March To The Miracle: Part 3

Well the tournament is over and Kentucky comes out victorious; a team full of young, athletic talent. However, more importantly, besides their abilities, championship teams win because of one thing... Teamwork. Having great talent is very benefiting, but then there's the famous line, "There's no 'I' in 'TEAM'." As Kentucky neared the end of the tournament, it kept getting tougher and tougher for them to win. In order for them to win, each player needed to be on  the same page with each other. As a result they became a better team that was focused on the same goal and they each knew their role in accomplishing it. It was very important for each player to know what their role was so that their goal could be reached. Now I will continue from where I last left off. One of the greatest gifts we can receive from our Heavenly Father here on earth is the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Just as each player did their best to execute to reach their goal, the Holy Ghost will help us execute the things we do in our lives to be in accordance to the teachings of the Savior. What an amazing thing the Holy Ghost does for us, He helps us to do what's right, what our Heavenly Father wants us to do! We receive a promise of this from our Savior Jesus Christ in John chapter 14 verse 26:

"But 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."

If we faithfully do what the Savior teaches, we will be guided by the Holy Ghost to do what is right. Back to Kentucky, as the players continually work hard to complete their goal, they will eventually get tired. They don't have perfect health and won't be able to last a full 40 minutes without taking a rest. Same with people in general, we're human, and we're always going to make mistakes. And this is what brings us to the last word that was in quotes. I know it was a while ago the last time it was mentioned, but here it is again: "miracle". The miracle, or in other words a gift, the greatest gift given from our Heavenly Father, is eternal life. A prophet from the Book of Mormon explains how we can receive eternal life in 2 Nephi chapter 31 verse 20:

"Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life."

Those 4 words are the important part. When we do that, then we shall have eternal life. What are those things we need to do in "enduring to the end"? 

"...and there is none other way nor name given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now, behold, this is the doctrine of Christ..."

Which is what was mentioned in the past couple blogs I wrote: Having faith unto repentance, being baptized by immersion (after baptism partaking of the sacrament weekly), receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end. As I said before, we are all humans and we will make mistakes. By applying these principles daily by: having faith that Christ can heal us from our mistakes, then to repent of those mistakes daily, then, after being baptized, partaking of the sacrament weekly to renew the covenants made at baptism, than as we do that the Holy Ghost will be with us, then to continue doing these things and building on your knowledge of the gospel through diligent studying of the scriptures, prayer, and following all the commandments. Sounds pretty easy doesn't it? With God's help anything is possible!

March To The Miracle: Part 2

So how has March Madness been treating you so far? Any luck on picking the right teams and getting the rare, perfect bracket? I don't know about you, but I've never had a perfect bracket.. So do you remember the last blog I wrote and said to stay tuned? Well here's the continuation. Do you remember the second word that was in quotes that I was going to talk about next? If not, here it is. The word is "march". Let's first find out what "march" means. In relation to a marching band, they have one purpose and they work in unity to accomplish their goal. So we've already established that when we get mad about the Gospel of Jesus Christ we have to exercise our faith in Him unto repentance. How do we exercise our faith unto repentance? Baptism, which brings us to the word "march". We begin our march by washing our sins away through baptism by immersion. Just like those teams in the tournament, they have one purpose (to win the championship) and they have to be on the same page every second of every game, working together to reach that goal. When beginning our march, through baptism, we need to be on the same page with the teachings of our Savior and bring our lives in closer harmony with them. In John 3:5 we learn of the importance of being baptized:

"Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."

In Matthew 3:13-17 it explains why Jesus Christ was baptized, keep in mind He was perfect, and how He was baptized:

"Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.
"But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
"And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
"And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
"And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

In 2 Nephi 31:9-10 it teaches us that we must follow Jesus Christ and His example He has shown us:

"And again, it showeth unto the children of men the straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the gate, by which they should enter, he having set the example before them.
"And he said unto the children of men: Follow thou me. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, can we follow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father?"


The scriptures teach us about why baptism is so important and the example Jesus Christ set for everyone to follow. He wants us to follow Him because he loves us so much and wants us to return to live with our Heavenly Father. After we are baptized, one of the greatest blessings we can receive while we are here on earth from Heavenly Father is...


To be continued...