Faith
The first part of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is having faith in Christ. We believe He is the Son of God, that He is our Savior and Redeemer. When we have faith in Christ, we follow His teachings.
Repentance
Because of Jesus Christ, we have the opportunity to repent. When we have faith in Christ, we want to become more like Him and repent of those things that are not in line with His commandments. When we do something wrong we repent by asking God for forgiveness and righting our wrong as much as we are able to. We turn away from that sin and do not do it again. Because of Christ’s sacrifice for us, we can be completely forgiven of the wrongs we have done.
When we have faith and repent, and are willing to follow God and keep His commandments, we are prepared to follow His commandment to be baptized. We should be baptized just as Christ was-by someone with the authority to baptize, at an age when we are accountable for our actions, and by immersion (being completely submersed in water). When we are baptized we are cleansed of all our sins. We promise God that we will always remember Him, that we are willing to take His name upon ourselves, and that we will keep His commandments. In return, God promises that we will always have His Spirit with us.
After we are baptized with water, those having authority, lay their hands on our head and we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Sometimes the Holy Ghost is referred to as the Holy Spirit. The Holy Ghost teaches us truth, warns us, comforts us and direct us. When we receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by those having authority to bestow it, the Holy Ghost can be with us always, our constant companion, as we are obedient and make good decisions.
Enduring to the End
After we have been baptized and received the gift of the Holy Ghost, we must endure to the end of this life. If we do so, we are promised eternal life with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. We will continually have opportunities in this life to exercise faith and repent. We can remember and renew our promises that we made at baptism each week as we partake of the sacrament at church. The sacrament includes the bread and water that we take that symbolize Christ’s sacrifice. We are once again cleansed of our sins and remember and renew our promises to God. This and other blessings, continually give us the opportunity to be strengthened and to keep pressing forward. There will be many trials and many happy experiences to have in this life. If we can continue to have faith in Christ, repent, and hold fast to our promised that we have made with God, our happiness will be real in this life and our joy will be full in the next life when we live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.
I am so grateful for the opportunities I have had to have faith in Christ. They have helped me come to know Him better. I’m grateful that every day, every minute, I have the opportunity to repent, to be forgiven of wrongs and move forward clean and whole. I’m grateful I was baptized as Christ was baptized and that I am a member of His church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I’m especially grateful for the chances I have had to see other be baptized. It is such a joyous occasion. The gift of the Holy Ghost has blessed my life immeasurably. It has warned me, guided and instructed me, protected me, consoled me, and helped me feel peace which passes all my understanding and happiness which exceeds all my expectations. I know that God has provided these things for us-faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost-to bless us. I know that we must endure and keep moving forward so that we can have true happiness in this life and be prepared so that one day we will live with God and Jesus Christ and experience a fullness of joy with them.
