504 Temple Baptismal Font

John 3:5; D&C 124:2930
Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. John 3:5


Baptism is an ordinance commanded by Heavenly Father for the salvation of all His children. As we participate in this ordinance, we make a sacred covenant that acts as a gate leading to eternal life: "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5).

Our Father in Heaven established the way this sacred ordinance could be performed for those who died without having the opportunity to hear the gospel and be baptized. Each temple has a baptismal font, and worthy Church members are baptized in the name of people who died without receiving this ordinance (see D&C 124:2930). Afterward, each individual, again represented by a faithful member, is confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is given the Holy Ghost. For all who choose to accept them, these ordinances then become as valid as those that are performed for the living.

Modern-day temple fonts are patterned after the brazen sea in the Temple of Solomon. The sea sat in the outer court of the temple and was used by the priests to wash themselves before they performed sacrifices at the altar. It rested on the backs of twelve oxen, which represented the twelve tribes of Israel.

Summary
Heavenly Father has commanded that all His children should be baptized. Some people who lived on this earth never had the opportunity to hear the gospel and be baptized. For this reason, each temple that has been built in the latter days has a baptismal font, where all worthy members age 12 and older can be baptized for people who died without receiving this ordinance. Each of these temple fonts sits on the backs of twelve oxen, which represent the twelve tribes of Israel.

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Family Home Evening as a Missionary Tool

A night with the family can be a simple way to share the gospel with others.

"Family Home Evening as a Missionary Tool," Ensign, June 2005, 28
Many Latter-day Saints are looking for ways to become better missionaries to family members or friends. Here some members describe how they followed the prophets' counsel to hold family home evening and found that it is not only a way to build stronger family relationships, but also a way to bring a glimpse of the gospel to others.

The Only Member
Being the only member of the Church in my family was not easy. I longed for a way to share all I had learned about the Church with my family but feared they would accuse me of trying to convert them. I struggled with doubts. I knew the Lord wanted me to share the gospel with my family, but for more than a year I was too afraid to suggest that we have family home evening.

Finally, with my heart racing in fear, I asked the Lord for courage and strength to invite my family to have family home evening. To my surprise they said an enthusiastic "Yes!" to the suggestion, and our relationship has never been better.

Through family home evening I have been able to share the gospel and my testimony with everyone from my mother to my three-year-old niece. What a blessing it has been to read the Book of Mormon with them and hear that they believe what they are reading. In addition, the missionaries have been welcomed into our home to assist in our scripture study.

The greatest blessing is that in such a busy time of work, school, and other activities, my family is committed to meeting together every Monday and devoting an hour to learning more about the Lord. Laughing, singing, and kneeling together in family prayer have brought a tremendous sense of peace and love to our home.

Arlene Pryce, Don Valley Ward, Toronto Ontario Stake

A Tool for Retention
I can still remember the joy I felt the day I was baptized. However, not long after, I felt disappointment as the missionaries suggested I stop associating with some of my current acquaintances and find a more appropriate circle of friends. Their words seemed harsh to me, an 18-year-old high school senior, but trusting them, I did as they counseled.

Understanding my need for friends in the Church, the missionaries soon invited me to participate in family home evening with some ward members. I was eager to understand more about my new faith, so I gratefully went to the Shaffer family's home.

The Shaffers' home became a haven where, in the nonthreatening atmosphere of simple family home evenings, I learned what it is to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After dozens of family nights at the Shaffers' and a year of Church membership, I accepted a call to serve a full-time mission.

My father had feelings against the Church and didn't want me to go. I left, entrusting him to the Shaffers. It was nothing short of a miracle when just four months into my mission I received word from my father of his decision to be baptized. The Shaffers had taken him into their home for home evenings, just as they had done for me. Their efforts made it easier for him to understand the gospel and become converted to it.

Ruben Perez, Cordova Ward, Memphis Tennessee North Stake

To Feel the Spirit
Ten years had passed since I had been baptized into the Church, but I had been less active for about nine of them. During that time I had married and now had a seven-year-old daughter. My mother and siblings were living with us when a friend reintroduced them to the Church, and the missionaries started coming to our home. I had a testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, but the knowledge I had acquired of the Church had melted away.

My husband became friends with the elders and, almost without knowing it, started taking the discussions. Each discussion took about a week; it was hard for him to accept the divinity of Jesus Christ. Nine months after being taught the first discussion, my husband felt he was not receiving answers to his prayers.

