Carly Hall

Religion 225
11:30-12:30
Brother Pyper

Saving Ordinances
1. I have chosen to write about 2 Nephi 31. More specifically I have
chosen to write about the promise that when we get baptized (if that is
what we choose to do, then we will be given the gift of the Holy Ghost.
In verse 13, it says, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to
take upon you the name of Christ, by baptismyea, by following your
Lord and your Savior down into the waterbehold, then shall ye
receive the Holy Ghost; I chose this verse/topic specifically because it
is a reminder that when we keep Gods commandments, we receive
the specific blessings that were predicated upon that commandment.
And in this case, the commandment is to be baptized.
2. 2 Nephi 32:5 says, For behold, again I say unto you that if ye will enter
in by the way, and receive the Holy Ghost, it will show unto you all
things what ye should do.
Doctrine and Covenants 35:6 says, But now I give unto thee a
commandment, that thou shalt baptize by water, and they shall
receive the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, even as the
apostles of old.
3. President Boyd K. Packer once said in the April 2000 General
Conference, He commanded them to teach all nations, baptizing all
who would believe. Before he left, He promise, the Comforter, which is
the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach
you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I
have said unto you.
In another talk given by President Boyd K. Packer in the 1994 October
General Conference, he said, Following baptism, in the ordinance of
confirmation, you received the gift of he Holy Ghost. While the Holy
Ghost may inspire all mankind, the gift carries the right to have it as a
constant companion. It is by the power of the Holy Ghost that you may
know the truth of all things.
4. My question is, if someone chooses to get baptized but doesnt have a
true intent in their heart, (like they are just doing it because their
parents are getting baptized, or somehow, they are trying to find
things that they could use against the church) would they still receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost? They did complete the ordinance technically.
So would that person by Gods law have to receive the gift because
God promised it?
5. I talked with Justin Peterson about this scripture. He said he thinks it is
so cool that our church is the only one on the earth with the proper
 authority to baptize. He remembered back to the video of the
Restoration, where Joseph Smith actually gets baptized into another
church but then realizes that the baptism was not what he was
expecting or wanting. The way it is supposed to be done (the way we
do it) it was he was thinking of.
6. I am very thankful to have been baptized at the age of eight. I know
that that is considered the age of accountability, but I do not think I
fully understood the covenants I was making at the time. But I know
that because I made that choice, I unlocked the path that would lead
me to eternal life.