The Articles of Faith Part 14

[348] Alma vii, 15.

=3.= The humbled sinner, convicted of his transgression, through the bestowal of G.o.d's good gifts of faith and repentance, will hail most joyfully any means of cleansing himself from pollution, now so repulsive in his eyes; all such will cry out as did the stricken Jewish mult.i.tude at Pentecost, "What shall we do?" Unto such comes the answering voice of the Spirit, through the medium of scripture, or by the mouths of the Lord's appointed servants, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins."[349] Springing forth as a result of contrition of soul, baptism has been very appropriately called the first fruits of repentance.[350]

[349] Acts ii, 37-38.

[350] Moroni viii, 25.

=4. The Establishment of Baptism= dates from the time of the earliest history of the race. When the Lord manifested Himself to Adam after the expulsion from the Garden of Eden, He promised the patriarch of the race, "If thou wilt turn unto me and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in His name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you.... And it came to pa.s.s, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water. And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit of G.o.d descended upon him, and thus he was born of the Spirit, and became quickened in the inner man."[351] Enoch preached the doctrine of repentance and baptism, and did baptize the people, and as many as accepted these teachings and submitted to the requirements of the gospel, became sanctified and holy in the sight of G.o.d.

[351] Pearl of Great Price: Moses vi, 52-65.

=5. The Special Purpose of Baptism= is to afford admission to the Church of Christ with remission of sins. What need of more words to prove the worth of this divinely appointed ordinance? What gift could be offered the human race greater than a ready means of obtaining forgiveness for transgression? Justice forbids the granting of universal and unconditional pardon for sins committed, except through obedience to ordained law; but means simple and effective are provided, whereby the penitent sinner may enter into a covenant with G.o.d, sealing that covenant with the sign that commands recognition in heaven, that he will submit himself to the laws of G.o.d; thus he places himself within the reach of Mercy, under whose protecting influence he may win eternal life.

=6.= _Biblical Proofs_, that baptism is designed as a means of securing to man a remission of his sins, are abundant. John the Baptist was the special preacher of this doctrine in the days immediately preceding the Savior's ministry in the flesh; and the voice of this priest of the desert stirred Jerusalem and reverberated through all Judaea, proclaiming remission of sins as the fruits of acceptable baptism.[352]

[352] Mark i, 4; Luke iii, 3.

=7.= Saul of Tarsus, a zealous persecutor of the followers of Christ, while journeying to Damascus, intent on a further exercise of his ill-directed zeal, received a special manifestation of the power of G.o.d, and was converted with signs and wonders. He heard and answered the voice of Christ, and thus became a special witness of his Lord.

Yet even this unusual demonstration of Divine favor was insufficient.

Blinded through the glory that had been manifested unto him, humbled and earnest, awakening to the terrible fact that he had been persecuting his Redeemer, he exclaimed in anguish of soul, "What shall I do, Lord?" He was directed to go to Damascus, there to learn more of G.o.d's will concerning him. Gladly did he receive the Lord's messenger, devout Ananias, who ministered unto him so that he regained his sight, and then taught him baptism as a means of obtaining forgiveness.[353]

[353] Acts xxii, 1-16.

=8.= And Saul, known now as Paul, thereafter a preacher of righteousness, and an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, taught to others the same great saving principle, that by baptism in water comes regeneration from sin.[354] In forceful language, and attended with special evidences of Divine power, Peter declared the same doctrine to the penitent mult.i.tude. Overcome with grief at the recital of what they had done to the Son of G.o.d, they cried out "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Promptly came the answer, with apostolic authority, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins."[355]

[354] t.i.tus iii, 5.

[355] Acts ii, 36-37; see also I Peter iii, 21.

=9.= _Book of Mormon prophets_ gave the same testimony to the western fold of Christ. To this effect were the words of Nephi, the son of Lehi, addressed to his brethren:--"For the gate by which ye should enter, is repentance, and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire, and by the Holy Ghost."[356] So did Alma teach the people of Gideon, as already quoted.[357] Nephi, the grandson of Helaman, immediately preceding Christ's advent upon earth, went forth amongst his people, baptizing unto repentance, from which followed "a great remission of sins."[358] Nephi ordained a.s.sistants in the ministry, "that all such as should come unto them, should be baptized with water, and this as a witness and a testimony before G.o.d, and unto the people, that they had repented and received a remission of their sins."[359] Mormon adds his own testimony, as commissioned of Christ, exhorting the people to forsake their sins and be baptized for remission thereof.[360]

[356] II Nephi x.x.xi, 17.

