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I love Jesus 8/25/13

So, this week, I was able to baptize one of my former investigators and see two other people be baptized. Baptisms are an awesome way for people to reaffirm their faith. I know this because it has helped to reaffirm mine. The covenant of baptism is one of the greatest manifestations of our faith. It is a promise to follow Jesus Christ.
 It is the gateway to the Celestial Kingdom.
One of the things I've been focusing on in my studies is the necessity of the Doctrine of Christ in applying the Atonement. Often when we teach the lessons, we teach them as individual units, somewhat disconnected, and our investigators don't really understand how each part comes together as a latticework of interdependent threads. Without one, the others have little effect. Each piece is important, and if we fail in some areas we may preclude ourselves from receiving the blessings of Eternal Life.
As many of you may know, Preach My Gospel mentions the importance of the Atonement as central to the Plan of Salvation. And many people understand the basic meaning of the Atonement, but it is the Doctrine of Christ that allows us to implement the Atonement in our lives.
Through Faith, Repentance, Baptism, Receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and Enduring to the End, we invite the savior into our lives and our hearts.
I've heard it stated often that we are not saved through our works, I've also heard it stated by some denominations of Christianity that we must only accept Jesus Christ as our Savior in order to be saved. While both of these contain some truth, they do not explain the commitment that is required for Salvation. If our works were not important in the sight of the Lord, he would not have taught us to do good. If we only had to accept and believe, Christ would not have expressed the importance of Baptism.
I'm out of time so I'll save the rest for another time but it's something to think about.
Elder Ryan

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