Friday Night Baptism

By Zheng Liu, Massachusetts, USA

My desire to repent helped me find the Savior and His Church.

Image

woman standing in front of church

Illustration by Katy Dockrill

After experiencing the initial excitement of coming to the United States from China to earn my PhD, I was overwhelmed by the numerous academic papers I had to read and write. I was also uncertain about how to interact with my academic adviser, which added to my stress. I felt lost and lonely, and I did not know what to do.

I concluded that my past wrongdoings had caused my suffering and that I needed to repent. It was evening, so I searched “church” online. I found that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the only church open until 9:00 p.m. Making up my mind to repent at the church, I set off on an hour-long walk.

When I arrived at the church around 6:00 p.m., I saw lights and heard laughter and music coming from inside. I searched around the building but could not find the door. Through a window, I saw a father playing with his son in one of the rooms. I knocked on the window to catch his attention. He guided me to the door, welcomed me in, and told me that someone was being baptized.

I followed his lead and went into a room where a man was giving a blessing to a boy who had just been baptized. Standing near the door, listening to the blessing, I felt that God was also whispering blessings to me. My heart was warmed, and I felt what I later came to know as the Holy Ghost. I also heard a voice saying that I was forgiven.

Following the baptism, I gathered with others and met many nice people. I was not lonely anymore. Several months later, after taking the missionary lessons, I was baptized.

On the day of my baptism in 2018 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a brother spoke about how our beloved Heavenly Father had arranged that Friday baptism. He explained that the baptism was supposed to be held the following Sunday, but because of a time conflict, it had to be rescheduled for Friday night. Without that change, I might never have come to know the Church, our Savior and our Heavenly Father, and my brothers and sisters in the gospel.