This redemption
process may be further illustrated by the case of the man who stole money from
a Bank. The man felt guilty, regretted his act, and wanted to make restitution.
But he no longer had the money. He faced prison. In desperation, he told his
Friend about his dilemma. His Friend agreed to reimburse the Bank on condition
that the man would agree to his Friend’s terms, and never steal again. The man
gladly agreed. His Friend paid the debt, and plead for mercy. Mercy was
granted. The Bank forgave the man, the man was not charged, and he did not have
to go to prison. At this point, secular justice was fully satisfied. We see the
saving power of Christ’s atonement in the illustration. Through repentance the
man would be forgiven through the mercy of God (“justified”), and would now
stand untainted before God (pardoned, clean and innocent). (Moses 6:59-60.) No
Justice would have been robbed, “Nay; not one whit,” because the man’s debt to
God was paid by the suffering of the Only Begotten. (Alma 42:24-25.)
Continuing with the
analogy, suppose that after the man had repented, he robbed the bank again? The
Lord gave the governing principle: “unto that soul who sinneth shall the former
sins return.” (D&C 82:7.) This debt, and all others, has been eternally
paid by the infinite suffering of the Lord, and that payment is final under the
eternal laws of justice and mercy. But the cleansing that comes through the
atonement is conditional upon repentance. Now to be cleansed from this and his
former sins and have mercy extended, the man must repent again. We see that
“cleansing” from sin and the “payment” to justice are two different things. The
atoning payment to justice was final, the Lord paid it in the Garden and on the
Cross, but cleansing—the extending of mercy—is conditional upon repentance of
the beneficiary, which in reality is often a repeated event, and will continue
to be so until we learn the beauty of perfect obedience, (D&C 82:7; 58:42.)
Mercifully, through repentance, President Packer has said that: “The Atonement
. . . can wash clean every stain no matter how difficult or how long or how
many times repeated (President Boyd K. Packer, The Plan of Happiness,
General Conference, May Ensign [2015]). We rely upon this truth as
we renew our covenant of baptism weekly at the sacrament table (Elder D. Todd
Christofferson, The Living Bread Which Came Down from Heaven, General
Conference, Nov Ensign 36 [2017]). (Dellas W. Lee, The Infinite
Christ: The God of Israel and the God of the Whole Earth [Lubbock, Tex.:
Wordsworth Books, 2020], 247-48)
Was baptism necessary for Jesus to obtain the exaltation?
First we note that
Jehovah needed a body of flesh and bone in order to obtain exaltation. Although
the Savior had achieved perfection in the premortal world, he could not have
exaltation without a mortal body. Nor could He have exaltation without keeping
all the commandments the Father had given Him, and baptism was one of them.
(Matt 3:13-17.) He was the Prototype for His brother and sisters. (2 Ne
31:12-13) As our Mentor, here in mortality He would demonstrate His willingness
to obey all the laws of God an receive the ordinances of the gospel in
perfection, show that He was the revelation of the Father through works of
righteousness, and then fulfil His primary mission by making an infinite
atonement, thereby taking upon Himself the sins of the world. This would make
it possible for all mankind to receive exaltation through obedience to the same
commandments.
Thus, the Savior
would need to be baptized, not for the remission of sins, as He had none, but
to be perfectly obedient to the laws and ordinances of the gospel, and to
humble Himself before the Father as He will do in the Garden and on the Cross,
and to show the way to salvation for all the rest of us. (Matt 3:13-17; 1 Ne
10:9-10 . . .) Nephi captured the message in these words of irrefutable
logic: “5 And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be
baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have
we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water! 6 And now, I would ask of
you, my beloved brethren, wherein the Lamb of God did fulfil all righteousness
in being baptized by water? 7 Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding
he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh
he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he
would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments.” (2 Ne 31:5-7. He then
taught this universal commandment to Nicodemus “Except a man be born of water
and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5; and see
2 Ne 31:10-12.) (Ibid., 726-27)
We have New Testament
evidence that Christ instituted temple work for the salvation of the dead
either before or after His ascension (1 Cor 15:29). However, in view of the
hostility of the rulers of the Jews against the Christians it is unlikely that
Temple ordinances for the dead were performed in the Temple rebuilt by Herod,
where Jesus has been teaching these last few days. More likely, during the
meridian of time Temple ordinances were done in some other sacred place
properly dedicated for that work. (Ibid, 1364)