Necessity and Efficiency of the Ordinance of Baptism
But as we have
already noted in Jacob’s teachings, (II Nephi 9:23) “and he commandeth all men
that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the
Holy One of Israel or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God,” we see that
there can be no forgiveness, no peace, no healing, which is the fruit of true
repentance without a bond and covenant between our Savior and ourselves that we
do take upon ourselves His name, and that we spend our whole soul’s energy
henceforward in obeying in spirit and in deed His every commandment, thus being
a living personal witness of Him in every avenue of life. Baptism is the only
legal sign of that covenant and means whereby we may signify to the Lord that
we are willing to and do accept Him and His saving power. Have we fully understood
the nature of baptism? Adam pondered baptism when the Gospel was preached to
him. He wondered why he should have to be baptized, and he asked that very
question. The Lord gave him the answer briefly as follows, first explaining to
Adam that his transgression in the Garden of Eden had been forgiven him and
that now he, himself, was eligible, through repentance and receiving the
ordinances of the Gospel, for entrance into the kingdom of God; then,
concerning Adam’s children He said, “Inasmuch as thy children are conceived in
sin,” that is, they are conceived and brought forth in a condition when they
begin to grow up, sin conceiveth in their hearts, and they taste the bitter
that they may know how to prize the good. And it is given unto them to know
good from evil; wherefore they are agents unto themselves. And I have given
unto you another law and commandment; wherefore teach it unto your children,
that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in nowise inherit the
Kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in His presence.”
Now, can you see how foolish it would be for us to try to justify ourselves in
our sins or be saved in our sins, just because we are born into bodies
that have a natural impulse to sin? All, then, must repent or they cannot in nowise
inherit the Kingdom of God. “ . . . and inasmuch as ye were born into the
world by water, blood, and the spirit, which I have made and so became of
dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven
of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of
mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin and enjoy the words
of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even
immortal glory.” Now, here are the keys to an understanding of the ordinance of
baptism. “For by the water ye keep the commandment.” By going into the water
you keep the commandment the Lord has given regarding baptism, and signify by
that voluntary act your willingness and desire to enter into covenant with Him.
And there is a particular significance in going down into the water. You’ve
thought about that; you must have done. Going into the water and being completely
immersed is a representation of going back into the element in which your
bodies were first prepared—water. “By the Spirit ye are justified.” When you
were born into the world and came and came out of the element of water, your
spirit took full possession of your body, didn’t it? Well, after you came out
of waters of baptism, you had hands placed upon your head; you received the
Holy Ghost, the Spirit of the Lord to be in you. Then, you were born again by
water—your body came out of that element—you received a spirit into that newborn
body—the Spirit of the Lord to justify your mortal selves before Him that you
may receive the revelation of heavenly things—and you became His, because you
were baptized in His name, just as you become the sons and daughters of your
own parents. “And by the blood are ye sanctified.” The spilling of the unsullied
blood of Jesus Christ in an atoning sacrifice applied to us in that ordinance
of baptism reconciles the whole condition of mortal life and makes it possible
for us to dwell again in the Kingdom of God—seals up and heals for us the
breach that was made by that first death, pronounced upon our parents. “Therefore
it is given to abide in you; the record of heaven; the peaceable things of
immortal glory; the truth of all things; that which quickeneth all things,
which maketh alive all things; that which knoweth all things, and hath all
power according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice and judgment. (Moses 6:52-61)
It was an
understanding of the profound depth and meaning of the ordinance and covenant of
baptism that prompted the Apostle Paul to warn the Church at Corinth
emphatically against indulgence in the “works of the flesh,” after receiving
the sacred ordinance and say to them, “What? Know ye not that your body is the
temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God and ye
are not your own? For ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God
in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (I
Corinthians 6:19-20).
Further Aspects of the Personal Application of Baptism
There are other
things concerning baptism that are vitally important for us to keep in mind;
let’s touch on just a few. Mosiah 18:8-10, presents a beautiful but solemn
scene: “And it came to pass that he (Alma) said unto them: Behold, there are
the waters of Mormon (for they were called), and now, as ye are desirous to
come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear
one another’s burdens, that they may be light; yea, and are willing to mourn
with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort,
and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all
things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death,
that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first
resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—Now I say unto you if this be the desire
of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord,
as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him,
that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his
Spirit more abundantly upon you?” And continuing with verse 13, “And when he
said these words the Spirit of the Lord was upon Almighty God, as a testimony
that ye have entered into a covenant to serve him until you are dead
as to the mortal body; and may the Spirit of the Lord be poured out upon you;
that he may grant unto you eternal life, through the redemption of Christ, whom
he has prepared from the foundation of the world.”
Here the
prerequisites of baptism are clearly set forth. The candidate should have a
strong desire to come out of the world with all its corrupt and false practices
and enter into the fold of God, be filled with humility and a pure love for his
fellow men, be ready to, and after baptism to actually, stand as a witness of God
in all things, not just a few selected things of choice, until he’s dead as to
the mortal body. The going into the water with one who has authority to
minister in the name of God, constitutes a testimony to a solemn covenant with
God, willingly entered into, to be of force until the very end, that the Spirit
of the Lord may be legally effective in his life, and the hope of eternal life
through the redemption of the Savior may be alive and real and founded on the
truth. Does this agree with what Adam was told in the beginning? It does,
perfectly.
Some further information
on this subject is given in a revelation of our own day. D. & C. 20:37: “And
again, by way of commandment to be the church concerning the manner of baptism—All
those who humble themselves before God, and desire to be baptized, and come
forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits, and witness
before the church that they have truly repented of all their sins,
and are willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, having a determination
to serve him to the end, and truly manifest by their works
that they have received of the Spirit of Christ unto the remission of their
sins, shall be received by baptism into his church.”
As we try to realize
the true value of baptism in our own lives today, I wonder if we think very
deeply about this phrase, “and come forth with broken hearts and contrite
spirits, and witness before the church that they have truly
repented of all their sins?” (Lynn A. McKinlay, Life Eternal [Salt
Lake City: Deseret Book, 1950, 1954], 81-84)
