Balm to My Troubled Mind

Even though our child was a healthy two-year old, the thought kept burning into our minds: “We must get little Shona christened.” Neither of us really believed that our child had been born in sin. But old teachings die hard, and somehow the superstitious fear lingered. I remember making a vicious lunge with my spade as I dug in the garden. I thought, How dare anyone say my little girl will suffer eternal damnation if she dies without being christened!

“Hello. Can we come in?” I looked up and saw two young men at my gate. “Are you going to let this dog eat us up?” they asked. I called my bull mastiff to my side and bade them enter. “We’ve come to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ,” said one of them.

“You’d better come in and meet my wife,” I said.

We sat and chatted awhile, and then I asked them the question that had worried us: “What do you people believe about the christening of little children?”

In answer, the missionary opened a book and let me read aloud:

“And their little children need no repentance, neither baptism. Behold, baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments unto the remission of sins. But little children are alive in Christ. … And he that saith that little children need baptism denieth the mercies of Christ, and setteth at naught the atonement of him and the power of his redemption.” (Moro. 8:11–12, 20.)

The words from Moroni came like a soothing balm to my troubled mind. Now that we’re Latter-day Saints, I often reread that beautiful chapter in the Book of Mormon. Although I have since come to know and love many other parts of scripture, this will always be my favorite—the magnificent, authoritative voice of truth ringing with tone and clarity that could only come from true prophets of God.