Some years ago, as a pilot, I was taken by an instructor up in an airplane. By turning the airplane at less than two degrees at a time, the instructor succeeded in turning the airplane completely upside down. My inner ear could not detect the transition because he kept positive gravity upon us at all times. Therefore, I did not know that, when he gave the
airplane to me, it was upside down. Everything on the airplane, every instrument, was exactly right except for the landing gear, which was upside down; and every reaction I made had an opposite reaction from what I thought it would have. This is called vertigo, and it taught me a great lesson.
I would like to talk for a moment about spiritual vertigo. Although we know of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, of His obedience, of His willingness to serve and to be an example to us, and of His message to “come, follow me,” there are times when we get off course, less than a degree at a time, and do not know that we turn totally upside down…
When we go into the waters of baptism, we take upon us His name and promise that we will always be obedient…For that obedience, we are told that we will always have His Spirit to be with us. We will always have the spiritual gyroscope that will guide us so that we will never have to encounter spiritual vertigo and that we will never be off course.”
Robert D. Hales (Ensign, November 1985, page 21
_________________________________________________
This talk was shared by Janice in Vista, CA THANKS
Immersion When we are baptized, we enter the Church of Jesus Christ, and we receive the many blessings of the Church. Baptism is not just a custom in our Church. It is something we do because the Lord commands it.
Matthew 3:13-17
Immersion is the way Jesus was baptized, and it has a real meaning. All your life you have believed in Jesus. You have learned how he taught the people, blessed little children, and even raised two boys and a little girl from the dead. But then he was taken by cruel men and crucified.
Our Heavenly Father used that crucifixion, though, to bring us many blessings. Jesus suffered greatly when he died, but his Father, who is also our Father in heaven, permitted Jesus* suffering to pay the penalty for our sins if we repent of them.
It is when we are baptized that our Heavenly Father allows Jesus* suffering to pay for our sins. In this way we receive forgiveness through baptism.
But why are we immersed? It is to represent the burial and resurrection of Christ. As he was buried in the tomb, so we are buried in the water. As he came forth from the tomb to a newness of life as a resurrected person, so we come forth from baptism in water to a newness of a religious life on earth, serving the Lord and keeping his commandments.
So you see, our immersion is to help us remember the burial and resurrection of Christ. This is one reason baptism is so important to us. It will always remind us that Christ died for us, and that he was resurrected. As surely as we come forth from the waters of baptism, just so surely will we all come forth from our graves after we die, and live forever with the Savior who made all of this possible.
Covenant
A covenant is a two-way promise between Heavenly Father and us, His children. The covenants He makes with us are sacred and holy. In them He promises glorious blessings to us. When we make covenants with Him, we show our love for Him and promise to keep His commandments.
The baptism covenant is the first gospel-ordinance covenant you make with Heavenly Father. When you make this sacred covenant, you show your love for Him. You also promise, or covenant, to take the name of Jesus Christ upon you, to always remember Him, and to keep His commandments. You should also be willing to bear testimony of Him, and to love and serve Him by loving and serving others.
What do you think it means to take His name upon us? Most of us already have two names. We have a given name, like Alexander, or Thomas; and we have a family name, like Luncford, or Greenwood. When we take the name of Jesus Christ upon ourselves, it means we are part of His family. We are ready to be known as Christians. We are willing to *stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things and in all places* We want to act like Christ and follow Him.
In Mosiah 18 Alma is about to organize the Church of Christ.
(Mosiah 18:8-9).
Jesus has given us guidelines to help us follow Him. He expects us to love each other, to bear one another*s burdens, to mourn with those who are sad, and to comfort those who need comfort. That*s what He did when He was on the earth. If we want to be called by His name, we will try to do these things, too. When you help your mother tend the baby so that she can fix dinner, you are bearing another*s burdens. When you put your arm around a friend and tell him that you*re sorry that he hurt himself, you are giving comfort. When your heart is sad because your friend*s father is very ill, and you reach out to him in love, you are mourning along with him.
Sacrament
Entering into the kingdom of God is so important that Jesus was baptized to show us by example what we should do. Jesus didn*t need to be baptized for remission of his own sins because he didn*t have any! He was baptized because it is so important for us and he wanted to set the example and to teach us how it should be done.
He also was baptized to witness to His Father that He would be obedient in keeping His commandments. He was baptized to show us that we should receive the gift of the Holy Ghost
Each week in sacrament meeting we take the sacrament and that renews our baptismal covenant. You*ve been taking the sacrament ever since you were babies, but up until now that was practice. You*ve been learning to think about Jesus and all that he has given us through his atonement. From now on each time you take the bread and water you are renewing your promise to do as the Savior did*to be obedient to the Father and always keep His commandments. The blessing we receive in return is to always have His Spirit to be with us.
8 Years Old
Both of you recently turned 8 years old and there*s a reason you*re being baptized now.
D&C 29:46-47
46 But behold, I say unto you, that little achildren are bredeemed from the foundation of the world through mine Only Begotten;
47 Wherefore, they cannot asin, for power is not given unto Satan to btempt little children, until they cbegin to become daccountable before me;
D&C 68:27
27 And their children shall be abaptized for the bremission of their sins when ceight years old, and receive the laying on of the hands.
Now you are old enough to know right from wrong and Satan is allowed to tempt you. You are also old enough to make the decision to become a member of the Church by being baptized.
Repentance
Your baptism will wash you clean and you will have no more sin. But how long can we stay that way? Everyone except for Jesus commits sins. No matter how hard we try, we aren*t perfect. So Jesus has given us repentance so that we can be clean again. When you are baptized, you can repent and Jesus can pay the price of your sin for you because of his atonement. You will be clean again!
Repentance begins inside of you*in your thoughts and in your heart. When you know you have done something wrong, think about it until a feeling of sorrow comes into your heart. Do not excuse yourself or blame someone else. Tell Heavenly Father what you have done and how you feel. Tell Him how much you love Him, and ask for His help. If you have hurt someone or something, try to make it better. Promise Heavenly Father that you will try, with all your heart, to do what is right from now on.
Repentance begins on the inside, but usually it shows on the outside as well. When you promise Heavenly Father that you will do what is right, you keep your promise by changing the way you act. You treat others with more love and kindness. You keep the commandments. These actions will help you feel good about yourself and others.
You will need to repent many times throughout your life. As you turn away from wrong and try to do what is right, you will grow closer and closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ has promised that if you repent, He will bless you and remember your wrongs no more.
Baptism Bags
The WHITE BAG is to remind you of how PURE AND CLEAN you will be when you are baptized.
The WASHCLOTH is to remind you that you will be washed free of all your sins.
The WATER will remind you that you are were baptized by IMMERSION, just like Jesus was.
After your baptism you will receive a special GIFT, the gift of the HOLY GHOST.
The little MOUTH is to help you remember that the Holy Ghost will SPEAK to you in a still small voice.
The SOAP is to remind you that you must have clean thoughts and actions to feel the Holy Ghost.
The EAR in the bag will remind you to always LISTEN to the Holy Ghost so that you can always choose the right.
The Holy Ghost will COMFORT you like a warm BLANKET. The Holy Ghost will comfort you and give you strength when you choose the right and have to stand alone.
The RULER will help you remember that the Holy Ghost is a TEACHER. The Holy Ghost will help you understand and know the truth as you study the scriptures and learn.
The Holy Ghost will LIGHT YOUR WAY like a CANDLE and help you walk along righteous paths.
The HEART shows how much Jesus loves you. He wants you to show your LOVE for Him by obeying the commandments. Always stay close to Him and you will be truly happy.”