while this is a good idea the reality is that I have seen people baptized who have attended church once, who still drink alcohol, who are in committed same sex relationships...and then when they find out that they can't live that lifestyle (because for some reason it wasn't fully explained to them) they never return. People who actually attend church before baptism, are friendshipped by the congregation and are involved rarely fall away. It is very sad. We've had lots of people get baptized and not show up for confirmation the following week. I don't think rushing a person into baptism is a good idea. I know a prophet said it is okay but times have changed and sometimes we need to realize and recognize that things are different now. Society is in moral decay and many people like the idea of the church, it appeals to them but when it really comes down to it they aren't fully aware of what is involved in living this lifestyle and they aren't prepared to change. Coming to church once, meeting with the missionaries a few times doesn't really seem to work out here in the mission field where I live. It might work in Utah where people are familiar with the LDS lifestyle but out here it's a bit of a surprise when they find out what we stand for and they don't want to give certain things us. Our most recent convert family attended church for a full year before becoming members and they have a rock solid testimony. Just a differing opinion and something to think about.
JoanAugust 21, 2014
Hmm--I'll have to think about that. I remember a case in Boston (won't say which ward or when) where the wife was baptized first, then her husband a few weeks later. In Gospel Doctrine (Yes, not Gospel Essentials), when the Book of Mormon was mentioned, he raised his hand and asked what it was. Don't you think that before someone is baptized that he should at least hear about the Book of Mormon?
JimAugust 21, 2014
It's a lot easier to baptize people, than to keep them active in the church.
KATAugust 18, 2014
I also am fascinated by this quote by Howard W. Hunter, and would love a citation of it. Date and place it was said?
Thanks!
lindaAugust 16, 2014
hi, could you tell me where i can find that quote by Howard W. Hunter?
thank you,
Alan L. LaBarAugust 14, 2014
My wife and I were baptized 25 years ago October 12th of this year. I was 40.
That is one of two times my children will attest to the fact that they seen me "run".
Father has blessed me with this earth life and many truths I have learned.
With all the challenges besetting us in today's world it seems "silly" that we waste any precious time even thinking about the "time line" of another's baptism. (This is simply my opinion),
Free agency is a wonderful gift from God Our Father.
As the "saying goes"; we can make our choices but we can not dictate the results of those choices.
Were it up to me (and it is not) I would say to every human on the planet - Seek The Gospel - Join The Church", run for the door to be baptized and live the gospel - I guarantee you will have a better life.
JaceAugust 14, 2014
I agree that if someone is taught the gospel and has a desire to be baptized that we should baptize them. I think though that sometimes missionaries fail to either fully inform or explain enough to the new converts what will be expected of them as part of the ward family and how the culture of living/serving in a ward may be different than what they may know from their life before baptism. Things such as serving faithfully in a calling for instance should be better explained. We have lost a lot of new converts over the years simply because they were asked to do a calling, accepted, but then when they were expected to do it week after week or find someone else to fill in during absences, they got overwhelmed. They did not having had a real understanding of service in the church, got frustrated, and stopped coming to church. I think that also, we as a church have got to understand that in the world they are coming from, service is something that is celebrated and thanked constantly. In the church we tend to treat service and serving in a calling as a normal duty that rarely is praised nor is thanks given except possibly a brief canned statement across the podium when the person is released. There are not service banquets, awards ceremonies, or other recognition for doing service in the church like you would find in the rest of the world had a person volunteered the amount of time that our members do. After a while I think our new members can begin to feel like they are doing all these hours of work for a calling and no one appreciates it or cares. No one thanks them, praises their efforts, recognizes them with awards or luncheons, and often they receive little or no feedback for their efforts. This is certainly not the case in all circumstances. But, in the church there is this feeling or expectation that you accept the calling, do your work, and go forward without recognition or reward because we are serving the Lord and will be rewarded in heaven. I believe many new members may not fully understand that concept and they become frustrated when they do countless hours of work with no recognition for their efforts or feedback other than they do not have to teach a lesson the following Sunday because of General Conference. I think another thing that they may not understand about serving in the church is that they could be in a calling for several years and are expected to continue serving until they are released. In the rest of the world, if you are tired of volunteering somewhere you can choose to stop at anytime and go volunteer somewhere else of your choosing. No one is forcing you to stay and if an organization gets a good year or two out of you then you went well beyond their expectations. Many people will serve for one event or one project and move on to something else when they are done with that event or project and desire to do something else. I think accepting the gospel can sometimes be easier than living in the culture of the church. If we did a better job explaining the culture and working with the new members we might keep more of them active after baptism.
