John 3: We Must Be Born Again

After reading John 3:1-8 and reading the question on the difference between “seeing” and “entering” the kingdom of God I came up with these thoughts.  When a person is of contrite spirit, willing to obey the Lord, this type of person see’s the kingdom of God through blessings and miracles in life.  People with a contrite spirit are susceptible to the promptings of the Holy Ghost and are able to “see” what the kingdom of God has.  Now, being able to “enter” the kingdom of God requires one step besides being of poor spirit.  That is to be born again through baptism.  There are two things that must be done to “see” and “enter” the kingdom of God: repentance and baptism.  A truly repented soul is of contrite spirit and after that baptism follows. 

Christ taught Nicudemus that a man has to be born of water and of the spirit to be enter the kingdom of God.  To be “born of water” means to be cleansed from our sins.  This is a necessary step to become spiritually clean again; it is so essential that the Lord Jesus Christ set the example for us when he was baptized.  Baptism is a symbolism of rebirth.  There are parts in the process of baptism that shows this.  When we come out of the water after our whole body is submerged, we are being born again.  When our whole body was submerged in the water, this represented death because when we die we are usually laid in a casket and are buried.  The process of being baptized shows this as our bodies are covered by water and we lay there.

 

There is repentance, baptism, and after that, the gift of the Holy Ghost.  To “be born of the spirit” means that we are spiritually ready for the companionship of the Holy Ghost because we are humble enough to be able to hear and feel him.  This will be the companion that will guide us, console us, confirm truths, and many other things.  The Lord compares the Holy Ghost to the element of wind.  This is a great comparison because the Holy Ghost is something we can feel, but we cannot see.  The wind is the same way; we can feel it, but we can’t see it.  Since we feel it, we know is there.

Mathew 1-2, Luke 1-2. The Birth of Jesus Christ

When Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant with a child that was not his, he decided he would break the engagement in a private manner.  He decided not to bring Mary into a trial to be punished and make a public example out of her.  Joseph was handling the situation very well and his behavior showed kindness and humility.

 As he thought about how to break the news to Mary, an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream.  The angel explained that Mary had conceived from the Holy Ghost a child that would save the people from their sins and that they would name him Jesus.  Once again, Joseph showed kindness and humility by taking Mary as his wife.  Joseph could’ve let anger and bitterness take over after finding out his future wife was pregnant.  Mary could’ve been punished with the death penalty; however, Joseph loved her so much that those negative feelings didn’t take over him. 

Joseph received a lot of revelation through dreams.  Just in Luke chapter 1 and 2 he received revelation through dreams four times.  This tells us that Joseph was living a righteous life to be worthy of receiving revelation through dreams.  In Doctrine and Covenants 88:10 we learn that the Lord is bound to us when we do what he says.  I know that Joseph was living the commandments and therefore Heavenly Father was helping him to stay out of danger to protect Jesus. 

Joseph was not Jesus literal father; however, Joseph took the father role and raised Jesus as his own.  Joseph had many wonderful qualities.  One of his qualities was his humility.  With humility we invite the Holy Ghost which can help us as parents raise and guide our children.  Another quality was his ability to protect and provide for his family during difficult circumstances.  Through personal revelation and obedience to the promptings of his dreams he was able to protect his family from danger.  Those qualities are very important when raising a son or daughter of God.  My husband and I are parents to a beautiful baby boy and we are trying our best to live our lives in harmony with the Gospel to raise him with good standards.

Joseph and Mary were chosen to raise the only begotten.  My husband and I were blessed to raise a son of God in the Gospel.  Having the priesthood in our little family will have an eternal impact in our son, because one day he will posses it and raise his own family under the priesthood and gospel. 

  

First General Conference April 2012