One morning when the missionaries came to pray with me for my husband, I felt impressed that I needed to help him recognize the influence of the Holy Ghost. The missionaries had given us a family home evening manual, and the next Monday I sat down with my husband and daughter and began my first family home evening by giving a lesson on the Holy Ghost. My husband listened in silence as he pondered the subject. The influence of the Spirit was very strong that night, and I could feel the Holy Ghost confirming the truthfulness of the Church, something I had not felt for a long time. The next day my husband bore his testimony to me and told me that the Spirit had borne witness to him and he had recognized it. That night we lit in our hearts a fire that was eternal and inextinguishable.

One week later my husband was baptized, and one year later we were sealed in the São Paulo Brazil Temple. We feel that sacrament meeting is the most important meeting we go to, and next in line is family home evening.

Elizabeth Duce de Mernies, Lezica Ward, Montevideo Uruguay North Stake

Not to Convert
My new husband and I knew the importance of family home evening in helping families learn to love each other and grow together, but our children were grown and on their own. It was hard for us to hold a family night until we decided to invite my husband's mother. At the time my mother-in-law was 74 years old and belonged to another church. She worked in a flower shop and scarcely ventured from her routine of going to work and then home.

At first she was a little hesitant to come because she knew nothing of our faith, but now she looks forward to Monday nights. We share dinners, laughter, and music and have become very close. We know that she does not want us to try to convert her, but she does allow us to share stories about our faith. One evening I read a talk from one of the Church leaders. We all felt the Spirit. We have had opportunities to show her the Ensign, and she looks at every page. We have taught her what temples are for, and she has watched Church videos. We do these things sparingly, as the Spirit guides us.

Before one of our family home evenings, I asked her to teach the lesson. She brought pictures of herself when she was young and of my husband when he was a baby. I heard stories of aunts, uncles, grandmas, and grandpas. The happiness in her eyes as she relived these experiences made my heart almost burst. I realized then that the commandment to have family home evening is divine instruction from our Father in Heaven.

Many doors have been opened for my mother-in-law to learn things pertaining to the gospel. I don't know that she will become a member of the Church during her life on earth, but I do know that our family has been strengthened and our love increased.

Dani Jeanne Stevens, Logan Ward, Huntington West Virginia Stake

A Seven-Year-Old Missionary
Late one Monday night when my husband and I were busily working in our home, our seven-year-old son, Sergio, appeared. "Well, nobody remembered family home evening," he said. "I guess you're not interested."

My husband had come home late, and he tiredly explained that we had been too busy and still had much to do before we could turn in for the night. At that we continued with our work.

After a few moments we realized Sergio was reading his illustrated Book of Mormon Stories reader all by himself. My husband and I looked at each other and silently agreed that, even if it was late, we shouldn't deny ourselves the chance to hold family home evening.

When we went into the living room, Sergio told us in all seriousness that we didn't need to be concerned because he had already started his "individual home evening" and had sung a hymn, said a prayer, and now he was giving the lesson. We stayed and listened as our boy talked about the First Vision.

That night our son was a powerful missionary to us, testifying of the importance of family home evening. My husband and I realized that often we try to teach principles that we are not completely willing to obey. What a wonderful experience we would have missed if we had not participated in that individual home evening.

Cecila Lozada, Maranga Ward, Lima Perú Maranga Stake

Family Home Evening Promise
"We have a family home evening program once a week [Monday night] across the Church in which parents sit down with their children. They study the scriptures. They talk about family problems. They plan family activities and things of that kind. I don't hesitate to say if every family in the world practiced that one thing, you'd see a very great difference in the solidarity of the families of the world."
President Gordon B. Hinckley, "Family Home Evening," Liahona and Ensign, Mar. 2003, 3.

