Baptism and Agency

Okay. We are taking shifts today with sick babies and we are at mid-shift and I am going quickly to church, but I wanted to write down a few quick thoughts I had before I lost them.
I was reading 3 Nephi 11 today and verses 33 and 34 stuck out to me a little more than usual. I have been guilty at times of wondering what the "big deal" about baptism is and have pondered it a little here and there. I think I am really starting to get it. Um...anyway. Here are the verses:
"And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God. And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned."
Pretty cut and dry if you ask me. The part that used to bother me is that I felt like the "damned" part was pretty harsh. However, as I have learned and understood a bit more, really, the Lord has no choice. Simply put he must enforce His laws. He has already chosen to do so. He has said that in order to enter the Celestial Kingdom we have to be baptized. In order to want to enter we have to believe in Christ and trust him and know that what He is saying is "for real". The other side, the "damned" part is simply that we choose not to believe, or trust Christ and we choose not to be baptized. Therefore we choose to NOT enter the Celestial Kingdom. So...we just damned ourselves.
I think this helps me with understanding the mercy of Christ. He loves us. He wants us to be with Him and the Father. He says we should be baptized (among other commandments) if we want to live where Him and the Father live. It's pretty simple. He NEVER takes our ability to choose our path. But the consequences for good or evil cannot be repealed.
It's just the same as if I choose to stay up late (which I do all too often). The consequence is...I am tired. No avoiding it. If I would have chosen to avoid college...I wouldn't be a teacher. If I had chosen to not be married...I wouldn't have a family. By taking on responsibility I have found further happiness AND progress. Hard somedays? Yes. Rewarding? Much more so. Progression is very interesting, what seems hard, but then achieved all of a sudden becomes, "I could never go back! Ever."
So back to something as simple as baptism. It is a very short (time-wise) ordinance that shows the Father we are willing to give life our best shot. It also shows we are willing to make preparations for the Celestial Kingdom.
So. Really I guess the Savior is right: "And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God. And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned."
And it won't be His fault, it will be ours.
That is a sobering thought to me and I hope I can continue trying to work hard. Yes, I have been baptized by Authority, but it is still up to me to endure to the end. Thankfully our Savior cares enough about our success to send help and support when we are in need.

Jon Schmidt

Okay. Growing up during my high school years, Sam Barker and I loved listening to this guy's music for our background to many conversations. I think he is a very talented man and very entertaining. Jenna showed me this video the other day and I realized the guy still has it! Anyway. Some of you may have seen this, but this song is quite good. I wouldn't post it if I wasn't impressed! Oh, the cellist is a man named Steve Sharp Nelson, he's also very talented.

Talents are amazing aren't they?

Back...

Okay. It's been a while. Jenna is definitely more dedicated to bloggery than I am, but in my defense it has been a CRAZY 6 weeks.
We are adjusting quite well to everything and just blessed Allison Elizabeth on Sunday. It was nice, I am grateful for revelation.
I think the second time around is much easier. With Dallin I could hardly sleep the first night...with Allison. I threw a blanket over my head (it was cold...but not to Jenna...) and went to sleep. Jenna couldn't wake me until she started throwing things. That is true love...and much more confidence in the gift of lungs. Though we did have a choking scare that first night due to quite a bit of amniotic fluid. More was sucked out the next afternoon also.
Needless to say we have been exceptionally tired this last few weeks. School has been more of a challenge, but things are looking up.
It is all worth it though as it seems to be that we grow closer to God in our extremity. A little over a week after Allison was born I got the root canal of my life. That is saying something, because I have had plenty. I thought I was being extra prepared and got into the dentist before it completely flared up. But I was wrong. The surgery was performed...and then the pain began. It got infected and not even very adequate painkillers could do very much for me. At one point during this week ordeal (yes, a week...) our bishop, who is also our neighbor, Shane Frost came to give a blessing. It was late. He then proceeded to drive me over to Cedar City after 11:00 p.m. so Dr. Brown could drill and little and numb me up. It really helped. I really appreciated Shane and Sean taking me over the mountain and Dr. Brown for coming late after Church meetings the day before he flew to Nebraska.
I guess in all this, with a baby and tooth and other adventures we have had lately, we have been made really aware how much the people around us care for us. We try to be helpful members of the community yet the community has really been the ones to take care of us. I believe the Lord is pleased for the most part with the people in this area. They are sincerely trying. I don't think we deserve the help we have received, but I am grateful the Lord has seen fit to help us out.
Anyway. Not much else to say for now. We are doing well and are very happy, if not very tired much of the time. We have a good life. We hope to continue to be worthy of what we are blessed with.