symbolism in the baptismal rite. As seen, Christ compared it to
a birth, an entrance into a new world or state of being. No such
symbolism obtains in baptism except by complete immersion in water and
a coming forth therefrom.
Water baptism has also been very impressively compared to burial and
resurrection; and the comparison is meaningless except the baptism be
by immersion followed by a rising from the watery grave. Paul evidently
so knew, as his words attest: "Know ye not that so many of us as were
baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we
are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was
raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together
in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his
resurrection." (Rom. 6:3-5; see also Col. 2:12).
Christ Himself was baptized "to fulfill all righteousness," and His
baptism at the hands of John was by immersion, as is evidenced by the
fact that He "went up straightway out of the water."
Have you read the story of the contrite Ethiopian eunuch, treasurer
to Queen Candace? After listening to Philip's exposition of the
Scriptures, as the two rode together, the Ethiopian desired baptism,
and, Philip consenting, "he commanded the chariot to stand still: and
they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and
he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the
Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more;
and he went on his way rejoicing." (See Acts 8:26-39). Did Philip,
who was directed in this ministry by the angel of the Lord, err in
administering baptism by immersion?
Theologians are generally agreed that for centuries after the time
of Christ immersion was the only mode of authorized baptism; and
philologists testify that the very word "baptize" is derived from the
Greek verb meaning to immerse or bury. The Holy Scriptures prescribe
baptism by immersion as essential to salvation, and none other form is
validated by the Word of God.
To the Nephites on the Western Continent the resurrected Lord appeared
soon after His ascension from the Mount of Olives. He gave the people
explicit instructions as to the way in which the essential ordinance of
baptism by immersion was to be administered.
Baptism as prescribed by revelation in the present age is after the
same pattern; and every baptism administered in the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints is by immersion. (See D&C 20:72-74).
-- 25 --
THE BAPTISM OF FIRE
Power of the Spirit
WE believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel
are:--(1) Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; (2) Repentance; (3) Baptism
by immersion for the remission of sins; (4) Laying on of hands for the
gift of the Holy Ghost. (Articles of Faith 4).
John the Baptist proclaimed the necessity of repentance and of baptism
by water, which latter he administered to all who came in contrition
seeking admission to the kingdom of God. With equal fervency, this
voice crying in the wilderness foretold a second or higher baptism,
which, however, John was not authorized to give. This he characterized
as the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, ordained to follow his
administration, and to be given by that Mightier One, whose preeminence
John delighted to proclaim. This was the Baptist's testimony:
"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh
after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he
shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire." (Matt. 3:11).
That the Mightier One referred to was none other than Jesus the Christ
is thus set forth in the words of John: "Behold the Lamb of God. . . .
This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred
before me: for he was before me. . . . And I knew him not: but he that
sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou
shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he
which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost." (John 1:29-33).
In His incisive instructions to Nicodemus respecting the works
essential to salvation, the Savior did not stop with the specification
of the watery birth. Baptism by immersion in water, though administered
by one invested with the power of the Holy Priesthood, is incomplete
without the quickening effect of the Spirit. "Born of water and of
the Spirit" is the indispensable status of every man who shall gain
admission to the kingdom of God.
While yet in the flesh our Lord specifically and repeatedly assured the
Apostles that after His departure the Comforter or the Spirit of Truth
would be sent unto them; and the scriptural context plainly shows that
these expressive appellations have reference solely to the Holy Ghost.
Amidst the solemnities of His ascension, the Lord reiterated these
assurances of a spiritual baptism, saying: "For John truly baptized
with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days
hence." (Acts 1:5).
A rich fulfilment was realized at the succeeding Pentecost, when the
assembled Apostles were endowed with unprecedented power from heaven,
being filled with the influence of the Holy Ghost so that they spake
in tongues other than their own as the Spirit gave them utterance.
An outward manifestation of this Divine investiture was seen in the
tongues of flame which rested upon them severally. The Lord's promise,
so miraculously fulfilled upon themselves, was repeated by the
Apostles to those who sought their instruction. Conditioned upon their
repentance and baptism in water, Peter assured the penitent Jews that
they should "receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:38).
That the bestowal of the Holy Ghost is an ordinance requiring higher
authority than that by which water baptism may be performed is
evidenced by Scripture. Philip--not the Apostle Philip, but presumably
one of the seven men who had been set apart for a lesser ministry (Acts
6:3-6)--preached to the Samaritans and baptized many. Plainly Philip
was empowered to administer water baptism; and it is equally clear that
an authority greater than his was requisite for the higher baptism of
the Spirit or the conferring of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of
hands. To this the Scriptures testify:
"Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had
received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when
they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy
Ghost: (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were
baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on
them, and they received the Holy Ghost." (Acts 8:14-17).