Gospel topics: family, family home evening, missionary work

Four missionaries, one devoted mom

It's a four-letter world for Kathy Nielsen as she keeps tabs on a quartet of sons around the globe
By Mark Eddington
The Salt Lake Tribune

TAYLORSVILLE - Christopher is in England, Weston is in Uruguay and twins Jonathan and Joseph are in Florida and Georgia, respectively. And their mom is tired - of writing.
She must be. Still, Kathy Nielsen does so, religiously, firing off four e-mails and four separate letters every week to her four sons serving LDS missions.
"Jonathan and Chris e-mail me on Mondays, Joseph e-mails me on Wednesdays and Weston on Thursdays," Nielsen explains. "I need to be very organized and make sure I [e-mail] all of them before those days. So on Fridays I do Mondays, and on Tuesdays I do the e-mails for Wednesday and Thursday. I do two at a time, but no two of them are the same."
On Sundays, Nielsen pens four separate epistles because "mailed letters are important to missionaries."
Welcome to Kathy Nielsen's four-letter world.
A single mother of six sons, the 48-year-old Taylorsville resident juggles letter-writing with her full-time job as an executive assistant in the securities and insurance business, her part-time chorister duties in her LDS ward and her daily chores.
How does she manage?
Her oldest missionary son, 25-year-old Chris, says the Brits he meets in the England Leeds Mission have the same question.
"First their jaws drop because we have six boys in our family and their families tend to be smaller," he says in a phone interview. "Then, when they learn four of us are serving missions at the same time, they wonder how Mom does it."
So does Scott Parkin, Kathy Nielsen's younger brother.
"She's been the glue that has kept those young men together," says the Riverton resident. "When she told me about the twins' mission calls, I mentioned to her, 'I don't know if that has ever happened before - a mother to have four sons out on missions at the same time.' "
LDS Church officials agree it is unusual, but are uncertain if it's a first.
"The church does not track the number of members of the same family serving missions," church spokesman Dale Bills says. "Finding joy in sharing the gospel message, Latter-day Saint families make considerable sacrifices to support missionary sons, daughters and even parents."
For her part, Nielsen sees being a missionary mom as a labor of love and doesn't belabor the accompanying hardships - the anxiety, the loneliness, the letter-writing, even the $1,600-a-month tab to support four missionaries.
Their missions "have been such a blessing in my life," she says. "I've had harder things in my life."
Even so, she was stressed at the outset. Son Ryan, now 24, was back from his mission in California and Weston was preparing to go when Chris told her she "now had two going."
The two submitted their papers and received their assignments the same day - Weston, now 20, to the Uruguay Montevideo Mission and Chris to England. They are more than a year into their missions.
Then Jonathan and Joseph, both 19, announced they were leaving.
"I was so worried I went to my bishop and asked how I was going to do this," Nielsen recalls. "He said, 'Sister Nielsen, don't worry about it. This is something we want to happen.' "
It has - but not without help.
Ward members pitch in to the Nielsen missionary fund. So do friends and extended family, including aunts and uncles and grandparents. The Nielsen brothers also did all they could before leaving. Chris sold his truck. Jonathan and Joseph sold the car they shared. All four worked full time and saved virtually every penny.
"They gave up everything to go," their mom says. "I'm so proud of them."
And plenty are proud of their mom, who was divorced in 1993 and reared her boys on her own and in an apartment until moving into their Taylorsville home two years ago.
"I spent a lot of time with her twins . . . until they left for their missions," says Andrea Nelson, a family friend. "They were always cognizant of their mother's sacrifices for them . . . and they would argue between themselves about which one should call Mom to let her know of their whereabouts. They didn't want to worry her.
"Kathy always tried to make life better for her boys without taking away their responsibility to pitch in and help financially and otherwise," Nelson adds. "I remember Joe and Jon calmly consigning themselves to the fact that there were some things they couldn't afford to do - school dances, etc. - but they never blamed this on their mother."
Nielsen's twins, now about two months into their missions, still regularly check in with Mom by e-mail - Jonathan from the Florida Jacksonville Mission and Joseph from the Georgia Atlanta Mission. So do Chris and Weston.
Apart from some separation anxiety, Nielsen copes quite well with her sons' absence once she gets past the moping stage. Her eldest son, 26-year-old Lee, already lives on his own. And Ryan is preparing to follow suit.
"I don't think Mom has ever experienced a time since she's had kids when all of them have been gone," Ryan says.
Empty nesters, though, have other ways of feathering their nest. Nielsen now has time to exercise and is even thinking about giving dating a go. And her monthly grocery bills have plunged from $600 to about $250.
"My house stays clean and there's not quite so much laundry," she says with a chuckle.
But Nielsen is eager for a return to buying more butter and seeing more clutter. She misses Chris taking out the trash, watching movies with Joseph, and heart-to-heart chats with Weston and Jonathan. She longs for those Sunday dinners and family singalongs with piano and guitar accompaniments. And she can scarcely wait for the dates her boys will bring home once again.
Not that Nielsen wants her sons to get too comfortable. In fact, she already is steeling herself to send them out a second time - this time for marriage, not missions.
"I'm looking forward to having some daughters," she says, laughing. "That's my assignment for them when they get home."

