Posted by rayww on April 23, 2004, at 19:46:43
In reply to Re: I was a Catholic, posted by Jai Narayan on April 23, 2004, at 15:21:31
This thread is pretty interesting. Baptism is certainly not like that in our church. Ours is a covenant baptism. We covenant to keep the commandments and God covenants to forgive us of all repented sins, and promises that the spirit of the Holy Ghost will be our constant companion. If we move away from the covenant we lose our rights of membership.
The rights of membership are three-fold:
1. the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost,
2. Forgiveness for sin
3. Membership on record.If we move "too far" away from the covenant (adultry, crime, etc) the spirit not only withdraws from us, we may also lose our membership in the church. And if we don't repent it's like not buying into the atonement, or rejecting what Jesus tried to do for us and choosing to suffer for our own sins instead.
Baptism is not just about getting wet, it is pure symbolism, so those who scoff, really don't know what it is they are scoffing at.
To remind us of our baptism - each Sunday we go through the (symbolic) ordinance of sacrament, which is renewal of the baptism covenant, then we begin each week forgiven of our repented sins. That's why it feels so good to go to church "each" Sunday---spiritually, physically, mentally, socially, etc. It is a literal spiritual renewal.
It is my opinion that life is a wonderful game when you play by the correct rules. I just happen to believe the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints rules. And, I can't even close by quoting what you said because I realize nobody asked me :(
rayww> > Jai,
> >
> > I recently learned that if you were baptised a Catholic, you are a CAtholic the rest of your life whether you like it ot not!!!! I gather from your postings that you are Buddhist, but did you know that in fact you are still Catholic??
> **Yup that's what they say....a whole life time.
> >
> > I wonder if any other religions have this baptism rule? It just seems so humorous to me!
> **I was a Sikh and I think they claim you for your life as well if you take the Baisakhi Day pledge. Which I didn't do.
> Kind of like confirmation for the Catholic.
> It's a devotion commitment to the religion.
> I am now into the Buddha as my last religion. It's a kind of non religion. But when I went through all the other religions the only one left for me was the smiling face of Buddha. So I will follow my heart, body and spirit to my life goal of being the best I can be in my lifetime.
> I guess this is more than you asked for but oh well here it is. Thank you so much for asking.
>
>
>
poster:rayww
thread:337744
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20040408/msgs/339338.html