"Ye Shall Baptize This People", part 4

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

[This post is somewhat of a culmination of all sixteen of the previous posts on the blog. If you have not already done so, it may be helpful to read them in order to gain a better understanding.]

3 Nephi 11 says:

33 And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.

34 And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned.

35 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost.

36 And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are one.

37 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these things.

38 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.

The Lord delivered the commandment to be baptized four times in these few verses. Four times the invitation to be baptized was delivered to a people who had already been baptized by someone with authority. What if they had not listened? What if they had refused with all manner of excuses? “I’ve been baptized before, so I’m good.” “It’s a good thing I’m already a member of the Lord’s true church.” “These words will be good for my children or my neighbors to hear.” Many people will do anything to get out of being baptized. Will you be any different?

2 Nephi 31 says:

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.

Nephi said that “we” have a need to be baptized. Just in case there was any confusion, he also said that it needed be “by water”. He did not excuse himself. The Lord did not excuse Himself either and showed humility by being baptized. That is because being baptized is a natural result of being humble. Alma taught this connection between humility and baptism. Alma 32:16 says, “Therefore, blessed are they who humble themselves without being compelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that believeth in the word of God, and is baptized without stubbornness of heart, yea, without being brought to know the word, or even compelled to know, before they will believe.” Baptism is an acknowledgement that you are in desperate need of repentance and the Lord’s saving grace. It is an acknowledgement that you will do whatever He asks in order to receive that grace. Will you make such an acknowledgement? Will you receive the Lord’s grace?

Mosiah 18:10 says, “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?” An excellent question! If you desire repentance, if you desire to do the Lord’s will, if you desire to receive everything the Lord offers you, what do you have against being baptized? What will be your excuse?

D&C 13 says, “Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and this shall never be taken again from the earth, until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.” The priesthood authority necessary for baptism was restored to the Earth and it continues here to this day. Will you take advantage and use it for repentance and baptism as Christ taught, as the Book of Mormon teaches, and as the early saints practiced?

Isaiah 11:11 says, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.” There is a remnant of Jacob scattered throughout the world and those people must be recovered and brought to Zion. But Zion has not been established. There is no place where the remnant can be gathered in. It didn’t happen in the days of Joseph Smith when the Lord set His hand the first time to recover His people. The Gentiles did not do the work when they had a prophet in their midst - a prophet who actually claimed to see God, a prophet who specifically reported receiving angels and visions, and a prophet who undeniably brought forth the oracles of God (i.e. revelations). With the inevitable state of things in the LDS Church and its lack of focus on Zion, it doesn’t appear that any modern LDS Gentiles will repent and do the required work anytime soon. Time is running out and so the Lord is setting His hand again, the second time.

Elder Orson Pratt said:

There must be a reformation, there will be a reformation among this people, for God will not cast off this kingdom and this people, but he will plead with the strong ones of Zion, he will plead with this people, he will plead with those in high places, he will plead with the Priesthood of this Church, until Zion shall become clean before him. I do not know but that it would be an utter impossibility to commence and carry out some principles pertaining to Zion right in the midst of this people. They have strayed so far that to get a people who would conform to heavenly laws it may be needful to lead some from the midst of this people and commence anew somewhere in the regions round about in these mountains…I do not know how long it will be before this people are brought to the trying point to see who is and who is not for the Lord; but I would advise the Latter-day Saints to prepare for this, for it may come sooner than some of you expect. If the Lord should undertake to bring about an order of things different from that which now exists, and establish it not exactly in the midst of this people, but in some place where they can commence anew, I hope the people will begin to pray to the Lord, reckon up with themselves and examine their own hearts, and see whether they are willing and prepared, if called upon, to place all that they have, or as much as they are required in that order of things, and carry it out. (Journal of Discourses, 15:360-361)

