LDS Freedom Forum

We have an investigater in our ward for the past 8 months who has been through our adictions program, has attended church every sunday and truely repented of the wrongs he has done in his life. He has a desire to be Baptised and receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit. He has a criminal matter that he is dealing with and he has been told that he cannot be Baptised till the matter is completely dealt with and any probation or jail time has been completed. I am a convert to the church and was not aware of this. I have had the oppertunity to work with this young man for the past 8 months and know of his honest desire to lead a better life. I know that Christ looks at the heart and I do not think that He would deny any one the oppertunity to be baptised who has truely repented.
How does this young man battle the demons that he has without the Gift of the Holy Spirit. At present he is strugling.

First thing, don't take the word of anyone on this board as to what he absolutely should do. His priesthood leader should always be the one granting or denying permissoin. Whether we understand it or not.

Having said that, I'm reminded of someone I taught on my mission. The guy had lived with a woman for over a decade. They just didn't want to get legally married. They had both been divorced, and saw absolutely no reason as to why they should ever get a "certificate." The guy wanted to get baptized. She didn't. So he remained unbaptized because they remained unmarried.

However confusing the rules may seem, he wanted to become a member of the church. After some time, he eventually became apathetic and stopped attending. He never really lived by church standards. Nothing major. He enjoyed his coffee and tea. He simply didn't care about the rules, but thought he should get baptized. He knew it was true, but didn't want to live it.

If a testimony exists, that should never prevent anyone of living the gospel, and that will not prevent God from giving them the blessings. Baptism will come in due time. Tell him to stick with it. Once he's baptized, that's what he would have to do anyways. Blessings are not exclusive to members of the church. There are blessings that come with being baptized, but if he truely understands that God loves him, I know Heavenly Father will give him the blessings.

jimmy k wrote:We have an investigater in our ward for the past 8 months who has been through our adictions program, has attended church every sunday and truely repented of the wrongs he has done in his life. He has a desire to be Baptised and receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit. He has a criminal matter that he is dealing with and he has been told that he cannot be Baptised till the matter is completely dealt with and any probation or jail time has been completed. I am a convert to the church and was not aware of this. I have had the oppertunity to work with this young man for the past 8 months and know of his honest desire to lead a better life. I know that Christ looks at the heart and I do not think that He would deny any one the oppertunity to be baptised who has truely repented.
How does this young man battle the demons that he has without the Gift of the Holy Spirit. At present he is strugling.

There have been many men throughout the history of the world that have been inspired of God and led by the light of Christ, without having the Gift of the Holy Ghost.

Upon bended knee
Our souls should sing
To He that blessed our Names.
The light of Christ,
The earth's delight,
Brings strength to all that plea,
"Oh Lord my God
Please with me trod
Through the dark and dreary day;
That I may find
My way defined
To Thee, Oh Lord I pray."

Th Gift of the Holy Ghost is the promise to have His constant companionship. It is through repentance and prayer and faith and hope that he will be strengthened and receive the inspiration to make it through.

Moroni 7: 16

16 For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God.

I agree with everything said and thought I might add that this might be a specific trial tailor-made by the Lord to test his faith. He CAN stay strong until he is able to be baptized, even without the gift of the Holy Ghost if he exercises faith in Christ. He CAN still have the influence of Holy Ghost if he makes the right choices even if he hasn't been confirmed. The best thing you can do is testify to him of his divine worth and encourage him to stay strong.

I have a young friend who followed a similar path toward baptism. He was so excited to be baptized and then last minute had to wait for a similar matter to be resolved. He was crushed. It seemed more than he could bear to have to wait. Through several blessings and acts of true Christ like service, he made it to baptism. The next week he got to go to the temple to do baptisms for the dead. As he was in the font waiting for his turn, he began to weep nearly uncontrollably. The Bishop kindly and quietly asked if he was okay. He responded, "I was heart broken to have to wait a few weeks longer for my baptism." He held up the card in his hand, "This guy has been waiting for 150 years."

God sees the longer view. It has changed his entire perspective of what the Plan of Salvation is really about. That experience was very formative in the strength of his testimony.