Elder David A. Bednar on the continuing process of being born again

Elder David A. Bednar (born June 15, 1952) was serving as the president of BYU–Idaho when he was called and sustained as a member of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles in October 2004.

"And after we come out of the waters of baptism, our souls need to be continuously immersed in and saturated with the truth and the light of the Savior’s gospel. Sporadic and shallow dipping in the doctrine of Christ and partial participation in His restored Church cannot produce the spiritual transformation that enables us to walk in a newness of life. Rather, fidelity to covenants, constancy of commitment, and offering our whole soul unto God are required if we are to receive the blessings of eternity.

"'I would that ye should come unto Christ, who is the Holy One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto him, and offer your whole souls as an offering unto him, and continue in fasting and praying, and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved' (Omni 1:26).

"Total immersion in and saturation with the Savior’s gospel are essential steps in the process of being born again."

- David A. Bednar, "Ye Must Be Born Again," General Conference, April 2007
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I love this concept of the continuous process of discipleship. Just being baptized is not nearly enough; Elder Bednar teaches that from that point on, "our souls need to be continuously immersed in and saturated with the truth and the light of the Savior’s gospel." Nephi said it this way:

"And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save." (2 Nephi 31:19)

So having started on the Gospel path, we then must be fully committed and fully immersed in the spiritual life that follows:

I've always appreciated Omni's description too, that we must offer our whole souls to God; a partial offering or a partial commitment just won't bring the redemption and salvation that we seek.

(Compilation and commentary by David Kenison, Orem, Utah, 2017)