Baptism (Lesson 20)

*** Now that we’re back from vacation, it was my turn to teach the Gospel Principles lesson concerning the first ordinance of the gospel: baptism by immersion for the remission of sins.  After writing this post, I was looking for pictures to include with it and felt I should look for the baptismal pictures of Jennifer, Ben, and Isaac.  When I found them (Isaac's is the only digital one, Ben and Jennifer's were scanned), I was struck with deep gratitude to my Heavenly Father as I realized I had been given the great opportunity to offer this priesthood ordinance to all three members of my family.  What a great blessing to have been able and worthy to exercise the priesthood in their behalf.  To see the glow and the happiness on their faces brought back wonderful memories for me.  I thank God for this tender mercy.  Their pictures are interspersed throughout this post.  ***

One of the things I find interesting about the 4th Article of Faith is how the first two principles (faith in Jesus Christ and repentance) lead a person to the first two ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ (baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost).  As defined in the Gospel Principles manual, an ordinance is “a rite or a ceremony” (114).  According to President Gordon B. Hinckley, “Baptism is the primary ordinance of the gospel.  It is the gate through which all come into the Church” (Ensign, May 1988, 46).

Jesus expressed the importance of baptism to Nicodemus: “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5, emphasis added).  With this statement, Jesus made it clear that baptism is required if we want to return to the presence of our Heavenly Father.  The Prophet Joseph Smith explained, “Baptism is a sign to God, to angels, and to heaven that we do the will of God, and there is no other way beneath the heavens whereby God hath ordained for man to come to Him to be saved, and enter into the kingdom of God” (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 91).  Father’s standard is the same for each of His children.  Even Jesus was not exempt.

The necessity of our Elder Brother’s obedience to this commandment to be baptized was demonstrated when He presented Himself for baptism to John the Baptist.  At first, John expressed surprise, “I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?”  Jesus’ response is important: “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness” (Matthew 3:14-15, emphasis added).  John’s message from the moment he began “preaching in the wilderness of Judæa,” had been, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (3:1-2).  From his immediate reaction to the Savior’s request for baptism, it appears clear that John recognized who Jesus was and that He had no sins needing to be remitted.  So how did Jesus “fulfil all righteousness” by being baptized?  Nephi asks the same question of his people and then answers his question by explaining: “But notwithstanding he [Jesus] 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 Nephi 31:7, emphasis added).  Jesus fulfilled the righteous command of His Father by submitting Himself for the ordinance.  He fulfilled all righteousness by demonstrating the importance of being baptized.

Our baptism differs from the Savior because we do have sins needing to be remitted.  Father in Heaven has made it clear that “no unclean thing can inherit the kingdom of God” (Alma 40:26).  We cannot expect to be welcomed into the celestial kingdom if we are soiled by our sins.  It is, therefore, important to understand, as Elder L. Tom Perry taught, that “repentance, which is a cleansing process, precedes baptism, which is a cleansing ordinance” (Ensign, May 2008, 45).  The required baptismal prerequisites are for us to be “humble[,] ... come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits, ... truly [repent] of all [our] sins, and [be] willing to take upon [us] the name of Jesus Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end” (D&C 20:37).

Preparing ourselves for baptism allows us to begin our journey away from worldly inclinations and toward attitudes and actions compatible with God’s will and desire.  As Elder Robert D. Hales explained, “There is a familiar phrase: to be in the world, but not of the world (see John 17:11, 14-17). ... We must therefore live in this world, but we must also resist the worldly influences that are ever before us. Jesus taught, ‘My kingdom is not of this world’ (John 18:36). ... When we are baptized by immersion by one with the proper priesthood authority and choose to follow our Savior, we then are in His kingdom and of His kingdom” (Ensign, Nov. 2000, 7).

Baptism is not a decision to be taken lightly; it is a life changing event.  When a person decides to be baptized, not only does he or she take the preliminary steps I have discussed, but as part of the ordinance, God binds us to our decision through our making a covenant with Him.  Elder Jeffrey R. Holland described a covenant as “a binding spiritual contract, a solemn promise to God our Father that we will live and think and act in a certain way—the way of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.  In return, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost promise us the full splendor of eternal life” (New Era, Jan. 2012, 3).

It is very important to recognize, however, that when you make a covenant with God, you are not sitting with your advisers on one side of a mahogany table in a big conference room while Father and His advisers sit on the other side.  You are not in a negotiation.  As Elder David A. Bednar clarified, “It is important to understand that God determines the conditions of all gospel covenants.  You and I do not decide the nature or elements of a covenant.  Rather, exercising our moral agency, we accept the terms and requirements of a covenant as our Eternal Father has established them” (Ensign, May 2006, 28-29).  Father’s terms on non-negotiable, we either accept them at face value or we do not.  Alma the elder highlighted the covenant we make when he explained to his people that they should be willing “to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; ... 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” (Mosiah 18:8-9).

The instructions revealed to Joseph Smith concerning the baptismal ordinance and the accompanying prayer are set forth in section 20, verses 73 through 74 of the Doctrine and Covenants:

73 The person who is called of God and has authority from Jesus Christ to baptize, shall go down into the water with the person who has presented himself or herself for baptism, and shall say, calling him or her by name: Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

74 Then shall he immerse him or her in the water, and come forth again out of the water.

Because the words of the prayer was received by revelation; it cannot be altered and must be spoken precisely.  First, the authority involved is stated.  Baptism and every ordinance that follows are performed under the direction and authority of the priesthood.  This authorization is addressed by the words commissioned and of.  One of the definitions of the word commission is “the entrusting of authority to a person;” and one of the definitions of the word of is “originating or coming from.”  Understanding these definitions, we learn that to be “commissioned of Jesus Christ” means that the authority used to baptize originates from Jesus Christ and He has entrusted the designated priesthood holder to complete this ordinance in behalf of the candidate.  In other words, the priesthood holder performing the baptism is standing in for the Savior and Jesus has authorized him to take His place.

After stating who has authorized and entrusted the baptizer with the authority to baptize, the prayer then states that the candidate is being baptized “in the name” of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  In this context the word of is used as an indication of respect.  Thus, the act of baptism is performed in the sacred name of and with respect to each individual member of the Godhead.  Once the prayer has been properly spoken, the candidate is immersed completely under the water to symbolize being “buried with [Christ] by baptism into death;” and the candidate is then lifted out of the water to symbolize being raised “like as Christ ... from the dead by the glory of the Father” (Romans 6:4).  In this manner, the candidate symbolizes the death of the “old man ... of sin” (6:6) and is “raised up from the dead” to “walk in newness of life” (6:4).

As Nephi taught, baptism truly is “the gate by which [we] should enter” (2 Nephi 31:17).  It is not an ending of a journey, but the beginning.  With a desire to humbly come before God and change worldly attitudes and practices, we now step through the gate to begin our journey on the “strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life” and we are prepared to receive “the Holy Ghost” (2 Nephi 31:18) as a companion and guide.  Our Father in Heaven has not, nor will He, leave us alone or unaided on our journey back to His presence:

Fear not, I am with thee; oh, be not dismayed,

For I am thy God and will still give thee aid.

I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,

Upheld by my righteous, … omnipotent hand

("How Firm a Foundation," Hymns, 85).

I am grateful for the baptismal ordinance and the accompanying covenants.  It is my hope that I may always strive to allow those covenants to lift me above the decay of the world to a higher plane of living.