Week 58: It's the Living Who're Harder to Preach to.

Hey everybody,

Today I lived an episode of How It's Made! One of the counselor's in the stake presidency is head of giant banana plantation. He took us around and gave us a tour and it was SO COOL. Pictures will be coming in a couple weeks :)

Also President right out told me in his email this week that I'll have changes on Wednesday. Stay tuned to know next week where the Lord sends me to finish my mission! 

And a reminder: WATCH GENERAL CONFERENCE. All the sessions. It's not everyday that a prophet speaks to us. It's gonna be so good!!! :)

Baptisms for the Dead

Yesterday during church the speakers talked about family history and temple work. Or, in clearer terms, the practice of being baptized and confirmed (recieving the Holy Ghost) for those who have passed on.

Everybody knows that we, as Latter-day Saints, do this. And everybody thinks it's wierd. 

Which, frankly, says a lot about the religious beliefs of 'everybody'.

Let me explain.

The most common complaint that we as missionaries hear about baptisms for the dead is that the salvation is individual: how presumptous to think that we can be baptized for someone else and they'll be saved.

People who say that don't understand that the ordinance doesn't automatically save the soul who recieves it. The person (maybe somebody who lived their whole life out on earth without hearing about Jesus Christ) has to learn about him, accept him, and repent. Then they accept the baptismal ordinance. In the temple, we just share our bodies for a few seconds so that that ordinance can be done for them. Obviously, a spirit can't be baptized for itself. 

(1 Peter 4:6 talks about how the gospel is preached to the spirits that have passed on, in case you think that conscience life ends with death.)

The other complaint that people make is that it's just not necessary. If somebody didn't get baptized, oh well. God will have mercy on them.

But the scriptures clearly state (John 3:5) that nobody can enter into the kingdom of heaven without being baptized. If it wasn't absolutely necessary, why would we bother with it? All those trips to rivers or lakes, and the pain of getting yourself wet...

No! We do this beautiful, simple, humbling ordinance because God has commanded it. Because even Jesus Christ, being absolutely perfect, did it, to show us the way. It is incredibly necessary.

And if somebody dies without being baptized, they can't go to heaven.

So the goal of the Mormon church, incredible as it is, is to perform the baptismal ordinance for every single person that has lived. Ever. Because God loves every single one of his children and commands them all to come unto him. (2 Nephi 26: 24-28, 33) What doesn't get done now will be done in the Millenium. 

I know it sound ridiculous. But it also sounds ridiculous to some that some person who walked around Jerusalem in dusty sandals 2000 years ago could be the Savior of the world. 

God works miracles. And his ways are not our ways. We have to look at things with spritual eyes. 

Ahora, applied

Little did we know that the little brother of one of our investigators hasn't been wanting to listen to our lessons because of something he heard in another church a few weeks ago.

Their mom died about a month ago, and she was never baptized. It seems like he heard some Evangelist preacher in the neighborhood declare that everybody has to accept Christ right now because we never know when we'll die. Then he pointed out our investigator's mom as an example.

Needless to say, the poor, motherless, 15-year-old boy went away crying. 

We didn't know any of this until Sunday, when Darwin (Luis' older brother, who has a baptismal date for April 12th) listened to the talks about baptisms for the dead. He walked out of Sacramente meeting with light in his eyes, full of questions, asking about the temple.

I know he will share this glorious news with his brother, and they will rejoice together in the fulness of this restored gospel.

I testify that this is the true church, with the authority of God to bind on earth what will be bound in Heaven. I testify that temples are truly holy ground.

And I testify that we are baptized not because it is a pretty tradition, but because it is a commandment of a living God whose son, Jesus Christ, is the Savior of your soul and mine.

I love you all, and hope you have a great General Conference weekend. 

Sister Ison