SINNER IN NEED OF REPENTANCE

TURNING EIGHT and BAPTISM

     Sinners need repentance. I was growing older and my Primary and Sunday School teachers were talking about baptism. Even though I wasn't accountable for my sins before eight years old, I'd accumulated enough guilt to qualify for repentance. The idea of a fresh start and a clean slate sounded great to me. All dressed in white, Dad baptized me in the Provo Stake Baptistry font. Coming up out of the water, I felt wonderful. Clean in the sight of God. 

    Being clean was a great feeling, and I was determined to stay that way! But temptations were still out there. Growing up in Provo, drinking Coke was like drinking beer. One hot summer day I headed for Carson's Market with 10 cents, enough to buy an ice cold can of pop. I found a can that said Cherry, one of my favorite flavors. I popped the top while passing Ray Ashby's house on Birch, and 

began to guzzle. The ice cold liquid felt wonderful trickling down my throat. Then the after taste hit me. This was supposed to be cherry. But it didn't taste like any cherry pop I'd ever had before. I gave the can another look. It said cherry alright but it also said COKE. I had bought a CHERRY COKE! The evil liquid was inside me. I quickly crossed the road to the irrigation canal and threw the can in the rushing water. I raced home, flopped on my bed, and fully expected to die.

    The cache of candy in Startup's basement continued to lure me. I had resisted the temptation for weeks, but my addiction to sugar caught up to me in a moment of weakness. In the dim light of their basement hallway I slipped my hand into an open box of candy and satisfied my craving. But my new sins were weighing me down. The Primary lessons began to make more sense. I could still be clean through repentance.   

I took the Sacrament and asked Heavenly Father to forgive me, and then I confessed to the Startups who said, "Just ask. You can have candy any time." Wow! So that's how it works. I felt clean again!