Very illuminating is the instance of Paul's ministry unto certain
devout Ephesians (Acts 19:1-7) who professed to have been baptized
"unto John's baptism," but who were plainly uninstructed as to the
necessity of the baptism of the Spirit. It is probable that these men
had submitted to immersion by unauthorized hands; and therefore Paul
caused that they be baptized "in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when
Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and
they spake with tongues, and prophesied."
To the Twelve Disciples who were ordained by the resurrected Lord among
the Nephites on the American continent, Christ gave special power, so
that all baptized believers upon whom they would lay their hands should
receive the Holy Ghost; and thus is the assurance recorded:
"Yea, blessed are they who shall believe in your words, and come down
into the depths of humility and be baptized, for they shall be visited
with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and shall receive a remission of
their sins." (Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 12:2; see also Moroni chap. 2.)
And in this modern day, the authority of both the Lesser or Aaronic
Priesthood, which is requisite to water baptism, and of the Higher or
Melchizedek Priesthood, without which the gift of the Holy Ghost cannot
be authoritatively bestowed, has been restored to earth, through the
Prophet Joseph Smith. The Elders of the Church today are commanded to
preach the Gospel, to baptize the penitent, "And to confirm those who
are baptized into the church, by the laying on of hands for the baptism
of fire and the Holy Ghost, according to the Scriptures." (D&C 20:41).
-- 26 --
IN THE NAME OF GOD, AMEN!
Authority of the Holy Priesthood Again Operative on Earth
WE believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the
laying on of hands, by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel
and administer in the ordinances thereof. (Articles of Faith No. 5).
We have seen that certain ordinances, prescribed by the Lord Jesus
Christ, are indispensable to salvation. Without baptism by water and
the conferment of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands no man can
enter the kingdom of God, for so the Lord hath affirmed and so the
Scriptures attest.
The outward form, mode, or operation in each of these sacred and
far-reaching rites is notably simple. So far as the physical procedure
is concerned, any man of ordinary ability may learn to perform the
ceremony, and that with a few minutes' oral instruction or reading. The
same may be said of many ordinances prescribed in human institutions.
One may readily commit to memory and learn to speak with due
impressiveness the words by which a college degree is conferred upon
the successful student, the formula by which man and woman are united
in the bonds of wedlock, or the judicial pronouncement by which one
prisoner is restored to liberty and another condemned.
But, as everybody knows, to make the utterance effective he who speaks
must be invested with specific authority, without which his presumption
to officiate would be a punishable offense under the secular law. Are
consistency and reason less to be considered in matters of Divine
administration than in the affairs of mortals?
Healing ministry to the afflicted in the name of Jesus Christ is one of
the gifts of the Spirit implanted in the Church. The Apostles of old
so administered, and with such effect that disease was stayed and evil
spirits were rebuked. Certain vagabond Jews once attempted to imitate
Paul in his authoritative functions, and among them were the seven sons
of Sceva chief of the priests. (See Acts 19:11-18). Unto a suffering
demoniac these evil and presumptuous men, void of authority and power,
undertook to minister, solemnly pronouncing the words: "We adjure you
by Jesus," and then, as if to put beyond question the Name in which
they blasphemously essayed to speak, added "whom Paul preacheth."
But the demon in the man laughed them to scorn, and cried aloud in
derision: "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?"
The Apostles who were with the Lord in the flesh had been ordained by
Him to the Holy Priesthood; and Paul who was later called into the
ministry was ordained by the laying on of hands of those in authority.
(Acts 13:2-4). Even the evil spirits acknowledged their authority, as
earlier the demons had acclaimed the Christ "Jesus, thou Son of the
Most High God." (See Mark 5:7). But for the vagabond pretenders there
was contempt and humiliation.
And what of the impressive lesson taught by the experience of Simon the
sorcerer? (See Acts 8:18-24). He marveled at the power demonstrated
through the Apostles; for to the baptized believers upon whom they
laid their hands came the Holy Ghost with manifestations of spiritual
endowment. His mind, heart and motive darkened by sin, Simon sought to
buy with money the power that only the call of God could impart: "But
Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast
thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast
neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the
sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if
perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive
that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity."
(Acts 8:20-23).
