"The First Fruits of Repentence is Baptism."

Hi!

Sorry about the skipped email last week. Too busy. Anyway, this first few days in this week have been a mad house and super packed with miracles. So last Friday, we go to a certain apartment complex to look up former investigators. As we were parking I felt really good about tracting a certain building. We start knocking doors and we tract into this YSA girl who says that we could come back. The next day we show up to her apartment and she says that she forgot about us coming but still lets us in. We start teaching a first and baptism comes up and we ask her why she thinks baptism is important. She says she has no idea why. But we start teaching her about baptism and at the end she wants to get baptized. Skip ahead a few days. At our next appointment she says that she read all the scriptures we marked, the pamphlet and the scriptures in it and she feels really good about the whole thing. She says that she was planning on cancelling on us when we set up our first appointment but she spaced that we were coming. She says that she is so grateful that God let her forget about the appointment because she believes that this is true. After our first appointment, she had talked to her Sister-in-law's mother who is an active member of the church and she told her about eternal families. This investigator was so memorized by that because she is really close with her family and wants that for hers. She said, that is a huge reason she wants to learn more. We are doing a church tour with her on Friday and she is bringing people too.

So me and Sister Sorensen went to Leadership training this past week and I learned a huge lesson about the importance of baptism. So you know the five principles of the gospel-faith, repentance, baptism, HG and endure to the end? Well, it hit me this week that no one can feel true repentance or forgiveness UNLESS they are baptized by proper authority and given the HG. In PMG pg 2 it says "Although they (nonmembers) may not know why, they need relief from feelings of guilt that come from mistakes and sins. They need to experience the joy of redemption by receiving forgiveness of their sins...

Moro 8:25- "The the first fruits of repentance is baptism..."
Baptism is a step in repentance or for those that have been baptized- the sacrament. So a nonmember who seeks forgiveness from God can pray for forgiveness and change his life but the burden and guilt will still be there. His garments are still spotted with sin until baptism and receiving the HG. So millions of people are wandering the world with loads of guilt from sin and transgression and we have the relief that we need. So please keep that in mind when you think of non-member friends and sharing the gospel.

Love Sister Sumsion

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!