The following, from Dallin Oaks, is on the importance of water baptism for salvation. While reading it, one is reminded of how the atoning sacrifice of Christ is the sole “formal cause” of salvation, while water baptism is an instrumental cause (for more, see Refuting Jeff McCullough ("Hello Saints") on Baptismal Regeneration):
REPENTANCE
AND BAPTISM
In order to lay claim upon our
Savior’s life-giving triumph over the spiritual death we suffer because of our
own sins, we must follow the conditions He has prescribed. As He has told us; “Now
this is the commandment: Repent all ye ends of the earth, and come unto me and
be baptized in my name, that ye may be sanctified by the reception of the Holy
Ghost, that ye may stand spotless before me at the last day” (3 Nephi 27:20).
Men and women cannot be saved in
the highest degree of glory, the celestial kingdom, without the atoning
sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and the only way to lay claim to the merits of that
Atonement is to follow the command of its author: “Repent, and be baptized
every one of you” (Acts 2:38).
For most of us, the opportunity
to be forgiven of our sins is the major meaning of the Atonement of Jesus
Christ. The Book of Mormon teaches that the Savior does not redeem men “in
their sins” (Alma 11:34, 36, 37; Helaman 5:10). “The wicked remain as though
there had been no redemption made, except it be the loosing of the bands of
death” (Alma 11:41). The Savior came to redeem men “from their sins”
upon the “conditions of repentance” (Helaman 5:11; emphasis added).
One of the conditions of
repentance is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, including faith in, and reliance
upon, His atoning sacrifice. As Amulek taught: “He that exercises no faith unto
repentance is exposed to the whole law of the demands of justice; therefore
only unto him that he has faith unto repentance is brought about the great and eternal
plan of redemption” (Alma 34:16).
The Savior is also taught that
His atoning sacrifice was for “all those who have a broken heart and a contrite
spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered” (2 Nephi 2:7).
The truly repentant sinner has been through a process of personal pain and
suffering for sin. He or she understands the meaning of Alma’s statement that “none
but the truly penitent are saved” (Alma 42:24).
When a person has gone through
the process that results in what the scriptures call a broken heart and a
contrite spirit, the Savior does more than cleanse that person from sin. He also
gives him or her new strength. That strengthening is essential for us to
realize the purpose of the cleansing, which is to return to our Heavenly
Father. To be admitted to His presence, we must be more than clean. We must
also be changed from a morally weak person who has sinned into a strong person
with the spiritual stature to dwell in the presence of God.
The Book of Mormon, which
elaborates the Savior’s teachings and gives the explanation of His mission, reports
this teaching: “No unclean thing can enter into [the Father’s] kingdom;
therefore nothing entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their
garments in my blood, because of their faith, and the repentance of all their
sins, and their faithfulness unto the end” (3 Nephi 27:19).
The Son of God began His ministry
by being baptized “to fulfil all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). At His
direction, His disciples baptized His followers (see John 4:1-2). Before He left
His followers for a season, HE commanded: “Go ye therefore, and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost” (Matthew 28:19). To the Nephites He explained: “And whoso believeth
in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall
inherit the kingdom of God” (3 Nephi 11:33).
We learn from all this that baptism
is a requirement, but why? Why is it necessary to be baptized in this way and
by one holding particular authority I do not know. But what I do know is that
the remission of sins is only made possible by the atoning sacrifice of our
Savior, Jesus Christ, and that He has prescribed that condition, again and
again. His sacrifice paid the price for my sins, and He has prescribed the
conditions upon which I can be saved by His payment. That is enough reason for
me. (Dallin H. Oaks, “The Opportunity to Be Forgiven of Sins,” in Learning
the Great Fundamentals: Jesus Christ, Priesthood, and the Plan of Salvation [Salt
Lake City: Deseret Book, Salt Lake City], pp. 163-64 of 227, Kindle ed.)