Far surpassing anything and all that man can bestow is the authority
to preach the Word of God and administer Divine ordinances through the
investiture of the Holy Priesthood. While Israel lived under the Law,
bereft of the fulness of spiritual light such as the Gospel alone can
give, Jehovah repeatedly manifested His righteous jealousy or zeal
in behalf of His appointed servants and against all who pretended to
arrogate authority unto themselves. Read the story of wicked Korah
and his associates in their attempt to minister in the priest's
office (Numbers 16); consider the rejection of Saul, king of Israel,
who offended by undertaking to discharge the functions of the Lord's
prophet (1 Sam. 13:8-14). And think of Uzziah, king of Judah, who died
an outcast and a leper, through the visitation of punishment for having
presumed to officiate without priestly ordination. (2 Chron. 26).
In the establishment of His Church among the ancient Americans, the
Lord was specific in conferring upon certain men the authority to
baptize, to lay on hands for the giving of the Holy Ghost, administer
the sacrament of bread and wine, and otherwise to officiate in the
ordinances pertaining to the Holy Priesthood. By personal ordination
the Lord invested His chosen representatives to minister in His Name.
(Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 11:21, 22; 12: 1, 2; 18:5).
So also, in the present age, authority to minister in the saving
ordinances of the Gospel must be given of God, not assumed by man. The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints proclaims to the world
that the Holy Priesthood, which is the appointment and authority to
officiate in the name of God, has been restored to the earth in modern
days, through direct dispensation from the heavens by angelic ministry
to the Prophet Joseph Smith. The imperative urgency of the call is thus
set forth in current revelation:
"And the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the mouths of
my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days. And they shall
go forth and none shall stay them, for I the Lord have commanded
them. . . . Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the
earth, that all that will hear may hear: Prepare ye, prepare ye for
that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh. . . . For I the Lord
cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance. Nevertheless,
he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be
forgiven." (D&C 1).
-- 27 --
FOR TIME ONLY OR FOR ETERNITY
Human Institutions and Divine Authority.
ORGANIZATION is essential to human advancement. The Divine affirmation
that it is not good for man to be alone may be applied not only to the
union of the sexes in honorable marriage, upon which the perpetuity of
the race depends, but also to the association of humankind in community
life, without which cooperation is impossible and the achievements of
united purpose would be unknown.
It is natural and necessary that men shall establish and maintain
institutions for community betterment. The constitution of every
liberal government recognizes the right of individuals to associate
themselves in any organization having worthy purpose, in harmony with
the spirit of law and order, and not interfering with the rights and
privileges of non-members.
Thus, men may institute societies, associations, and clubs, guilds,
fraternities, and orders. They may designate their organization as a
church if they choose, and may enact rules prescribing conditions of
admission, and providing for the administration of the institution's
affairs. They may go so far as to say that no man shall be admitted to
the church thus created except he be baptized by immersion in water
by one of the officials, and that the seal of membership shall be the
pronouncing of a formula accompanied by the laying on of hands.
But who of us would hazard his reputation as a rational being by
asserting or even believing that such baptism, administered by an
authority created by man, can be of effect in assuring remission of
sins, or that it shall be recognized as efficacious by the powers of
Heaven?
Churches, societies, or other associations, established on purely human
initiative are institutions of men; they can never be aught else. It is
in line with consistency that such organizations bear the names of men,
or that they be known by some appellation expressive of their origin,
their constitution, their peculiarities of government, their location,
or some other distinguishing feature. Could it be counted less than
sacrilege to attach the name of Deity to a church called into being in
the manner we have assumed?
The Church of the apostolic epoch was the organization that Christ had
established. He very expressively called it My Church (Matt. 16:18);
and after His departure, every ordinance therein was administered in
the name of Jesus Christ. By Divine assurance those ordinances were
of effect, not only on earth but in Heaven, not alone for time, but
for eternity. Of man-made institutions, of artificial growths though
bearing the titles of churchly cults, the Lord emphatically declared:
"Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be
rooted up." (Matt. 15:13).
In the course of His ministrations on the Western Continent, Jesus
Christ established His Church, and thus answered certain inquiries as
to the name by which that Church should be called:
"Whatsoever ye shall do, ye shall do it in my name; therefore ye shall
call the church in my name; and ye shall call upon the Father in my
name, that he will bless the church for my sake. And how be it my
church, save it be called in my name? For if a church be called in
Moses' name, then it be Moses' church; or if it be called in the name
of a man, then it be the church of a man; but if it be called in my
name, then it is my church, if it so be that they are built upon my
gospel." (Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 27:7, 8.)
