I know that the family is ordained of God. We have to fight for each other. When Steve left on his mission he had no idea how far reaching his choice would be. Hearts have been softened and his influence has been felt directly by my sweet daughter Jessica's family. I would say this is one of the most important Baptism's of Steve's mission and it happened right here at home, he wasn't in physical attendance but I know his whole heart was there. At first Devon wanted Grandpa Todd to both Baptize and Confirm him. But it the truest missionary spirit Todd encouraged him to chose one of the missionaries who had taught him since they don't get to preform many baptisms very often.
Devon made the choice today to be baptized. That is a big
deal. Lets talk about why this is such a big deal. First of all it’s a choice.
Devon’s parents and all his family would love him just the same baptized or
not. So it’s a big deal that he is doing this because it’s right for him and
not to please anyone but God and himself.
As you grow up Devon you will find that there are those who
say they follow Jesus Christ and there are those who show they follow Jesus
Christ. Some of those who say it don’t take it into their hearts and live what
they say they believe. Today you are not only saying that you want to follow
Christ you are showing it. It is really important to do both. You are a very
special boy. The power to choose is a big deal and you have parents that
support you in making good choices. You made this choice, you choose today to
do your very best to spend your life trying to be like Jesus Christ. I promise
you that this choice will bring you so much happiness and joy not just today
but as you grow and try to be more like Jesus you will feel a special kind of
happy strength grow inside of you. Your spirit will become a strong warrior
able to resist wrong and shining out to others as an example of the happiness
that comes if you live a life seeking to be like Christ. This is what it means
to, ‘Take his name upon you.’
Today you will go under the water and come up out of the
water. This is to show your faith that you understand that Jesus Christ and all
of us will rise from the grave not as zombies, not as mummies but as perfect resurrected
human beings. Death is not the end.
Mormon 7:5 Know ye that ye
must come to the knowledge of your fathers, and repent of all your sins and
iniquities, and believe in Jesus Christ, that he is the Son of God, and that he
was slain by the Jews, and by the power of the Father he hath risen again,
whereby he hath gained the victory over the grave; and also in him is the sting
of death swallowed up.
This is possible because of Jesus Christ’s Atonement.
Atonement means ‘one with Christ’. I have found that the best way to become one
with Christ is to be Accountable. To be accountable means that when you do
anything that is wrong you will stand before those that you have wronged and
admit what you have done. It’s not a fun thing to do it feels pretty
uncomfortable. Jesus stood accountable for all of us. He understood us, all our
pain, from our bad choices and from the bad choices of others. He stood before
God and said I will take the punishment for all the wrong doings that Devon
Radebe will chose in his life. I will also feel all the pain and sadness that
he will feel. He did this for us all. Isn’t it beautiful to think that he
understands all our hurt and all our pain. God is the only one who really knows
what it is like to feel the way you feel about anything and everything. It is
the greatest Miracle of all Miracles that he could take our punishment and make
a way for us to be forgiven.
Each Sunday when you take the Sacrament you are standing
Accountable before God. It’s important for you to understand that
Accountability is an important part of repentance. It’s the part that shows
everyone what is really most important to us and who matters most to us. For
example: If you have done something wrong you need to do all you can to make it
right. In the government this is called restitution. If you hurt Kiana you need
to do more than say sorry right. First of all you need to be accountable, tell
your Mom or Dad that you know you hurt her and that it was wrong. Then you have
got to do something to show or make it as right as you can. If you ruined her
lego creation you could make it right by giving her some of your favorite
pieces to build with. Or helping her to rebuild what you destroyed.
When we chose to be Baptized it’s because we know that we
can’t be perfect so we do it to show what really matters to us is accepting
Jesus Christ’s gift of saving us.
Baptism shows everyone what is really most important to us and who matters most
to us. Today you stand before God and you are Accountable you admit that you
can not make it alone and you admit that you know you are going to make some
mistakes. You also promise to make it right. The restitution you offer is to
always remember him, to take his name upon you, you are a Christian, and to
keep his Commandments. You will do this today and each Sunday when you take the
sacrament. I challenge you to say a prayer either Saturday night or Sunday
morning. This will be a special weekly prayer a prayer that you say to prepare
to take the sacrament. Pray for help, forgiveness and tell God what is in your
heart. Make him your best friend and team mate, tell him what you want, what
you need and prepare yourself to feel again the newness and the joy that you
feel today as you are baptized. You can feel joy that comes from the clensing
power of Baptism each week as you take the sacrament. But it requires effort.
You can’t just say it you must show it. Be totally honest with God in your
prayers. He will help you to face all of the battles of life. He will help you
to find the strength to stand Accountable as a Represtentative of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.
He lives Devon. I know this, not because I have seen him or
any angels for that matter. I hope for it and I have acted on that hope and it
has grown into a strong faith. That faith that I have in my Savior and yours is
very strong. I have had some very special experiences in prayer, in the temple,
in life and each one has helped my faith to grow. I know that as you work to
live like Jesus and try with all your heart to keep the commandments and be
accountable when you don’t that your hope and faith can grow strong to. I have
felt bad and had some really sad times to and I have felt my faith grow then as
well. Jesus Christ will not leave us alone if we seek him out we will find him
in good times and bad ones. He wants us to join with him and feel the joy and
peace that come from being on the Lord’s side. You have chosen today to join
the right team, the winning team. Today you make a very wise choice. I love
you!
