Dear Reader,
This past week, I had the sacred privilege of witnessing two friends be baptized. What struck me most was the absence of pomp and ceremony. Clothed in simple white and surrounded by reverent silence, their quiet immersion testified that something truly beautiful and eternal can occur without fanfare or applause.
In a world so captivated by noise, glitter, and accolades, it is easy to mistake surface for substance. But as J.R.R. Tolkien reminds us:
“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost… The old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost.”
These two individuals, stepping into unfamiliar waters, were not lost. They were on a deeper journey—one of discovery, surrender, and spiritual growth. Their actions may have been quiet, but their souls took root. Roots that frost cannot reach.
Their strength did not come from public recognition or elaborate rituals. It came from peace, love, and courage—qualities found in the teachings and example of Jesus Christ.
As the Buddha once taught:
“A man is not called wise because he talks and talks again; but if he is peaceful, loving, and fearless then he is in truth called wise.”
That kind of wisdom is not learned in books alone. Aldous Huxley adds:
“You learn to love by loving—by paying attention and doing what one thereby discovers has to be done.”
Baptism is one such act of love and obedience. It is not only a covenant, but a new beginning—a gateway to the transforming influence of the Holy Ghost.
Brad Wilcox beautifully captures this transformation:
“Grace is not the absence of God’s high expectations. Grace is the presence of God’s power.”
Grace doesn’t just forgive—it empowers.
“For the grace of God… teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions,” Paul writes in Titus 2.
And in the Book of Mormon, Nephi testifies:
“Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth. Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin… to answer the ends of the law.” (2 Nephi 2:6–7)
This is not a God of detached mercy, but a Messiah full of grace and truth—one who descended below all things so He could lift us above all things.
Saint Augustine expressed the tender intimacy of that love:
“God loves each of us as if there were only one of us.”
And Pope Francis reminds us:
“Grace is not part of consciousness; it is the amount of light in our souls, not knowledge nor reason.”
So let us be like the wise and grounded.
“Even as a solid rock is unshaken by the wind,” the Buddha taught, “so are the wise unshaken by praise or blame.”
Let us walk as those rooted in truth, patient in growth, fearless in love, and steady in grace.
For that is the journey of the soul. And baptism—humble, quiet, and powerful—is one of its most sacred steps. Amen
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