My Sacrament Talks ~ March 1998 to Present
11 Years of Proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ
Home | About Me | My Conversion Story | My Personal Testimony | Contact Me
|
My Sacrament Talks ~ March 1998 to Present 11 Years of Proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ
|
|
Home | About Me | My Conversion Story | My Personal Testimony | Contact Me |
|
Featured Sacrament Talk: This Is The Christ! Easter Sunday Morning, 23 March 2008 “When Jesus came into the
coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men
say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John
the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He
saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and
said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew
When
the Father’s plan of salvation and happiness was presented (see Alma
42:5,8), one was required to atone to provide redemption
and mercy to all those who accepted
the plan. The Father asked,
“Whom shall I send?” He who was to be known as Jesus freely and willingly
chose to answer, “Here am I, send me” (Abraham
3:27). “Father, thy will be done, and
the glory be thine forever” (Moses
4:2). We
can read and learn of the Father’s plan of salvation and happiness in the Book of Mormon, in Alma
chapter 34 beginning at verse 9 and continuing through verse
16. 9 For it is expedient that an atonement
should be made; for according to the great plan of the Eternal God there
must be an atonement made, or else all mankind must unavoidably perish;
yea, all are hardened; yea, all are fallen and are lost, and must perish
except it be through the atonement which it is expedient should be made.
10
For it is expedient that there should be a great and last sacrifice; yea,
not a sacrifice of man, neither of beast, neither of any manner of fowl;
for it shall not be a human sacrifice; but it must be an infinite and
eternal sacrifice. 11
Now there is not any man that can sacrifice his own blood which will atone
for the sins of another. Now, if a man murdereth, behold will our law,
which is just, take the life of his brother? I say unto you, Nay.
12
But the law requireth the life of him who hath murdered; therefore there
can be nothing which is short of an infinite atonement which will suffice
for the sins of the world. 13
Therefore, it is expedient that there should be a great and last
sacrifice, and then shall there be, or it is expedient there should be, a
stop to the shedding of blood; then shall the law of Moses be fulfilled;
yea, it shall be all fulfilled, every jot and tittle, and none shall have
passed away. 14
And behold, this is the whole meaning of the law, every whit pointing to
that great and last sacrifice; and that great and last sacrifice will be
the Son of God, yea, infinite and eternal.
15 And thus he shall bring
salvation to all those who shall believe on his name; this being the
intent of this last sacrifice, to bring about the bowels of mercy, which
overpowereth justice, and bringeth about means unto men that they may have
faith unto repentance.
16
And thus mercy can satisfy the demands of justice, and encircles them in
the arms of safety, while he that exercises no faith unto repentance is
exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore only unto
him that has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal
plan of redemption. And so, Brothers
and Sisters, as taught in Alma 42:15, we can see that “all mankind were
fallen, and they were in the grasp of justice; yea, the justice of God,
which consigned them forever to be cut off from his presence. And now, the
plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be
made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring
about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might
be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also.” Salvation could not
come to the world except it was through a mediator and that Great Mediator
was the Lord Jesus Christ. We are taught in 2 Nephi 2:6: “wherefore,
redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace
and truth.” And in John 3:16-17 we learn that “God so loved the world, that
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world
to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be
saved.” Who is Jesus Christ? It is He of whom the prophet
Isaiah prophesied would be “
despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). He is the one who
bore our grief and carried our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4). He was
“wounded for our transgressions . . . bruised
for our iniquities. . . .And with His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah
53:5). He was oppressed and
afflicted and was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as
a sheep before her shearers is dumb, He opened not his mouth (Isaiah
53:7). He who knew no sin
became sin’s final sacrifice.
He paid a debt that He did not owe – a debt that none of us could
ever pay on our own.
This is the
Christ! He is the Holy Lamb of God, our Lord, our Savior, our Redeemer,
our Master, and our King.
Nothing can
compare to “His Unspeakable Gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15), that the Son of
God “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and
purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus
2:14). May His name be
forever blessed “for His Great love wherewith He loved us” (Ephesians 2:4)
by His voluntary sacrifice, that we “might have Life through His name”
(John If He were to ask me the question this morning, “Whom say ye that I am?” I would echo the words of the Apostle Peter and proclaim “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Of these things I do so testify and bear solemn witness in the sacred name of Him who is the Resurrection and the Life, even the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. ** Note: This Sacrament talk was presented to the congregation of the Annapolis Maryland Ward.
Please click here to read Elder
Jeffrey R. Holland's message entitled "None Were With Him
", here to hear the audio version of
this message, or here to view the message. This
message was given at the 179th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints held at the
Conference Center in Salt Lake City Utah on April 4th and 5th,
2009. |
Recent Sacrament Talk: Walk In Newness Of Life Sabbath Day Morning, 8 March 2009 Scripture Reference: Romans 6:4 “Therefore we are buried with him by
baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the
glory of the
Father, even so we also should walk in
newness of life.” Good morning Brothers
and Sisters. Brother Lund has asked me to speak this morning on the
subject of baptism and what my baptism meant to me. Being given this
assignment comes at a perfect time as this coming Tuesday, March
10th; I will celebrate 11 years as a member of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The fourth Article of
Faith states: “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; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
The Savior revealed
the true method of baptism to the Prophet Joseph Smith, making clear that
the ordinance must be performed by one having priesthood authority and
that it must be done by immersion: In Doctrine
and Covenants 20:73-74 we are taught, "The person who is called of God and
has authority from Jesus Christ to baptize, shall go down into the water
with the person who has presented himself or herself for baptism, and
shall say, calling him or her by name: Having been commissioned of Jesus
Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost. Amen. Then shall he immerse him or her in the water, and
come forth again out of the water". The act of immersing
a person in water is symbolic of that person’s sinful life being buried
and they being reborn or receiving a new life – a spiritual life – a life
that is dedicated to serving God and others. Immersion is also symbolic of
the death, burial, and resurrection of the Savior. In Romans 6:3-11 we read these
words, “Know ye not, that so many of us as
were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as
Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
For if we have been
planted together in the likeness of
his death, we shall be also in the likeness
of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with
him, that the
body of sin might be destroyed, that
henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Now if we be dead with
Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised
from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also
yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus
Christ our Lord.”
