"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.

"This Is Not My Doctrine"

There is only one place in all of scripture (that I am aware of) where the Lord specifically states that something is not His doctrine. Right after baptism is explained in detail in 3 Nephi 11, the Lord says:

28 And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been.

29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.

30 Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.

"I Bear Record of the Father", part 4

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

John 1:1-5 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” This is another witness that Jesus Christ truly is the light that fills everyone, including yourself. His light that shines in you is a witness and a testament to you of the Father because Christ was with the Father in the beginning. In other words, it is one more way that Jesus bears record of the Father. I find it significant that one of Jesus’ titles is “the Word”. When you think of “the Word”, you might think of the scriptures. Jesus is scripture because He will reveal everything about God to you. How do you access this Scripture, this Bread of Life, this Word of God? You can read the word of God (the written scriptures) to learn about the Word of God (Jesus Christ).

In D&C 35:20-21, the Lord gives an interesting explanation of the purpose of scriptures when He says, “the scriptures shall be given, even as they are in mine own bosom, to the salvation of mine own elect; For they will hear my voice, and shall see me, and shall not be asleep, and shall abide the day of my coming; for they shall be purified, even as I am pure.” The scriptures will help save you by teaching you to hear the Lord’s voice. It’s as if the scriptures are a divinely-ordained communication device, akin to a urim and thummim. When used properly, the scriptures will even help you see the Lord and be purified by Him. That is salvation (John 17:3; Ether 3:13). Use the scriptures as they were intended. If you are not learning to hear the Lord’s voice, you might not be using the scriptures correctly.

There is still another source that will help you become acquainted with the Lord.

"I Bear Record of the Father", part 3

Part 1 | Part 2

I want to use the scriptures to show the practical ways in which you can access the Light of Christ, which is Jesus’ record of the Father that He gives to everyone. Many times in scripture the Lord says that He is “the light which shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not.” (John 1:5; D&C 6:21; 10:58; 34:2; 39:2; 45:7; 88:49). How do you make sure you comprehend that light and become enlightened by it? Take a look at D&C 88:

 62 And again, verily I say unto you, my friends, I leave these sayings with you to ponder in your hearts, with this commandment which I give unto you, that ye shall call upon me while I am near— 

 63 Draw near unto me and I will draw near unto you; seek me diligently and ye shall find me; ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. 

 64 Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name it shall be given unto you, that is expedient for you; 

 65 And if ye ask anything that is not expedient for you, it shall turn unto your condemnation. 

 66 Behold, that which you hear is as the voice of one crying in the wilderness—in the wilderness, because you cannot see him—my voice, because my voice is Spirit; my Spirit is truth; truth abideth and hath no end; and if it be in you it shall abound. 

 67 And if your eye be single to my glory, your whole bodies shall be filled with light, and there shall be no darkness in you; and that body which is filled with light comprehendeth all things.

That last verse describes exactly what you need, according to the Doctrine of Christ discussed in this blog. If you want to “be filled with light”, you need to do what the preceding verses say. You probably notice that those verses are describing prayer. How should you pray and how often? The following scriptures will give you an idea.