[357] Alma vii, 14-15; see page 122.

[358] III Nephi i, 23.

[359] III Nephi vii, 24-26.

[360] III Nephi x.x.x, 2.

=10.= _Modern Revelation_, concerning baptism and its object, shows that the same importance is ascribed by the Lord to the ordinance today as in earlier times. That there may be no question as to the application of this doctrine to the Church in the present dispensation, the principle has been re-stated, the law has been re-enacted for our guidance. The elders of the Church are commissioned to preach the remission of sins as obtainable through the means of authorized baptism.[361]

[361] Doc. and Cov. xix, 31; lv, 2; lxviii, 27; lxxvi, 51, 52; lx.x.xiv, 27, 74.

=11. Fit Candidates for Baptism.=--The prime object of baptism being admission to the Church, with remission of sins, and this coming only through the exercise of faith in G.o.d and true repentance before Him, it naturally follows that baptism can in justice be required of those only who are capable of exercising faith and of working repentance.[362] In a revelation on Church government given through Joseph the Prophet, April, 1830, the Lord specifically states the conditions under which persons may be received into the Church through baptism: these are His words:--"All those who humble themselves before G.o.d, and desire to be baptized, and come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits, and witness before the Church that they have truly repented of all their sins, and are willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end, and truly manifest by their works that they have received of the Spirit of Christ unto the remission of their sins, shall be received by baptism into his Church."[363]

[362] See Note 1.

[363] Doc. and Cov. xx, 37.

=12.= Such conditions exclude all who have not arrived at the age of discretion and responsibility; and by special commandment the Lord has forbidden the Church to receive any who have not attained to such age.[364] By revelation, the Lord has designated eight years as the age at which children may be properly baptized into the Church, and parents are required to prepare their children for the ordinances of the Church, by teaching them the doctrines of faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. Failure in this requirement is accounted by the Lord as a sin resting upon the heads of the parents.[365]

[364] Doc. and Cov. xx, 71.

[365] Doc. and Cov. lxviii, 25-27.

=13. Infant Baptism.=--The Latter-day Saints are opposed to the practice of infant baptism, which indeed they believe to be sacrilege in the eyes of G.o.d. No one having faith in the word of G.o.d can look upon the child as impure; such an innocent being needs no initiation into the fold, for it has never strayed therefrom; it needs no remission of sins, for it is sinless; and should it die before it has become contaminated by the sins of earth, it will be received again, without baptism, into the presence of its G.o.d. Yet there are many professedly Christian teachers who declare that as all children are born into a wicked world, they are themselves wicked, and must be cleansed in the waters of baptism to be made acceptable to G.o.d. How heinous is such a doctrine!--the child to whom the Savior pointed as an example of emulation of those even who had received the holy apostleship,[366] the Lord's selected type of the kingdom of heaven, the favored spirits whose angels stand forever in the presence of the Father, faithfully reporting all that may be done unto their sacred charges[367]--such souls are to be rejected and cast into torment because their earthly guardians failed to have them baptized! To teach such a doctrine is sin.

[366] Matt. xviii, 1-6.

[367] Verse 10.

=14. The History of Infant Baptism= is instructive, as throwing light upon the origin of this erratic practice. It is certain that the baptism of infants, or pedobaptism (Greek _paidos_, child, and _baptismos_, baptism) as it is styled in theological lore, was not taught by the Savior, nor by His apostles. Some point to the incident of Christ blessing little children, and rebuking those who would forbid the little ones coming unto Him,[368] as an evidence in favor of infant baptism; but, as has been wisely and tersely remarked:--"From the action of Christ's blessing infants, to infer they are to be baptized, proves nothing so much as that there is a want of better argument; for the conclusion would with more probability be derived thus: Christ blessed infants, and so dismissed them, but baptized them not; therefore infants are not to be baptized."

[368] Matt. xix, 13; Mark x, 13; Luke xviii, 15.