I was born and raised
as a Baptist. As such, the method of baptism by immersion was not a new
concept to me. I had read the New Testament Gospel accounts of the baptism
of Christ numerous times and I fully understood that being baptized by
immersion was indeed following the example that the Savior had set before
us when he was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River (See
Matthew 3:13-17). I also understood the symbolism that Christ’s baptism
represents and teaches us. I also did not have a real issue with having to
be baptized again because even growing up in the Baptist church, if I
transferred from a church that was a part of one sect or convention to
another; re-baptism was often required before membership would be
accepted. What did concern me for some time, Brothers and Sisters, was the
ideal of having to be baptized by one who had proper authority. The
question in my mind was. “Were not those who baptized me before authorized
to do so?” It took a lot of soul searching, pondering the Scriptures, and
prayer to finally come to terms with the matter.
I had no doubt in my
mind that this is the Lord’s true Church and that becoming a member of His
Church was indeed the right thing to do. I also came to the realization
that if I were to become a member of His Church I had to be willing to be
obedient to the things which He has commanded and one of things which He
commanded was that baptism was to be done by immersion and the ordinance
must be performed by one having priesthood authority.
One of the things
that really helped to settle a lot of questions and concerns in my mind
was the fact that I made a commitment to read all of the Book of Mormon,
Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price prior to being
baptized. I had already read the Bible in its entirety several times and
so I was very familiar with its teachings. As I read the Book of Mormon in
particular I came across some verses in Mosiah 18 that really made me stop
and think and helped me in making my decision to be baptized. In Mosiah
18:8-10 we read,
8 And it came to pass
that he said unto them: Behold, here are the
waters of Mormon (for thus were they called)
and now, as ye are desirous to come into the
fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s
burdens, that they may be light; 9 Yea, and are
willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand
in need of
comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at
all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first
resurrection, that ye may have eternal life— 10 Now I say unto
you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being
baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have
entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?
I further came to
realize that if I were to become a member of His Church, I had to be
willing to take His name upon me and be willing to follow His example
because when we are baptized we enter into a covenant with God to take
upon ourselves the name of Jesus Christ, to keep His commandments, and to
serve Him to the end (See Mosiah 18:8-10; D&C 20:37). Each time that
we partake of the Sacrament we renew the covenant that we made at baptism
(See D&C 20:77-79).
The question is asked in 2 Nephi 31:10, “Can we follow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father?” Verses 11 through 13 go on to say,
11 And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be
baptized in the name of my
Beloved Son. 12 And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized
in my name, to him will the Father give the
Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow
me, and do the things which ye have seen me
do. 13 Wherefore,
my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception
before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you
the name of
Christ, by baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into
the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire
and of the
Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the
tongue of angels, and shout praises unto
the Holy One of Israel.
Brothers and Sisters, 11 years ago in the far away
land of Iceland, where I was stationed in the Navy at the time, I made the
decision to be baptized. That decision started me on a whole new path in
my life. I am convinced that had the Lord not taken me out of the main
stream of things and sent me to a place as far away as Iceland, I probably
would not be standing before this congregation this morning. My goals and
my priorities where definitely a lot different than what the Lord had in
mind. After being baptized and becoming more learned of the Gospel, and
because of my willingness to take upon me His name, to follow His example,
and to be obedient to His commands, I have seen and continue to see
blessing after blessing in my life. Many doors that I once thought would
never be opened to me are now beginning to open and I have been blessed in
so many ways with new opportunities to help me grow and mature in the
Gospel.
In closing, I believe
that the words of President Joseph F. Smith best describe how I felt after
being baptized. He said, “When I [was] baptized for the remission of my
sins, the feeling that came upon me was that of pure peace, of love and of
light. I felt in my soul that if I had sinned – and surely I was not
without sin – that it had been forgiven me; that I was indeed cleansed
from my sin; my heart was touched, and I felt that I would not injure the
smallest insect beneath my feet. I felt as if I wanted to do good
everywhere to everybody and to everything. I felt a newness of life, a
newness of desire to do that which was right. There was not one particle
of desire for evil left in my soul . . . this was the influence that came
upon me, and I know that it was from God, and was and ever has been a
living witness to me of my acceptance of the Lord. (CR, April 1898,
p.66)
I leave you with my testimony that I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is true. I know that the Bible and the Book of Mormon are the Word of God. I know that God lives and that Jesus is the Christ. I know that Joseph Smith was and is a Prophet of the Lord. I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the Lord’s true Church upon the earth today and that His Church is being led by a Living Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson. Of these things I do so testify and bear solemn witness in the Sacred name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. Amen. ** Note: This Sacrament talk was presented to the congregation of the Annapolis Maryland Ward. |
|
|
