin were teaching me, they used this phrase, "admit, be sorry, confess, correct, and don't do it again". We need to confess of our sins to God in prayer. We need to bring our problems to Him, because He can turn our sins from scarlet, to become as white as snow. That is a true miracle in and of itself. Through Christ's pure blood, our sins are washed away. How incredible is that?

Next is baptism. Now, I previously wrote on baptism sometime last year, dealing with some of the specifics on baptism. Baptism is an essential part of us becoming what we need to become, in order to re-enter God's presence, after our life ends here on earth. Also, baptism is not complete unless we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost from the laying on of hands. The Holy Ghost acts as a guide, a comforter, and a witness of truth.

Once we're done with all of that, we should be good, right? We don't need to do anything else.... Well, that's not entirely true. Well, that's not true at all. We need to "endure to the end". That means we hold true to the covenants (obligations) that we have made, so that God will hold up His end of the covenant. We need to follow the Word of God, keep the commandments, and the words of the prophets. We also need to do our part in helping to bring others to Christ. That doesn't mean that we should be necessarily knocking on people's doors daily, but by acting how God would, be keeping true to what we believe, and being a great example, we can influence others for good.

Let me take some time out, for a moment, and just let these past few paragraphs sink in. Heavenly Father made us, and this world, through His Son, Jesus Christ. Christ knew from the beginning that He would be the way for which people could return to live with the Father. He willingly came into this world to be born, grow, lead, be killed, and resurrected, all for us. All because of His great love for us. He gave up His life, willingly, so that we could live eternally. That is such an amazing gift. And this gift is for us to take. We are not coerced into it. It is up to us. But if we do accept, then it will change our lives forever. And it will change us for the better. By following Christ, and living the commandments, and following in the necessary priesthood ordinances and covenants, we do grow closer to God. I have a testimony of that. From starting out with my good friend introducing me to the church, to the missionaries discussion, to my absolutely wonderful baptism, to my receiving my endowment, and all the other things in-between, my testimony, my knowledge, and my love of God and Christ has grown and deepened. And this is something that no one can ever take away from me. I hope that you all will be able to develop the same for yourself.

Next week, we will continue on!