This
week has been absolutely fantastic! It's been anything but a normal week
though. Let me explain...
On
Wednesday the mission went to the temple again! Or at least the zones in
and around the capital. It was a great experience, one because we only
get to go a couple of times a year, and two, because while I was there I was
able to do a vicarious baptism for my grandfather.
Now,
for those of you who don't know what vicarious baptism (or baptism for the
dead) is, let me explain. We believe in the words of Jesus Christ
recorded in John 3:5, that is "He that is not born of water and of the
spirit cannot enter in to the kingdom of God." We also believe that
for a baptism to be valid, it must be performed by someone who holds the
Priesthood, or in other words is authorized by God to perform said
baptism. We also believe that said authority is only found in the Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Taking all of that into account, it
means that there are a whole lot of people who don't have their ticket to enter
the Kingdom of God. That's why we do missionary work, so that as many
people as possible can be baptized by someone authorized to do so, and be able
to enter the Kingdom. But what happens to all of those folks who die
without being baptized, or even hearing about the gospel in this life?
The
answer can be found in Doctrine
& Covenants 138. Yes, I'm going to make you read it. You
all can regañar me for giving you homework when I get home.
The
point is, these people still need baptisms. And that's part of what we do
in the temple: we perform vicarious, or proxy baptisms for those who have died
without being baptized by the authorized servants of God on this earth.
If they choose to accept it, it counts as if they had been baptized in this
life. They can enter the Kingdom of God after the resurrection.
Temple
baptisms are something that can only be done with permission of the next-of-kin
of the deceased. For that reason we are just now starting the vicarious
work for my family members, because we recently received permission from the
next of kin, my aunt Melanie.
Getting
to perform a temple baptism for one of my family members was an extremely
special experience for me. It was my first opportunity to do so in my
entire life. What makes it even more special for me is that I know that
my grandfather accepted that ordinance. The Holy Spirit confirmed it to
me shortly after performing the ordinance. I was sitting on a metal
folding chair, freezing cold because of the air conditioning and the wet
baptismal clothing I had on. One of the temple workers and one of the other
missionaries there with me placed their hands on my head to perform the
confirmation. And when they said the words "Recibe el Espíritu
Santo" (receive the Holy Ghost), I felt it. Those fruits of the
spirit that are listed in Galatians 5:22-23 were all in my heart, and I knew.
Well,
my time in the cybercafe is up. Next week I'll tell you about our Mission
Conference with Elder Russell M. Nelson. For now, just a highlight from
his discourse. "The Lord uses the unlikely to accomplish the
impossible."
Love
you all! Have an awesome week!
Elder Colton West
El Salvador, San Salvador East Mission
Editor's Note: We did not receive any pictures this week :( hoping for some next week along with his report about the Multi-Mission Conference with Elder Nelson!!!
For more on temple baptisms for the dead and why we do them, please visit
www.lds.org/topics/baptisms-for-the-dead?lang=eng
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