REXBURG, Idaho –
Writer: Alicia Morrell

Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will speak at the Brigham Young University–Idaho graduation commencement ceremony on Saturday, April 29 at 9 a.m. in the Hart Auditorium.

Tickets will be required for all graduates and guests attending the commencement ceremony. Graduating students may pick up two complimentary commencement tickets beginning April 24 at the BYU–Idaho Ticket Office. All remaining tickets will be available for purchase April 28 at 12 p.m. Commencement seating will begin at 8 a.m. in the Hart Auditorium. The processional will begin at 8:40 a.m. and commencement will begin at 9 a.m.

A total of 1614 students will receive diplomas at April graduation. Of those, 1201 will be receiving bachelor’s degrees and 431 will be presented associate degrees. There will be 968 females graduating, and 646 males. Nearly half of the graduates, 793, are married students, and 34 are international students. The group of graduates also includes 711 returned missionaries.

In addition to commencement, separate college convocations will be held in which the students’ names will be read and they will receive their diploma covers. No tickets will be required for the convocation ceremonies. Times and location are posted on the BYU–Idaho graduation Web site.

Elder Nelson, an internationally renowned surgeon and medical researcher, received his B.A. and M.D. degrees from the University of Utah and his Ph.D. degree from the University of Minnesota. He has also served on a number of prestigious medical boards and associations. Elder Nelson was called as a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles in April 1984.

Seeking the Best in Us

During a time long past, and in a place far away, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ taught the multitudes and His disciples "the way, the truth, and the life."1 He provided counsel with His holy words. He lived an example for us with His exemplary life.

His teachings and His example prompted Peter to ask this question: "What manner of persons ought ye to be?"2 During His ministry on the American continent, the Lord Jesus Christ added significant words when He answered the same question: "What manner of men ought ye to be? Verily I say unto you, even as I am."3

Seeking the Best in Us

In His earthly ministry, the Master outlined how we should live, how we should teach, how we should serve, and what we should do so that we could become our best selves.

One such lesson comes from the book of John in the Holy Bible:

"Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.

"And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.

"Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!"4

In our mortal journey, the advice of the Apostle Paul provides heavenly guidance: "Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Then came the concluding charge: "Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you."5

In the search for our best selves, several questions will guide our thinking: Am I what I want to be? Am I closer to the Savior today than I was yesterday? Will I be closer yet tomorrow? Do I have the courage to change for the better?

Choosing the Family Path

It is time to choose an oft-forgotten path, the path we might call "the family way," so that our children and grandchildren might indeed grow to their full potential. There is an international tide running. It carries the unspoken message, "Return to your roots, to your families, to lessons learned, to lives lived, to examples shown, even family values." Often it is just a matter of coming home—coming home to attics not recently examined, to diaries seldom read, to photo albums almost forgotten.

The Scottish poet James Barrie wrote, "God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December."6 What memories do we have of Mother? Father? Grandparents? Family? Friends?

What lessons have we learned from our fathers? Years ago a father asked Elder ElRay L. Christiansen (1897–1975), Assistant to the Twelve Apostles, what name Elder Christiansen could suggest for the man's newly acquired boat. Elder Christiansen suggested, "Why not call it The Sabbath Breaker?" I'm confident the would-be sailor pondered whether his pride and joy would be a Sabbath breaker or a Sabbath keeper. Whatever his decision, it no doubt left a lasting impression upon his children.

It is in the home that we form our attitudes, our deeply held beliefs. It is in the home that hope is fostered or destroyed. Our homes are to be more than sanctuaries; they should also be places where God's Spirit can dwell, where the storm stops at the door, where love reigns and peace dwells.

A young mother wrote to me: "Sometimes I wonder if I make a difference in my children's lives. Especially as a single mother working two jobs to make ends meet, I sometimes come home to confusion, but I never give up hope.

"My children and I were watching a television broadcast of general conference, and you were speaking about prayer. My son made the statement, 'Mother, you've already taught us that.' I said, 'What do you mean?' And he replied, 'Well, you've taught us to pray and showed us how, but the other night I came to your room to ask something and found you on your knees praying to Heavenly Father. If He's important to you, He'll be important to me.' " The letter concluded, "I guess you never know what kind of influence you'll be until a child observes you doing yourself what you have tried to teach him to do." What a magnificent lesson a child learned from his mother.

