We are now on to Article of Faith #4.

"4 We believe that the

first principles and ordinances

of the Gospel are:

first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ;

second, Repentance;

third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins;

fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost."

This article of faith starts out with 2 different words. Principle and Ordinance

A Principle is something that we believe in.  Something on which we can build on.

Faith and Repentance

An Ordinance is the act in which we make a promise.  When we excercise the principles, we desire to make those promises with God and we do that through the ordinances.

Baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost



2 Nephi 31:10-12

" And he said unto the children of men: Follow thou me...

And the Father said:

Repent ye, repent ye,

and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son. 

And also, the voice of the Son came unto me saying:

 He that is baptized in my name,

to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost,

Like unto me;

wherefore, follow me,

and do the things which ye have seen me do."

These are the things that we do to find peace and joy in our lives.  God has told us that this is the way that will help us find Joy in this life and in the next life as well.  We develop the principles of Faith and Repentance. We work on those and then that brings the desires to be baptized, forgiven of ALL sins, and recieve the gift of the Holy Ghost as our constant guide. 

Seeking for:

What are you seeking for in your life?  What are you trying to develop and strengthen.

Let's try a little scenario:

You are driving down the road and you are looking for an address.  There are many things to take into consideration.

1. What is their street number

2. What is their house number

3. Where on the house or curb is the number for their house

4. Do they look home

Now, once we have found the house, think of how excited you are that you found their home.  This is like searching for things that are of God.  We must look at what we searching for, where to find it, where to look, and then to go and see if it is worthy to be found.

  There are many things to search for and to seek after, but are they things that are worth while.  In the scriptures, it teaches us that we need to search for things of God.  Look at this picture below:

In the scriptures it teaches us, in Doctrine and Covenants 4, that we need to seek after the qualities that are around the edge of this paper, which are:

FAITH

VIRTUE

KNOWLEDGE

TEMPERANCE

PATIENCE

BROTHERLY KINDNESS

GODLINESS

DESIRE

LOVE

HOPE

DILIGENCE

HUMILITY

CHARITY

These are things that God has asked us to seek after.  They are things that He knows will bring us the most happiness.  I promise, if you sought them you would find the most joy that you can have in this life!