borned again

A month or two ago our friend's little boy Skyler came to church with us, and that day they had a lesson in his primary class about baptism. After church, he came home and told his mom and dad that he'd learned all about baptism; about how "when you go into the water, you get borned again and when you come out your skin is all clean."

It was so cute the way he said it, and we all laughed pretty hard. Not long after this comment, Skyler was able to see his mom get "borned again" and see her come out of the water all clean. It was such an amazing day, and I couldn't help but just smile all day long after seeing her come out of the water with so much joy and excitement. Today I was able to witness that same beautiful ordinance with my friend Nikki. As I watched her go into the water, and come out with that same pure, joyous look about her, I thought of Skyler's comment.

Why do we need to get "borned again?" In John 3:5 we are told that "except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." 2 Nephi 31 refers to baptism as the "gate by which ye should enter" and through which God promises us "a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost." We know that baptism is a necessary step to receiving salvation, and that even our perfect Savior was baptized to show us the way.

So how do we come out of the water cleaner than we were before? One of my favorite scriptures is in Isaiah 1:18, where we are told that "though [our] sins be red like scarlet, they can be white as snow." Our Savior Jesus Christ has given us the opportunity to be cleansed from our sins, and to walk in a newness of life as we bring our lives closer to him. When we are baptized by someone holding the priesthood authority of God, we are not only being cleansed from our sins but we are making a covenant with Him to keep his commandments and always remember Him. After we are baptized we can continue to be cleansed from our sins as we repent and partake of the sacrament each Sunday.

Nothing is better than knowing we are doing what God wants us to do, and that through Christ we have been cleansed from sins. I am so thankful for the sacred covenant of baptism, and to be able to see some of my best friends make that important step in their lives.