After 5 years of sitting on the shelf in cyber space, the blog has survived! Incredible.
I came back to this forgotten blog to create a new post for a religion class I am taking. My last post was about Emily's baptism, so I decided that this blog entry will be about 2 Nephi 31. Why should we be baptized and why was Christ baptized? In verse 2 & 3, Nephi says that he will speak unto us plainly and that his soul delighteth in plainness. I am going to follow Nephi's lead in this post. :)
Christ was perfect. He did no wrong, and yet he was baptized. Baptism washes away our sins and we have a clean slate. So if Christ was perfect, why did he need to be baptized? Verse 7 says: "Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments."
Christ was baptized because it is a commandment for all men to be baptized. In doing so, he was setting an example for us by keeping God's commandments. Christ wanted us to follow him, so by being baptized, he showed us what he expects us to do. Nephi poses the thought, "Can we follow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father?" We should be baptized because God has commanded that we be baptized in the name of His Beloved Son.
Nephi also explains to us that our baptism is just the beginning. When we repent and are baptized, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, we must "press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and all men." Accepting Christ and being baptized are probably the easy part. The hard part is afterwards when we must LIVE like Christ and endure to the end.
The best part? "Ye shall have eternal life."