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kristyAugust 26, 2014
while this is a good idea the reality is that I have seen people baptized who have attended church once, who still drink alcohol, who are in committed same sex relationships...and then when they find out that they can't live that lifestyle (because for some reason it wasn't fully explained to them) they never return. People who actually attend church before baptism, are friendshipped by the congregation and are involved rarely fall away. It is very sad. We've had lots of people get baptized and not show up for confirmation the following week. I don't think rushing a person into baptism is a good idea. I know a prophet said it is okay but times have changed and sometimes we need to realize and recognize that things are different now. Society is in moral decay and many people like the idea of the church, it appeals to them but when it really comes down to it they aren't fully aware of what is involved in living this lifestyle and they aren't prepared to change. Coming to church once, meeting with the missionaries a few times doesn't really seem to work out here in the mission field where I live. It might work in Utah where people are familiar with the LDS lifestyle but out here it's a bit of a surprise when they find out what we stand for and they don't want to give certain things us. Our most recent convert family attended church for a full year before becoming members and they have a rock solid testimony. Just a differing opinion and something to think about.
JoanAugust 21, 2014
Hmm--I'll have to think about that. I remember a case in Boston (won't say which ward or when) where the wife was baptized first, then her husband a few weeks later. In Gospel Doctrine (Yes, not Gospel Essentials), when the Book of Mormon was mentioned, he raised his hand and asked what it was. Don't you think that before someone is baptized that he should at least hear about the Book of Mormon?
JimAugust 21, 2014
It's a lot easier to baptize people, than to keep them active in the church.
KATAugust 18, 2014
I also am fascinated by this quote by Howard W. Hunter, and would love a citation of it. Date and place it was said? Thanks!
lindaAugust 16, 2014
hi, could you tell me where i can find that quote by Howard W. Hunter? thank you,
Alan L. LaBarAugust 14, 2014
My wife and I were baptized 25 years ago October 12th of this year. I was 40. That is one of two times my children will attest to the fact that they seen me "run". Father has blessed me with this earth life and many truths I have learned. With all the challenges besetting us in today's world it seems "silly" that we waste any precious time even thinking about the "time line" of another's baptism. (This is simply my opinion), Free agency is a wonderful gift from God Our Father. As the "saying goes"; we can make our choices but we can not dictate the results of those choices. Were it up to me (and it is not) I would say to every human on the planet - Seek The Gospel - Join The Church", run for the door to be baptized and live the gospel - I guarantee you will have a better life.
JaceAugust 14, 2014
I agree that if someone is taught the gospel and has a desire to be baptized that we should baptize them. I think though that sometimes missionaries fail to either fully inform or explain enough to the new converts what will be expected of them as part of the ward family and how the culture of living/serving in a ward may be different than what they may know from their life before baptism. Things such as serving faithfully in a calling for instance should be better explained. We have lost a lot of new converts over the years simply because they were asked to do a calling, accepted, but then when they were expected to do it week after week or find someone else to fill in during absences, they got overwhelmed. They did not having had a real understanding of service in the church, got frustrated, and stopped coming to church. I think that also, we as a church have got to understand that in the world they are coming from, service is something that is celebrated and thanked constantly. In the church we tend to treat service and serving in a calling as a normal duty that rarely is praised nor is thanks given except possibly a brief canned statement across the podium when the person is released. There are not service banquets, awards ceremonies, or other recognition for doing service in the church like you would find in the rest of the world had a person volunteered the amount of time that our members do. After a while I think our new members can begin to feel like they are doing all these hours of work for a calling and no one appreciates it or cares. No one thanks them, praises their efforts, recognizes them with awards or luncheons, and often they receive little or no feedback for their efforts. This is certainly not the case in all circumstances. But, in the church there is this feeling or expectation that you accept the calling, do your work, and go forward without recognition or reward because we are serving the Lord and will be rewarded in heaven. I believe many new members may not fully understand that concept and they become frustrated when they do countless hours of work with no recognition for their efforts or feedback other than they do not have to teach a lesson the following Sunday because of General Conference. I think another thing that they may not understand about serving in the church is that they could be in a calling for several years and are expected to continue serving until they are released. In the rest of the world, if you are tired of volunteering somewhere you can choose to stop at anytime and go volunteer somewhere else of your choosing. No one is forcing you to stay and if an organization gets a good year or two out of you then you went well beyond their expectations. Many people will serve for one event or one project and move on to something else when they are done with that event or project and desire to do something else. I think accepting the gospel can sometimes be easier than living in the culture of the church. If we did a better job explaining the culture and working with the new members we might keep more of them active after baptism.
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