My name is carolina. I’m 21 years old and have been in a relationship for 5 years with my boyfriend. We’ve had sexual relations before. Now I realize that that is a sin and I feel terrible for what I’ve done. Now I know about the mormon church and I want to be a member. I want to be baptized. But I don’t now if I can be a member since I’ve sinned and since I’m still with my boyfriend and will probably sin again. Can I be baptized? I don’t want to do things wrong. I want to truly serve Jesus Christ. I know that to do that I’d need to leave my boyfriend, but we love each other. He’s not a member of the church. Please help me. Thanks.
One Response to “My name is carolina. I’m 21 years old and have been in a rel…”
Samuel Delgado
2010-07-12 05:52:23
Hi Carolina. Thanks for posting your question on my website! It's wonderful that you're now familiar with the LDS ("Mormon") Church and that you're interested in being baptized. I like how you said that you want to truly serve Jesus Christ. Being a disciple of Jesus is an amazing thing; the more you dedicate your life to Him, the richer the spiritual blessings you receive in return. I'm far from a perfect person, but I'm so grateful for the spiritual blessings of peace and purpose in my life that have come through my faith in Jesus Christ.
To sin is to choose to do something we know is contrary to God's will. Consequently, it's not possible to sin in ignorance. If you didn't know that sexual relations outside of marriage were sinful, you made a mistake, but you didn't commit a sin. Of course, now that you've come to understand Christ's teachings about chastity before marriage, it is possible for you to sin. You need to make a decision to do God's will instead of pursuing your own desires. That can be a very difficult decision to make, but it's a decision that can change your life forever.
Baptism symbolizes our decision to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. Accepting Christ is much, much more than just saying pretty words and performing a simple ordinance, however. Accepting Christ includes doing His will and keeping His commandments. We cannot say we have accepted Christ if we ignore His teachings and continue to live our lives as if we'd never known Him.
Baptism also serves as a spiritual cleansing process. We symbolically leave our old sins and mistakes in the water, and we come up out of the water as a new person. We begin a new life as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Of course none of us is perfect; we all sin, even after our baptisms. But if we try our best to follow Christ, we can repent of our sins. That's the miracle of Jesus' atonement.
Carolina, I suggest you make the decision today to only have sexual relations with your husband after marriage. Decide to give your life over to Jesus Christ and to become His true disciple through baptism. Explain to your boyfriend that you have new personal standards and that he needs to respect you if he wants you to stay together. Who knows? Maybe he will see how the Church is important to you and will become interested as well. Do everything within your power to keep Christ's commandments. If you fail, repent and return to full discipleship.
God loves you, Carolina. He knows you personally, and He has a plan for you. Open your heart, and He will work a great miracle in your life. Let me know if you have any more questions. God bless you.
To sin is to choose to do something we know is contrary to God's will. Consequently, it's not possible to sin in ignorance. If you didn't know that sexual relations outside of marriage were sinful, you made a mistake, but you didn't commit a sin. Of course, now that you've come to understand Christ's teachings about chastity before marriage, it is possible for you to sin. You need to make a decision to do God's will instead of pursuing your own desires. That can be a very difficult decision to make, but it's a decision that can change your life forever.
Baptism symbolizes our decision to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. Accepting Christ is much, much more than just saying pretty words and performing a simple ordinance, however. Accepting Christ includes doing His will and keeping His commandments. We cannot say we have accepted Christ if we ignore His teachings and continue to live our lives as if we'd never known Him.
Baptism also serves as a spiritual cleansing process. We symbolically leave our old sins and mistakes in the water, and we come up out of the water as a new person. We begin a new life as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Of course none of us is perfect; we all sin, even after our baptisms. But if we try our best to follow Christ, we can repent of our sins. That's the miracle of Jesus' atonement.
Carolina, I suggest you make the decision today to only have sexual relations with your husband after marriage. Decide to give your life over to Jesus Christ and to become His true disciple through baptism. Explain to your boyfriend that you have new personal standards and that he needs to respect you if he wants you to stay together. Who knows? Maybe he will see how the Church is important to you and will become interested as well. Do everything within your power to keep Christ's commandments. If you fail, repent and return to full discipleship.
God loves you, Carolina. He knows you personally, and He has a plan for you. Open your heart, and He will work a great miracle in your life. Let me know if you have any more questions. God bless you.