The Gospel of Baseball From Base to Base

The Gospel of Baseball- Here's a quick repost of the Gospel of Baseball. Click the Links to go from base to base. Enjoy!

Faith to get on Base

Repentance- A change of Mind or Focus through the Sacrifice Bunt of Christ

Baptism and Full Dedication

Following the Holy Ghost and Enduring to Home

The Gospel of Baseball Part 4- 3rd to Home through the Spirit and Enduring

D&C 18:22 says "And as many as repent and are baptized in my name, which is Jesus Christ, and endure to the end, the same shall be saved. If we change that scripture around a little those who Endure to the End the same shall be "Safe". Currently we are standing on third base. By going from first to third base we've gained faith, had a change of heart, and have committed to getting to home plate. All we have left to do is make it the 90 feet home to score a run. We've got to step up our efforts and endure to the end! This is one of the last principles of the Gospel of Baseball.

   Because we've been so dedicated to making it home to score we need to know we aren't alone. We have a third base coach to help us along the base path home. 1 Nephi 2:22 says that by the Spirit, or third base coach, all things are made known. This is the other last principle of the Gospel of Baseball.  Our third base coach is here to lead, guide, warn, and coach us away from the defense. It's important though that we listen and know how his guidance is going to come to us. Sometimes it may be a loud shout of what to do and other times it may be a quite hand signal. Not matter how it comes to us if we will follow his counsel we will, as it says in Alma 40:11, make it home to that God who gave us life.

   The same thing happens in our lives. After we have gained faith, repented, and been baptized we will be given a third base coach of the Holy Ghost to help guide us home to our Father in Heaven. And though the defense of Satan will try to tag us out of returning home, if we will heed and follow that still small voice, or sometimes that load voice, of the spirit and continually strive to endure to the end by building that faith and repenting, we will make it home safely to that God who gave us life.
 

The Gospel of Baseball Part 1: Home to First through Faith

The first base principle of the Gospel of Baseball is Faith. The book of Alma, in the Book of Mormon, chapter 32 verse 21 states "faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true." As a baseball player you stand at home plate you know nothing about what will happen next. The goal is to get a base hit but there are a lot of different scenarios that can play out before that happens. You could strike out, get walked, ground out, or even get hit by a pitch. But you have to have hope that you can get a base hit and make it to first. This hope is also faith. Alma 32:27 states "if ye will awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith, yea, even if ye can no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you, even until ye believe in a manner that ye can give place for a portion of my words." So in order for us to experiment on the word, or in this case if we're going to get a base hit, we need to grab our bat, take a practice swing or two, and step up to the plate. And by doing so we are showing we have at least a desire to make it to first base. And over time that desire and faith builds, through diligence and patience, in us until we believe we are going to get a base hit every time.
   This same principle of faith is the first principle in Christ's Gospel too. Just like the baseball player can't see if they're going to get a hit or not, we can't see God, we don't know if He is there through sight. But if we will show a desire, have faith and experiment, through scripture study and prayer, we can come to know if He really is there. Through that faith we can come to know that He is our Father in Heaven, He hears and answers our prayers, and He loves us, just like the baseball player knows he'll get on base as the ball Cracks! off his bat and he reaches first base safely.

It's All About Coming Home

For an Arizona boy like me March means two things, NCAA March Madness and MLB Spring Training baseball! As the sun comes out, the weather gets warm, and school takes a break for two weeks there is no better place to spend an afternoon then at the ballpark watching your favorite team get ready for another exciting baseball season as you chow down on a hot dog and peanuts. This time of year, now on a mission, can be a little tough as I think back to those good ol' days. But as these feelings come back to me and as the itch of spring fever has hit, just as the snow also hits here in Dillon uh!, I think about how America's past time compares to our lives.
   As a player in the game of life we all started at home with our Heavenly Father, just as a baseball player starts his journey at home plate.  We look forward to the future and the hopes that we might have the chance to hit a "home run" in life. As we stand there anxiously waiting we wonder what life will throw at us. Whether the fast balls or curve balls of life that come our way will result in good, a base hit, or bad, a strike out. As we have our first successes of life, or hit, we make it to first base. Now our whole goal is focused on making smart choices on the base paths, earth, to make it home. We have other people, batters, and obstacles, great pitching or fielding by the opponent, that will get in our way at times and try to keep us from making it to our final destination. But as we continue to work our hardest, rely on our coaches and team mates, family, friends, and our Savior and as we make an effort to run fast, never look back, and endure to the end, we can make it back home to where we started. We will score a run, eternal life, as we step on home plate and hear the umpire, Heavenly Father, yell "SAFE!" This will be the ultimate reward for our hard work and our team's support.
    “In my beginning is my end…Home is where one starts from…In my end is my beginning.”-T. S. Eliot