The acts of a public official, whether of local or national status,
are effective only within the limits of the jurisdiction he
represents. City ordinances can be enforced within the boundaries of
the municipality, but not beyond. State legislatures are powerless
to enact laws for interstate regulation. Congress is limited in
specific jurisdiction to the national domain. Yet, in the face of
these fundamental facts, there are men who assume that it is within
their province to legislate in spiritual affairs, and to alter, annul,
or supersede by their own enactments, the laws established by Divine
authority relating to membership in the Kingdom of God.
In the current age the Lord has established His Church upon the
earth, and has made plain the portentous fact that while honorable
obligations, agreements, and contracts among men may be valid under
human laws, He is in no way bound by such exercise of mortal agency
as conditioning the future of the soul after death. Ponder these
declarations of Jesus Christ, given to His Church in 1843:
"All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, oaths, vows,
performances, connections, associations, or expectations, that are not
made, and entered into, and sealed, by the Holy Spirit of promise, of
him who is anointed, both as well for time and for all eternity, . . ..
are of no efficacy, virtue or force, in and after the resurrection
from the dead; for all contracts that are not made unto this end,
have an end when men are dead. . . ..And everything that is in the
world, whether it be ordained of men, by thrones, or principalities,
or powers, or things of name, whatsoever they may be, that are not by
me, or by my word, saith the Lord, shall be thrown down, and shall not
remain after men are dead, neither in nor after the resurrection, saith
the Lord your God." (D&C 132:5-13).
-- 28 --
APOSTLES AND PROPHETS NECESSARY
The Primitive Church and the Church of Latter Days
WE believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive
Church, viz.: apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, etc.
(Articles of Faith, No. 6).
Most people who profess belief in Christianity accept as a scriptural
fact the establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ, through the
Lord's personal ministry, in the early days of what we call the
Christian Era, the period that has been expressively designated the
meridian of time. During the many centuries between the days of Moses
and the advent of Christ in the flesh, Israel had lived under the Law,
between which and the Gospel a clear distinction is drawn in Scripture.
Paul's explicit segregation of the two is cogent, and ample for
illustration:
"But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the
faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our
schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified
by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a
schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ
Jesus." (Gal. 3:23-26).
The Law of Moses, the schoolmaster's administration which was
constituted for the discipline of a people unprepared to receive the
higher tutoring of the Gospel, was fulfilled and therefore abrogated
as a formal and obligatory system through the earthly ministry of the
Lord Jesus Christ. While this fulfilment is evidenced by the whole
tenor of New Testament Scripture, a most direct and concise declaration
may be quoted with profit from the Nephite Scriptures, recorded by
holy men who officiated under Divine commission on the American
continent throughout a period of approximately six centuries before and
four centuries after the birth of Christ. The prophet Nephi who was
living at the time of our Lord's death, resurrection, and ascension,
incorporates in his record the words of the Resurrected Savior as
follows:
"Behold I say unto you, that the law is fulfilled that was given unto
Moses. Behold, I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted
with my people Israel: therefore, the law in me is fulfilled, for I
have come to fulfil the law; therefore it hath an end. Behold, I do
not destroy the prophets, for as many as have not been fulfilled in
me, verily I say unto you, shall all be fulfilled." (Book of Mormon, 3
Nephi 15:4-6).
A studious reading of the four Gospels demonstrates that while our
Lord recognized the Jewish hierarchy as administrators of an existing
system of government, and complied with all lawful requirements thereof
as such applied to Himself, He proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom in
place of the Mosaic Law, and ordained men to a higher Priesthood than
that of Aaron under which the priests of the Jews claimed to operate.
He commissioned the Twelve Apostles (Matt. 10:1; Mark 3:14; Luke 6:13),
and afterward the Seventy (Luke 10:1). Unto the eleven Apostles who
had remained faithful the Lord gave the parting instruction, shortly
before His ascension: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel
to every creature." The Apostles labored with devoted energy, "And they
went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and
confirming the word with signs following." (See Mark 16:15-20).
The Apostles clearly understood that though the Master had passed from
earth He had left with them authority and commandment to build up the
Church as an established organization. One of their early official
acts was to fill the vacancy in their own body, which had been created
by the apostasy and death of Judas Iscariot. It is evident that they
considered the apostolic body to comprise twelve members and that the
needs of the Church required the organization to be made complete. By
official action Matthias was added to the eleven. (See Acts 1:21-26).
Under the administration of the Apostles and others who officiated
by their direction in positions of lesser authority, the Church of
Jesus Christ grew in membership and influence. For ten years or more
following our Lord's ascension, Jerusalem was the headquarters of
the Church, but branches were established in the outlying provinces,
and these branches, or local "churches," were officered by bishops,
deacons, and other ministers, who were chosen and ordained by apostolic
authority.