President Heber C. Kimball said, “But the day will come when the Lord will choose a people out of this people, upon whom he will bestow His choicest blessings.” (The Deseret News, Vol. 15, No. 5, Nov. 9, 1865, p. 34) President Daniel H. Wells said, “…A people will come forth from among us who will be zealous of good works, willing to do the bidding of the Lord, who will be taught in his ways, and who will walk in his paths.” (The Deseret News, Vol. 24, No. 41, Nov. 10, 1875, p. 644)

A message from God has been delivered and it is the message of the restoration and of repentance. As was discussed before, it doesn’t matter who delivers a message from God, and the messengers are often obscure individuals with no apparent credentials. Our obligation is to respond to God’s messages and not to trust in men. I will not attempt to give the same message on this blog, but you may find it HERE. Those with ears to hear the message will hear it. I suggest not mocking it. The heavens are once again open for business and revelation is being poured out upon anyone willing to receive it. If you will seek, you will find, and you can have the truth of the matter revealed to you by the power of the Holy Ghost.

There are those who have the priesthood authority to baptize (through the restoration of the priesthood of Aaron) along with power from Christ to perform it and they are willing to do so for anyone who desires it. The website found here was set up by others as a means to locate and meet up with these authorized, empowered, and willing people so that you may be baptized. The ordinance of baptism stands alone as the first fruits of repentance and is not in connection with joining any church (we have enough churches) or satisfying any institutional requirements. Baptism is between you and the Lord. If you believe the Doctrine of Christ and wish to follow it, you may do so and be baptized, and the approval or disapproval of any person or group does not matter one bit.

Will you accept the Lord’s renewed invitation to be baptized? It is the same simple invitation in every age of the world. The message of repentance and baptism is delivered and only some few respond. What if Christ meant what He said in His message to the Nephites? What if He was telling the truth? What if baptism really is the only way to be saved? What if the first fruits of repentance actually is baptism? These are sobering thoughts. A choice must be made.

1 Nephi 14:7 says, “For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other—either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken.”

"Ye Shall Baptize This People", part 3

Part 1 | Part 2

The practice of rebaptism among the early saints is well-documented. If they practiced it and you are not, I hope you wonder why that is. The early saints had Joseph Smith in their midst and thus had access to all the light and knowledge that poured forth from the words of Christ that Joseph delivered. Is there a fundamental difference between what was happening while Joseph was alive and what is happening now? That is for you to decide.

For your convenience, the rest of this post quotes journal entries and other writings of early saints regarding the practice of rebaptism. Note that sometimes they were rebaptized for the remission of sins and sometimes they were rebaptized for health.

"Ye Shall Baptize This People", part 2

Part 1

The last post made it very clear that baptism is not limited to a one-time event. People can be baptized multiple times. You might be tempted to think that additional baptisms would only be required when something very important happens, like the start of a new dispensation. After all, it is certain that a new baptism was required when Christ was on the Earth during His mortal ministry. JST Matthew 9:18-21 says:

18 Then said the Pharisees unto him, Why will ye not receive us with our baptism, seeing we keep the whole law?

19 But Jesus said unto them, Ye keep not the law. If ye had kept the law, ye would have received me, for I am he who gave the law.

20 I receive not you with your baptism, because it profiteth you nothing.

21 For when that which is new is come, the old is ready to be put away.

But you will soon see that multiple baptisms do not require a world-changing event like a visit from Christ or a dispensation opened by Him. Alma 5 contains a discourse that Alma delivered to the church in Zarahemla. At the end of that discourse Alma says something that might seem peculiar. Verse 62 says, “I speak by way of command unto you that belong to the church; and unto those who do not belong to the church I speak by way of invitation, saying: Come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye also may be partakers of the fruit of the tree of life.” This should make it very clear to you that repeated baptisms is part of the Doctrine of Christ.

"Ye Shall Baptize This People"

After Jesus had come down, declared Himself, and allowed all those present to witness His resurrection, He immediately re-instituted the ordinance of baptism beginning in verse 18 of 3 Nephi 11:

18 And it came to pass that he spake unto Nephi (for Nephi was among the multitude) and he commanded him that he should come forth.