=15.= There is no authentic record of infant baptism having been practiced during the first two centuries after Christ, and the custom probably did not become general till the fifth century; from the last-named time until the Reformation, however, it was accepted by the dominant church organization. But even during that dark age, many theological disputants raised their voices against this unholy rite.[369] In the early part of the sixteenth century, a sect rose into prominence in Germany, under the name of Anabaptists (Greek _ana_, again, and _baptizo_, baptize), distinguished for its opposition to the practice of infant baptism, and deriving its name from the requirement made of all its members who had been baptized in infancy that they be baptized again. This denomination, commonly called the Baptists, has become greatly divided by internal disputes; but in general, the Baptists have maintained a unity of belief in opposing the baptism of irresponsible children.

[369] See Note 2.

=16.= Some pedobaptists have attempted to prove an a.n.a.logy between baptism and circ.u.mcision; but for such position there is no scriptural warrant. Circ.u.mcision was made the mark of a covenant between G.o.d and His chosen servant Abraham,[370] a symbol regarded by the posterity of Abraham as indicative of their freedom from the idolatry of the times, and of G.o.d's acceptance of them; and nowhere is circ.u.mcision made a means for remission of sins. That rite was applicable to males only; baptism is administered to both s.e.xes. Circ.u.mcision was to be performed on the eighth day after birth, even though such should fall on the Sabbath.[371] In the third century a council of bishops was held under the presidency of Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, at which it was gravely determined, that to postpone baptism until the eighth day after birth was dangerous, and consequently not to be allowed.

[370] Gen. xvii, 1-14.

[371] John vii, 22-23.

=17. Infant Baptism is Forbidden in the Book of Mormon=, from which fact we know that disputation upon this subject must have arisen among the Nephites. Mormon, having received special revelation from the Lord concerning the matter, wrote an epistle thereon to his son Moroni, in which he denounces the practice of infant baptism, and declares that any one who supposeth that little children need baptism is in the gall of bitterness, and in the bonds of iniquity, denying the mercies of Christ, and setting at naught His atonement and the power of His redemption.[372]

[372] Moroni viii. Read the entire epistle.

=18. Baptism Essential to Salvation.=--Most of the proofs concerning the object of baptism apply with equal force to the proposition that baptism is necessary for salvation; for, inasmuch as remission of sins const.i.tutes a special purpose of baptism, and as no soul can be saved in the kingdom of G.o.d with unforgiven sins, it is plain that baptism is essential to salvation. Salvation is promised to man on condition of his obedience to the commands of G.o.d; and, as the scriptures conclusively prove, baptism is one of the most important of such requirements. Baptism, being commanded of G.o.d, must be essential to the purpose for which it is inst.i.tuted, for our Father deals not with unnecessary forms. Baptism is required of all who have attained to years of accountability; none are exempt.

=19.= Even Christ, standing as a man without sin in the midst of a sinful world, was baptized, "to fulfill all righteousness,"[373] such being the purpose, as declared by the Savior Himself to the hesitating priest, who, zealous as he was for his great mission, yet demurred when asked to baptize One whom he considered sinless. Centuries before the great event, Nephi, prophesying among the people in the western world, fore-told the baptism of the Savior, and beautifully explained how righteousness would be thereby fulfilled:[374]--"And now if the Lamb of G.o.d, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water to fulfill all righteousness, O, then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized?"

[373] Matt. iii, 15.

[374] II Nephi x.x.xi, 5-8.

=20.= The words of the Savior, spoken while He ministered in the flesh, declare baptism to be essential to salvation. One of the rulers of the Jews, Nicodemus, came to Christ by night and made a profession of confidence in the instructions of the Savior, whom he designated as "a teacher come from G.o.d." Seeing his faith, Jesus taught unto him one of the chief laws of heaven, saying: "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of G.o.d." A question by Nicodemus called forth from the Savior the additional declaration, "Verily, verily I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of G.o.d."[375] It is practically indisputable, that the watery birth here referred to as essential to entrance into the kingdom is baptism. We learn further, concerning Christ's att.i.tude toward baptism, that He required the ordinance of those who professed to become His disciples.[376] When appearing to the Eleven in His resurrected state, giving them His farewell blessing and final commission, He commanded them: "Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost;"[377] and, concerning the results of baptism, He taught them, that "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be d.a.m.ned."[378]

[375] John iii, 1-5.

[376] John iv, 1-2.

[377] Matt. xxviii, 19.

[378] Mark xvi, 16.