Baptism as a Rebirth

This afternoon, I'm giving a short talk at my nephew's baptism. (Third week in a row that I'm teaching on Sunday.) What I want to focus on in that talk is the ordinance of baptism as a rebirth.

Baptism by immersion is a symbol of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Savior. In a similar way, it represents the end of our old life of sin and a commitment to live a new life as a disciple of Christ.
- Preach My Gospel, Page 64

"With baptism, we begin a new way of life." - Gospel Principles, Page 116

When we're baptized, we make a covenant (or two-way promise) with God that we'll serve Him and keep His commandments. In return, He promises that He'll forgive our sins and bless us with the guidance and companionship of the Holy Ghost.

As we follow God, He blesses us, but sometimes we fall short and fail to keep the commandments. Since a covenant is a two-way promise, it only works if both people hold up their end of the deal. When we break our covenants by sinning, we can lose the blessings we received at baptism.

But baptism is a symbol of rebirth, second chances, and trying again. That's why Jesus introduced the Sacrament. When we take the Sacrament, we renew our Baptismal covenants, and God renews His covenants with us. It's like being "Born Again" all over again.

In 2 Nephi 31, we learn that through Baptism, we enter into the "Strait and Narrow path." Once we've done that, we must make continual efforts to stay on that path, and to get back on it every time we fall off. Because God loves us and knows that we'll continue to fall short again and again, He gave us a weekly opportunity to renew our Baptismal  covenants and try again. I'm grateful for the many opportunities God gives us to be spiritually reborn, so we can continually repent and improve. I want to follow the Savior and continue to renew my covenants so I can eventually become like Him.