My weekend

Well to start off the weekend I went to a baseball clinic. I really didnt learn much at he clinic but It was fun to hang out with one of my friends Mitch from the teachers quorum. After all that I drove home from shepherd for the first time and did pretty good except for the part where i didnt brake enough on the turn to preston and everything in the car flew forward lol.

Then I went to my grandpas house to make a baseball bat. I spent a whole 4 and a half hours with my uncle making this bat. I think it turned out great but it is a little to heavy. It is 32" and 41oz. A normal bat that i would use is 32" and 29oz so they bat is a whole lot heavier than the normal weight. It is still fun to use though.

I also went to a baptism for Shane Rader, a boy who has been recently coming to church and to our other activities. He asked me to speak so I wanted to make the talk especially for him. I am very proud of myself for the way it turned out. I had a lot of people crying, as well as myself. I definitely loved looking at Shane and seeing him crying and really paying close attention to me. I also learned that Shane wanted me to baptize him. I would've have loved to do that! But since I am not a Priest I cant. It was a very busy but fun Saturday. I also have my talk at the bottom to anyone who would like to read it :).

My name is Jonathan Hooper and Shane has asked me to give a talk on baptism. When Shane asked me to give a talk I was actually quite excited. I am most excited to be part of his baptism. I’ve really enjoyed Shane being in our quorum and I want him to know that we all are happy to have you in our quorum.

First off I’d like to start with the scripture John 3:5-Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Baptism is a holy ordinance. An ordinance is a sacred ceremony that shows that we have entered into a covenant with our Heavenly Father. We covenant with the Lord to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and to keep His commandments. In return, God promises to forgive us of our sins as we repent and to bless us with His Spirit.

Baptism is one step closer to the Celestial Kingdom. As the scripture John 3:5 said, without being baptized by water and of the spirit, we cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Being baptized by the Spirit, you are beginning a new spiritual life as a disciple or follower of Christ.

We must be baptized to become members of the restored Church—The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—and to eventually enter the kingdom of heaven. This baptism ordinance is a law of God and must be performed by His authority. A bishop or mission president must give a priesthood holder permission to perform a baptism or confirmation.

After baptism we show our faith by keeping our covenants that we made when we were baptized by partaking of the sacrament. Partaking of the sacrament weekly is a commandment. It helps us remain worthy to have the spirit with us always. It is also a weekly reminder of our covenants.The covenants that we make are… that we will take upon the name of Jesus Christ, obey all of God’s commandments, and to serve Him to the end.

After we have made our covenant and have entered into the straight and narrow path God has set for us, we must always try to stay in this path by staying away from sin. Trials will happen and no one is perfect and if you ever go astray of the path, you can repent. Once you have fully repented, you will be pack in the path to the kingdom of heaven.

Shane , You will never forget being baptized. 7 years ago I was baptized and I still remember it. I remember putting on the white suit and going down into the baptismal font with my father and I held his arm and he submersed my body under the water. I came up out of the water and knew that being baptized was a good choice.

Bear Testimony
AMEN