As a boy, I made a startling discovery in Sunday School one Mother's Day which has remained with me all through the years. Melvin, a sightless brother in the ward, a talented vocalist, would stand and face the congregation as though he were seeing one and all. He would then sing "That Wonderful Mother of Mine." The bright, glowing embers of memory penetrated human hearts. Men reached for their handkerchiefs; women's eyes brimmed with tears.

We deacons would go among the congregation carrying a small geranium in a clay pot for presentation to each mother. Some of the mothers were young; some were middle-aged; some were barely hanging on to life in their old age. I became aware that the eyes of each mother were kind eyes. The words of each mother were, "Thank you." I felt the spirit of the statement, "When someone gives another person a flower, the fragrance of the flower lingers on the hands of the giver." I have not forgotten the lesson learned, nor shall I ever forget it.

Giving Our Lives in Service

The years have come and the years have gone, but the need for a testimony of the gospel continues paramount. As we move toward the future, we must not neglect the lessons of the past. Our Heavenly Father gave His Son. The Son of God gave His life. We are asked by Them to give our lives, as it were, in Their divine service. Will you? Will I? Will we? There are lessons to be taught; there are kind deeds to be done; there are souls to be saved.

Let us remember the counsel of King Benjamin: "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God."7 Reach out to rescue those who need your help. Lift such to the higher road and the better way. As we sing in Primary: "Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, / Help me find the way. / Teach me all that I must do / To live with him someday."8

Real faith is not restricted to childhood but rather applies to all. We learn from the Proverbs:

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

"In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."9

When we do, we will come to realize that we have been on His holy errand, that His divine purposes have been fulfilled, and that we have shared in that fulfillment.

May I illustrate this truth with a personal experience. Many years ago, while serving as a bishop, I felt impressed to call upon Augusta Schneider, a widow from the Alsace-Lorraine area of Europe who spoke very little English, although she was fluent in French and German. For years after that first impression, I would visit with her at Christmastime. On one occasion, Augusta said, "Bishop, I have something of great value to me which I would like to present to you." She then went to a special place in her modest apartment and retrieved the gift. It was a beautiful piece of felt, perhaps six by eight inches (15 by 20 cm) in size, to which she had pinned the medals her husband had been presented for his service as a member of the French forces in World War I. She said, "I would like you to have this personal treasure which is so close to my heart." I protested politely and suggested there must be some member of her extended family to whom the gift should be given. "No," she replied firmly, "the gift is yours, for you have the soul of a Frenchman."

Shortly after presenting this special gift to me, Augusta departed mortality and went home to that God who gave her life. Occasionally I would wonder concerning her declaration that I had "the soul of a Frenchman." I didn't have the slightest idea what that meant. I still don't.

Many years later, I had the privilege to accompany President Ezra Taft Benson (1899–1994) to the dedication of the Frankfurt Germany Temple, which temple would serve German-, French-, and Dutch-speaking members. In packing for the trip, I felt impressed to take along the gift of medals, without any thought concerning what I would do with them. I'd had them a number of years.

For a French-speaking dedication session, the temple was filled. The singing and messages presented were beautiful. Gratitude for God's blessings penetrated each heart. I saw from my conducting notes that the session included members from the Alsace-Lorraine area.

During my remarks, I observed that the organist had the name of Schneider. I therefore related the account of my association with Augusta Schneider, then stepped to the organ and presented the organist with the medals, along with the charge that since his name was Schneider, he had a responsibility to pursue the Schneider name in his genealogical activities. The Spirit of the Lord confirmed in our hearts that this was a special session. Brother Schneider had a difficult time preparing to play the closing number of the dedicatory service, so moved was he by the Spirit which we felt there in the temple.

I knew that the treasured gift—even the widow's mite, for it was all Augusta Schneider had—was placed in the hand of one who would ensure that many with the souls of Frenchmen would now receive the blessings the holy temples provide, both for the living and for those who have passed beyond mortality.

I testify that with God, all things are possible. He is our Heavenly Father; His Son is our Redeemer. As we strive to learn His truths and then to live them, our lives and the lives of others will be abundantly blessed.

I declare in all soberness that Gordon B. Hinckley is a true prophet for our time and is guided in the great work going forward under his leadership.

May we ever remember that obedience to God's commandments brings forth the blessings promised. May each of us qualify to receive them.