They Shouldn't Have Been Baptized

I've been a full-time missionary before, so I know how it feels. We set goals, we worked with people, we knew the truth of the Gospel and the Church and we wanted good things for others. Thus, we wanted people to be baptized. We taught them and invited them to be baptized, and they accepted and were baptized. Between those last two steps, there's an interview. The purpose of the interview is to ensure that the person is ready to make this vital covenant. Some people shouldn't make it past this interview but somehow slip through.

Maybe that doesn't sound like a problem to some people. Some missionaries don't see any baptisms during their entire mission, and even those who do still want to see more. Is it a bad thing if some people are baptized when they're not ready?

Absolutely.

In Moroni 7:39, Mormon makes it clear that some people should not be in the Church. "But behold, my beloved brethren, I judge better things of you, for I judge that ye have faith in Christ because of your meekness; for if ye have not faith in him then ye are not fit to be numbered among the people of his church."

That's not to say that the Gospel isn't right and true for everyone, because it is. It doesn't mean that Jesus didn't die for everyone or that God doesn't love everyone, because They did and do. But people should not join the Church until they have sufficient faith in Christ and have made changes in their lives.

Mormon himself addressed this issue in the previous chapter (Moroni 6:1-3):
"And now I speak concerning baptism. Behold, elders, priests, and teachers were baptized; and they were not baptized save they brought forth fruit meet that they were worthy of it.
Neither did they receive any unto baptism save they came forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and witnessed unto the church that they truly repented of all their sins.
And none were received unto baptism save they took upon them the name of Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end."

I've seen it too many times. Maybe it's because a missionary wants to get one more baptism before he leaves, or maybe it's just general over-zealousness. People get baptized without truly having received a testimony from God of Jesus Christ, the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Without that testimony, they don't have much reason to stay around. Sometimes they don't even last long enough to be confirmed.

Making and keeping covenants is the key to progressing toward eternal life. It's a tragedy for people to make serious covenants like baptism but not understand what they're doing. It's a tragedy for people to make serious covenants like baptism and then turn away from the truth.

Does that mean that kids shouldn't be baptized when they're eight years old? No. It means that parents need to teach their children well so that they'll be ready.

I don't think anyone fully understands how important their baptismal covenants are when they get baptized, but it is vital that we make covenants of our own free will, with knowledge of what we're doing, and with a real knowledge. When that isn't the case for some people, they're doing it for the wrong reasons and it hurts them.

Last thoughts for now:
The Gospel is for everyone. Baptism is for everyone. The Holy Ghost is for everyone. Temple ordinances are for everyone. The Atonement of Jesus Christ and covenants are for everyone, but we have to make ourselves ready.

Availability

"Life in the Church soon teaches us that the Lord does not ask us about our ability, but only about our availability. And then, if we demonstrate our dependability, the Lord will increase our capability." --Neal A. Maxwell

I decided a long time ago that I wasn't going to do homework on Sundays. I have stuck to that rule. President Michael Benson, formerly the president of Snow College (and grandson of President Ezra Taft Benson), spoke at the Snow College institute building one Friday and encouraged all of the students there to not do any homework on Sundays. I loved that he of all people would say that, as he, being the president of the school, certainly wanted the students there to succeed academically.

I knew that I couldn't serve the Lord if I was busy doing something else.

Jeri Lynn and I decided also a long time ago that we were going to avoid being out of town on Sundays whenever possible. Sometimes we left on a Friday to visit family and returned the day after. As college students, we knew quite a few people who habitually visited their parents' wards on Sundays. They referred to these wards as their "home wards". Me, I knew where my home ward was. It was where my records were. It was where my bishop was. And, most importantly, it was where my callings were.

I knew that there was no way for me to serve the Lord if I wasn't around.

It makes plain sense that the first step in serving the Lord is just being available, but I feel like too often people (including myself if I'm not careful) don't make an effort to ensure that they stay available. The world certainly tries to pull us away, telling us that it's important to do other things. "Hey! School's important! You need to do your homework!" "Yeah, well my major is tough; people in my major have to get homework done on Sundays." Well, what I studied was no piece of cake. Computer Science isn't going to be found on a list of easy college majors. But the closest I came to ever doing homework on a Sunday was when I went to sleep early Sunday night, then got up a few hours later, then worked for hours on a project that was due Monday morning. I didn't even particularly like that because I was cutting into Sunday time by going to bed early. What I do know is that if I had done my homework on Sundays I just wouldn't have been able to do the work of the Lord, regardless of anything else.

What we choose to do with our time is really the only gift we can give our Father in Heaven. Not only should we just be around, but we should actively seek to know the will of God so that we may act according to it. We should make time for the Lord, then find a way to use it well.

Doctrine and Covenants 58:27-29 "Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness; For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward. But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned."

Last thoughts for now:
I often have to decide whether to serve the Lord or serve myself. I know that I must make myself available to God and that some things, though I may like them or feel they are important, aren't deserving of my time or can wait until I have served the Lord. I'm sure this will be an enduring challenge, but I know that as I grow closer to God it becomes more natural. And as I serve God, I become more like Him.