Being "Born Again"

For many years, I have heard the phrase "Born Again Christian" from people that believe they have found Jesus Christ. All this time, I've never really been clear what it means to be "born again." It isn't a phrase that was used in my home while growing up or even now. So why do people say it? What does it mean? Well, I found that the reason many people say it is quite different from what it actually means.

Why do people say that they have been "born again?"

As mentioned above, people generally say that they have been "born again" when they have "found" Jesus Christ. What they are really saying is that they have gained a testimony of Jesus Christ. They can now testify, as a witness, that they believe in Jesus Christ and his role as the Savior of all mankind. We could even go so far as to say that they can testify that they comprehend Christ's role in their own personal salvation. So for the general populous, being born again means gaining a testimony of Jesus Christ as the Savior.

What does being "born again" actually mean?

We know that we were first physically born into this world as a living soul made up of water, blood, and spirit. We can then become born again, but this time spiritually, into the Kingdom of God by the very same elements of water, spirit, and blood. While the elements of water, spirit, and blood are literal when speaking of our physical birth, they are figurative when speaking of our spiritual birth. To be spiritually born we must be baptized (water), receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (spirit), and we must be cleansed by the blood of the Only Begotten who is Jesus Christ (blood). In other words, we must sincerely repent. Once we've been baptized and received the gift of the Holy Spirit (both a one time event), we must continuously repent for our wrongdoings (an ongoing event). So technically we are "born again" spiritually every time we repent. (Moses 6:59)

We can each gain a testimony of Jesus Christ by living like him and recognizing His great role in our lives as our Savior but this does not mean that we have been "born again." To be "born again," simply 1.) get baptized by the proper authority 2.) receive the Holy Spirit through the proper authority and 3.) cleanse yourself by the blood of Christ or, i.e., sincerely repent and then we can claim that we have been "born again." And we must repent over and over and over again until this life is over and we once again stand face-to-face with our Maker to be judged according to our works here on Earth.

Foreordination vs. Predestination

People like to sometimes use the terms "foreordination" and "predestination" interchangeably. However, these terms are quite different. We could spend hours arguing over what they mean but it really all comes down to agency. Agency...meaning our ability to choose for ourselves what we want. With foreordination there is a choice. With predestination there is not. It is that simple. Since I love outlines and bullets, let's use them to illustrate the point.

Foreordination means...

- one is chosen to do a certain work on Earth
- one is chosen in the Premortal World (i.e. the place our spirits resided before coming to Earth) to do that certain work
- one is given lessons regarding that certain work before going to Earth
- one is prepared for that certain work before going to Earth
- one must be worthy and willing to accept the responsibility of this certain work once on Earth (i.e. they have a choice at the time the calling is extended to take it or walk away)

Predestination means...

- one is going to live a certain life or do a certain work no matter what they truly want (i.e. there is no agency, no way to choose anything other than the path that the individual is on)

Foreordination provides hope and a great gift of being able to choose for ourselves what we want. Predestination is a hopeless theory leaving one to feel completely unfree to live the life they choose for themselves. We are all foreordained to establish the Kingdom of God here on earth and while we've been called to take upon ourselves this great responsibility, we still have the option of walking away. Of course, we all know that it is in our best interests to fulfill our calling, our responsibility because when we do the Lord blesses us, always.

We Are Children of God

I am a child of God. Really. I am a literal spirit child of my Heavenly Father. I am His creation, and thus, He knows me like no one else. Just as He knows you. We are all His. Just like any parent He is protective of us. He desires the best for us. He wants to educate and counsel us. He wants us to make our own choices after looking at all the facts and then to counsel with Him as we make our final decisions. He wants us to be happy. He wants us to return to Him someday. Being both a daughter and parent of earthly parents and children respectively I am coming to understand little by little, lesson by lesson, what we mean to our Heavenly Father. I see the great love that my mother has for me when I am successful and even when I totally mess things up. I feel that great love myself for my little ones when they are successful and even when they don't make the best choices. As Heavenly Father is constant and never changes, His love for me, both its intensity and frequency, never changes. He loves me fiercely and always. He also knows that I will strive to do my best for Him because as He knows me like no other, throughout my life I have tried and tried to get to know Him, to become like Him. In the times that I've messed up I've been able to get back on the straight and narrow path through the process of repentance. So grateful am I for a loving and loyal and all-knowing Heavenly Father and Savior. So grateful that He never gives up on me but always remembers that I am His child and my earthly success is His focus. It is His focus when it comes to ALL of us. How wonderful to know that I have a divine Father who loves me, desires my success as well as my happiness. How blessed are we all.