19 And Nephi arose and went forth, and bowed himself before the Lord and did kiss his feet.

20 And the Lord commanded him that he should arise. And he arose and stood before him.

21 And the Lord said unto him: I give unto you power that ye shall baptize this people when I am again ascended into heaven.

Baptism is so important that Jesus ensured that someone had the authority to offer it (and that the people knew who that was) as soon as He had finished introducing Himself. Because baptism is such a critical part of the Lord’s doctrine, He commanded his servant to baptize a people who had already been baptized. After the sign of the Lord’s birth appeared, many years before the events described above, 3 Nephi 1:23 says, “And it came to pass that Nephi went forth among the people, and also many others, baptizing unto repentance, in the which there was a great remission of sins...” Only a year or two before Jesus showed Himself to the people, 3 Nephi 7:23-26 says:

"More Or Less Than This"

In 3 Nephi 11:40 Jesus said, “And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil…”. If it's "evil" to do anything more or less than “this”, it is of the utmost importance to understand precisely what “this” is. “This” references the previous verse when Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine…” Does that mean that the words in 3 Nephi 11 make up the entirety of the Doctrine of Christ and nothing more can possibly be said about it? No. It simply means that there cannot be anything added to or taken away from the Doctrine of Christ. 3 Nephi 11 is only one place in the scriptures where the doctrine is taught. The doctrine is taught in various places throughout the scriptures. For example, there is a great exposition on the Doctrine of Christ in 2 Nephi 31 and 32. The doctrine can be taught and different aspects of it can be expounded upon without it being “more or less than this”.

D&C 10:67-69 says, “Behold, this is my doctrine—whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church. Whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me; therefore he is not of my church. And now, behold, whosoever is of my church, and endureth of my church to the end, him will I establish upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.” As you can see, this is clearly part of Christ’s Doctrine. There is a lot of the same language that you have seen in other verses, but there is a particular focus upon the Lord’s definition of His church. This focus in D&C 10 is not a part of 3 Nephi 11 and there are many things in 3 Nephi 11 that are not a part of D&C 10. But you can see that neither D&C 10 nor 3 Nephi 11 has added to or taken away from the Doctrine of Christ.

The true and unadulterated doctrine, when it is taught by God or one of His messengers, will always harmonize with itself. There can be no contradiction. When there is a real contradiction (and not just an imagined one) between two people expounding the Doctrine of Christ, you can know that one of them is incorrect. Christ will never deviate from His words. You must learn about the doctrine from your own scripture study and see how every piece fits together. There may be parts of the doctrine spread throughout the scriptures that, at first, may not seem to go together very well. I tell you from personal experience that when you learn the Doctrine of Christ, divorce it from your traditions, and obey it, the full truth will emerge and you will receive the promised blessings. If you put in the time and the effort (which is a sacrifice), you will receive.

"Upon My Rock"

Here is the first half of Jesus’ concluding statement of His doctrine from 3 Nephi 11:39: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.” If you want to be upon the Lord’s rock, you have to build upon His doctrine. What exactly is His rock? Matthew 16 contains critical information about it:

13 ¶When Jesus came into the coasts of Cæsarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?

14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.

15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Did you catch that? Did you see the similar language? The rock is not Peter. That would be idolatry. Peter is a man, after all, and the Nephites wouldn’t have had access to him. The rock must be constant and equally accessible by all of God’s children in every generation of time. Otherwise, God would be a changeable God.

The rock is revelation. It is the pure knowledge that comes from the Father, just like the knowledge that the Father gave to Peter. Not coincidentally, such revelation is promised earlier in 3 Nephi 11. Verse 35 promises that if you believe and follow the doctrine, the Father will bear record to you of Jesus through fire and the Holy Ghost. 2 Nephi 31:17 lets you know that it is the fire that actually causes the remission of sins. This is the rock that you must stand on.