Week 27: Baptism

Song: Baptism (CS. 100)

Thought: Through the ordinances of baptism and confirmation, you were born again into a new life. The Savior said to Nicodemus, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). Just as an infant enters a new existence at birth, you began a new life when you entered into the baptismal covenant. You can grow in spirituality and become more like the Savior by keeping your baptismal covenant, partaking of the sacrament to renew your covenant, and repenting of your
sins. The Apostle Paul taught that when we have been baptized, we “should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). (True to the Faith)

Object Lesson:
YOU WILL NEED:
tarnished pennies (or one per family member)
a pitcher of water
a glass
a shiny penny
vinegar, a tablespoon
paper towels

Have your family look at their dirty, tarnished pennies and then compare it to the shiny penny. Have them drop their pennies into the vinegar and stir for 10 seconds. Talk about how clean and shiny the penny is now. The shiny penny represents how God wants our lives to be. Baptism makes it possible for our sins to be forgiven and our “tarnish” removed. After baptism, we are as clean as a shiny penny.(Tarnished Pennies)

Video: Same Jersey

Lesson Activity:
Younger members of your family may enjoy helping Miguel "Fill the Font" in preparing for his baptism!

Invite your family to read three paragraphs of Elder Robert D. Hales’s talk “The Covenant of Baptism: To Be in the Kingdom and of the Kingdom,” beginning with “At baptism we make a covenant with our Heavenly Father.” Ask them to look for covenants we make when we are baptized, and invite them to write what they find. In what ways should being baptized change our lives? How has it changed the lives of the members of your family who have been baptized?

This week's challenge: If there are members of your family that have yet to be baptized, encourage them to spend the week learning about the covenants they will make and what their responsibilities will be. For those members of your family who have been baptized, encourage them to prayerfully consider their baptismal covenants and be prepared to renew those covenants by taking the sacrament on Sunday.