book of mormon: day 72: Follow the Lord with full purpose of heart

Today’s reading: 2 Nephi 31: 13-14

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocricy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto to Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism-yea, by following your Lord and 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.”

When I first met John as a young missionary just 7 weeks out, he was the last person I thought would be baptized. When my companion and I approached his filthy, old trailer, he came out with his long, greasy, grey hair and snaggle tooth and practically yelled us off his porch. “I don’t wanna hear about Joseph Smith!!” He yelled. “Your church is a lie!” With that, I was ready to wish the man a good day and get the heck off his porch. My sweet companion, however, looked this crazy man in the eyes and said, “John. We’re just hear to tell you that God loves you and that He wants you to hear our message.” Bewildered, I looked up at John and saw a smile now on his face. He agreed to let us come back.

Over the next several weeks, we taught John about The Restoration, The Plan of Salvation and The Gospel of Jesus Christ. He was coming to church and was reading the Book of Mormon. I couldn’t believe it! However, each time we invited him to be baptized, he got aggressive and said he hadn’t received an answer yet that the church was true. As more weeks went by, he didn’t seem to be making much progress.

One night, my companion and I put together a spur of the moment church tour. Even though John had been coming to church, we felt that he could benefit from this experience. As we showed our group the baptismal font, something changed in John. Tears came to his eyes and we finished the tour. He even bore his testimony at the end. The next day, we asked John about what he had felt. He told us that when he saw the baptismal font, he felt something that he had been longing for. “I want to be clean.” He told us. We understood that he wasn’t talking about being physically clean, he wanted to be clean spiritually.  “John” We said. “Will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized?” “Yes.” He said. “When would you like to?” “As soon as possible.”

The following Saturday, this dear, sweet man entered the waters of baptism with full purpose of heart. He received the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands and was confirmed a member of the Lord’s true church. As I looked at him, I saw a change in his eyes. This man who was once all on his own, who yelled us off his porch, who had suffered so much in his life, now knew with certainty that he was a son of God.  He understood that baptism was only the beginning of his journey. He went to church along with a Book of Mormon class every week and found a love for geneology. He went to the family history center every week and even made it to the temple to perform baptisms for his deceased family members. He truly endured to the end.

Though he passed away just a year after his baptism, he taught me so much about living the gospel faithfully. He taught me that the gospel is a way of living and that we must honor our baptismal covenants so that we can remain clean before the Father. I’ve also learned that we can’t judge by someone’s appearance if they are ready to hear the gospel. God loves all his children and He wants all of them to return to Him. Baptism is essential in that process. I pray that we will live worthy of the Holy Ghost and honor our baptismal covenants. I also pray that we might be able to look outside ourselves and reach out those who are ready to hear the gospel.

Rachel Taylor

I was born and raised in Ogden Utah and am part of a big crazy family of 9. 🙂 I served a mission in Detroit and I seriously love the gospel! I also enjoy reading, drawing, photography and road trips. Tacos and craft stores are my weakness and I believe that ice cream fixes everything.