Baptism

The Bible shows us that baptism was performed anciently. It also gives us several clues about how and why it was performed.


Baptism is Essential for Salvation

Baptism is a cleansing process that results in the remission of sins. It is in other words, salvation from sin.

The Savior taught, "...he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved..." (Mark 16:16)


Baptism is a covenant with God - one that is necessary if we are to enter heaven. When the Savior went to John the Baptist to baptized, John objected, not feeling worthy. To this, the Savior responded:

"Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness" (Matt 3:15)

Obviously, Jesus, not being a sinner, felt it was important for Him to be baptized, and the Father and the Holy Ghost gave their support. How much more important is it then, for you and me, being sinners?



Baptism is by Immersion

Baptism should be performed by immersing the person being baptized in water. According to the LDS Bible Dictionary, the word "baptism" comes from a Greek word meaning "to dip" or "to immerse".

Note the experience of Phillip and a man who had asked him about the words of Isaiah:

"And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him."

They went down into the water as part of the baptism.


In the gospel of Mark, we read that Jesus was also baptized by immersion:

"And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened" (Mark 1:9-10)

Again, in the gospel of Matthew: "And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water.." (Matt 3:16)

During his ministry, the apostle Paul used being buried after death as a symbol to teach the significance of being "buried" in water and beginning a new life in Christ:

"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." (Romans 6:3-4)

Paul used burial as a metaphor again to teach about the importance of baptism:

"[ye are]...buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God..." (Colossians 2:12)

Instead of finding a well in town and filling a bowl with water, both John the Baptist and Jesus went to places like rivers, where there was "much water" to baptize:

"After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judæa; and there he tarried with them, and baptized. And John also was baptizing in Ænon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized." (John 3:22-23)


Baptism Was Performed Before Christ

Paul taught the Corinthians that Moses performed baptism:

"...And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea..." (1 Corinthians 10:2)

 Immediately before that verse, Paul talks about the Israelites being led by the Lord in the form of a "cloud of smoke" in the wilderness, and crossing the Red Sea on dry ground. Through this use of metaphor, it's not difficult to see a parallel between Moses' cloud and sea, and Christ's requirement that we be "born of water and of the spirit". (John 3:5)

Isaiah tells us that not only was baptism performed anciently, but it was  a commandment from the Lord:

"...[ye]... are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah..., which swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness. For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The Lord of hosts is his name." (Isaiah 48:1))


Baptism is for the Remission of Sins

The gospels of Mark and of Luke both tell us that baptism was about repentance and having your sins remitted:

 "John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." (Mark 1:4)

"...the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins..." (Luke 3:2-3)

When Phillip baptized the eunuch, he "went on his way rejoicing". (Acts 8:39)  Almost without exception, when people experience baptism at the hands of someone who is authorized to perform the ordinance, they feel the great joy that comes along with having sin lifted.

Repentance and remission of sins are tools to help us end a life of sin and begin a new life of obedience to God's laws, knowing the indescribable joy that comes of being free from sin. The apostle Paul often used actual death and rising again in the resurrection as symbols of the necessary willingness to "die as to the old man" and then begin anew by "living unto God":

"For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:5-11)



Little Children Do Not Need Baptism - Everyone Else Does

To the people of the world, the Savior has always said that we have to be baptized of water and of the Spirit before we can see the kingdom of God (see John 3:3-5). But concerning little children, he said unconditionally, "Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such [already] is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 19:14)  


Baptism Changes Who You Are

Whether by baptism or by the taking of the sacrament, if you have prepared for it, the resulting remission of sins changes who you are. John - the apostle, not the Baptist - taught this principle:

"Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." (1 John 3:9)

Those who have experienced a remission of their sins have felt their very natures change. You lose your disposition to do evil, and instead find inside you a surprising new desire to do  good - a desire that seems to almost have a life of its own, a desire you long to keep through obedience to God's commandments. You become sensitive to the kinds of choices and behaviors that diminish it.

This change is most noticeable in those who most need it in their lives:

"...Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:3-5)

When you have your sins remitted, you really do feel like a completely new person - like you've been "born again!"




Baptism Has to Be Done By The Right Authority

The Savior went to John the Baptist because he had authority to be baptized that could be traced back to the earliest origins of the Aaronic or Levitical priesthood:

"There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judæa, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia... [an] angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John." (Luke 1:5) 

Baptism in the Church of Jesus Christ has to be supervised and delegated of apostles so commanded by Christ. Following His resurrection, Christ gave his remaining apostles the following commandment:

"And Jesus came and spake unto [the eleven], saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matthew 28:19)

Thereafter, those who had been baptized by John had to be re-baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ: 

 "And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.  And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism.  Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.  When they heard this, they were 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." (Acts 19:1-6, cross reference: Luke 3:16)

Baptism is For Everyone

Following his great and last sacrifice, Jesus wanted everyone - both Jew and Gentile - to experience the joy of being born again by way of baptism. He commanded his apostles and seventy:

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you..."    (Matt 28:1)


Compare Baptism in the Latter-Day Church