As a little girl one of my biggest goals was to memorize the
articles of faith! In primary if you were brave, you could go to the front of
the class and recite them, it was the cool thing to do. Still wishing I had
every single one memorized I am going to read you the fourth article of faith.
We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the
Gospel are: first, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; Second, repentance; third,
Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fouth, Laying on of hands for
the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Now im going to ask you a question and I want you to think
about it for a second
WHAT IS FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST?
In the book of Mormon alma teaches us that faith is when we
hope for things which are not seen, which are true.When we have faith in Jesus Christ we believe in him as the
Son of God, the Only Begotten of the Father in the Flesh. We accept him as our
Savior and Redeemer and FOLLOW his teachings. Faith in him means that we trust
Him in ALL things. That he knows us, that He loves us and that our sins can be
forgiven through His atonement.
My sister and I actually went to the temple
this week for her first time! I thought it was so cool because as we were
waiting in the chapel before we went to the font I opened up my scriptures to
Ether 12! SCRIPTURES ARE JUST AWESOME!! It was a perfect chapter for this talk!
So iin Ether it says again faith is things which are hoped for which are not
seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness
until after the trial of your faith! ACT !! Faith and action come hand in hand!
When I was living down in St. George for school I was living
in the dorms. Me being on a budget the dorms were what seemed (extra emphasis
on seemed) to be the cheapest until you later find out that living in the dorms
requires a meal plan. NOW LET ME TELL
YOU MEAL PlANS were not cheap!! But I went through with it anyway thinking
getting a job would be a piece of cake. Well, it wasn’t .many stores needed
morning workers but me going to school in the morning didn’t really work out. I
lasted a small while until the numbers in my bank account grew small. I was terrified!
I had never been in a situation like it before. I guess that’s a part of
growing up right? I did ALL I could to get as much as I needed and I was still
short a couple hundred dollars. The day before the payment was due I still
hadn’t earned enough money to pay off my Meal plan. I cried and cried unsure of
where to turn to next. With a shaken heart I got on my knees and said a prayer.
In that moment I KNEW I would have enough. I didn’t know how but I knew the
lord heard my prayers and that everything was going to be ok. The day the
payment was due my stomach dropped to see my bank account at the same small
number. I prayed again and got the same message : EVERYTHING WILL WORK OUT,
TRUST ME! I went on throughout my day and at about an hour to the payment time
I had the exact amount, EXACT AMOUNT I needed to pay off my Meal Plan.
By faith all things
are fulfilled.
Now I know that even when we
follow Jesus Christ and have faith in him we mess up. We are not perfect and
that is ok. BUT, the awesome thing about living as imperfect humans is that we
can return to live with our Heavenly Father through and ONLY through the mercy
and atonement of Jesus Christ and we only receive Christs mercy through
repentance!
‘
Repentance , Repentance! It is
everywhere in the scriptures so it must be important so What is repentance? In the bible dictionary (another
one of the worlds coolest things) it says the greek word of which this is the
translation denotes a change of mind. Repentance comes to mean a turning of the
heart and will to God. Without this there can be no progress in the things of
the souls salvation. Repentance is not optional for salvation; it is a
commandment of God. Repentance includes turning away from sin and turning to God for
forgiveness.
Going back to faith for a second,
In Preach my Gospel it says that Our faith in Christ and our love for Him LEAD
us to repent, or to change our thoughts, beliefs and behaviors that are not in
harmony with His will. We change because we love him.
I know that to be so true!! Once
we come to know Christ, we WANT to change. We WANT to become the person he
wants us to be. It’s so simple to say but the simplicity of it is SO TRUE! I
can testify of it.
The Savior suffered not only for
our sins and imprefections, but He also took upon himself our sorrows. Through
his infinite atonement he will heal you and give you peace. RUN TO HIM!
Elder Christofferson said “ Repentance is a divine gift ,
and there should be a smile on our face when we speak of it. It points us to
freedom, confidence and peace!” WHO DOESN’T want that?
PS don’t EVER let satans cunning voice get to you and tell
you that you blew it and that you can not change. You CAN DO IT!
As you can see that faith and repentance play an important
part to our happiness so does baptism and receiving the holy ghost. Faith in
Jesus Christ and Repentance prepare us for the ordinances of baptism and
confirmation. Baptism is an essential ordinance of salvation. No person can
enter the kingdom of God without being baptized by immersion for the remission
or forgiveness of our sins.
Jesus not only taught us that we must be baptized of water
but of the spirit as well. Without it, the baptism is incomplete. In preach my
gospel it says those who receive the gift of the holy ghost and remain worthy
can enjoy His companionship throughout their lives.
I am now going to share with you a story from one of my
favorite missionaries.
We started to teach the restoration to him, he was not
understanding anything. A frustrating 45 minutes passed by and we had not
accomplished anything. I realized that he isnt learning because we didnt have
the spirit with us. I then thought "How can we bring the spirit" An
answer immediatly came to my head "Talk about his relationship with Jesus
Christ" So I asked him, hermano para usted, quien es JesuCristo, Who is
jesus christ. Immediatley the spirit entered the room as this man fought back
tears explaining his life and relation with the savior. I then asked him Who he
thought sent us there that day. He replied.. The mission? "Hermano quien
cree que nos mando aqui?" I asked again.... He paused... Whoever is in
charge? WHO HERMANO? He began to shake and replied I know you are sent by Jesus
Christ. I know it because I can feel it right now. I Began to explain how much
God loved him and how we really are sent by him. We are representatives of him
and as representatives we are here to tell you that he wants you to follow him.
Through faith repentance and baptism. After a literal 5 or 6 minutes of silence
and physical shaking of this old man he says " I thought he forgot about
me" I felt a huge lump in my throat and my eyes got blury when he said this.
Elder Mckinney testified of the Lost sheep story and explained how he will
never forget us.
When Christ was
on the earth,
He promised he would send
The Holy Ghost to comfort us,
Our
true, eternal friend.
The Holy Spirit whispers
with a still small voice.
He
testifies of God and Christ
and makes our hearts rejoice. And when we are confirmed
by sacred
priesthood pow'r,
The Holy Ghost is giv'n to us
To guide us ev'ry hour.
Oh,
may I always listen
to that still small voice.
And with his light I'll do
what's right
each time I make a choice.
I know that these principles and
ordinances lead us to eternal bliss!! They bring true joy!! I know that we have
a Father in heaven who LOVES US! He knows us and is so aware of what goes on in
our life, even to the smallest details of our lives. I know he hears me, even
when I feel he is distant. I know that Jesus Christ is our Savior and that he
truly does know us ever so perfectly! Because he lives death has no sting, because he lives my imperfect soul can
be made clean and perfected. His love for us is unconditional and everlasting. WE
ARE SO LOVED. I can testify that the Holy Ghost manifests the truth to us. We
just have to listen and have an open heart. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.