Main Page: Biblical Supports for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Previous: The Book of Mormon and the Restoration of the Gospel
Previous: The Book of Mormon and the Restoration of the Gospel
Baptism
Baptism is Essential for Salvation
Many Christians believe that once you accept Jesus into your heart you're permanently saved, but Latter-day Saints believe that without baptism no one can be cleansed and enter the Kingdom of God, and the Bible supports that.
Matthew 3:13-15; "Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him." Jesus, being perfect, didn't need to be baptized to receive salvation. Because He was supposed to set the perfect example for us, however, He did it to show us that we need to.
Mark 16:16; "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." Interesting that the second half doesn't mention baptism. I think it's implying that even if you are baptized, it means nothing without faith.
Luke 7:29-30; "And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him." Ouch. But it's right there in black and white.
John 3:5; "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."
Acts 2:38; "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
Acts 10:47-48; "Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?" (says Peter to his prospective converts.) "And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days."
Acts 22:16; "And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." Doesn't that sound important?
Titus 3:5; "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost..." "Washing of regeneration" is an appropriate phrase for baptism because it represents death and rebirth (see next section).
1 Peter 3:20-21; "[The spirits in prison] which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ."
Matthew 3:13-15; "Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him." Jesus, being perfect, didn't need to be baptized to receive salvation. Because He was supposed to set the perfect example for us, however, He did it to show us that we need to.
Mark 16:16; "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." Interesting that the second half doesn't mention baptism. I think it's implying that even if you are baptized, it means nothing without faith.
Luke 7:29-30; "And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him." Ouch. But it's right there in black and white.
John 3:5; "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."
Acts 2:38; "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
Acts 10:47-48; "Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?" (says Peter to his prospective converts.) "And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days."
Acts 22:16; "And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." Doesn't that sound important?
Titus 3:5; "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost..." "Washing of regeneration" is an appropriate phrase for baptism because it represents death and rebirth (see next section).
1 Peter 3:20-21; "[The spirits in prison] which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ."
Baptism by Immersion
Baptism by immersion means going all the way underwater. It is symbolic of going into the grave and coming back out, representing the end of a sinful life and the beginning of a Christ-centered one. Without that kind of symbolism it's just a weird ritual in my humble opinion. In fact, the word "baptize" derives from the Greek "baptizein" meaning "to immerse, baptize".
Matthew 3:16; "And Jesus, when he was baptized went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened upon him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him." He couldn't have gone up out of the water unless He was in it to begin with. See also Mark 1:5, Mark 1:10, and Acts 8:38.
John 3:23; "And John also was baptizing in Ænon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized." He probably wouldn't need much water if he was just sprinkling it on people.
Romans 6:4; "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." There's the grave symbolism.
Colossians 2:12; "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." Same thing here.
Matthew 3:16; "And Jesus, when he was baptized went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened upon him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him." He couldn't have gone up out of the water unless He was in it to begin with. See also Mark 1:5, Mark 1:10, and Acts 8:38.
John 3:23; "And John also was baptizing in Ænon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized." He probably wouldn't need much water if he was just sprinkling it on people.
Romans 6:4; "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." There's the grave symbolism.
Colossians 2:12; "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." Same thing here.
Baptisms for the Dead
Baptisms for the dead are essential and can only be performed in the fonts of God's sacred temples, like the one shown above. (They're modeled after the font described in 1 Kings 7:23-25, and the twelve oxen represent the twelve tribes of Israel.) I'll never understand how many Christians can believe in an all-good, all-powerful God who allows billions of His children to be damned for eternity because they were born in the wrong time/place to learn of Jesus Christ. Latter-day Saints believe that when one of us is baptized vicariously on a dead person's behalf they receive the opportunity to accept the gospel, and that if they do they can have all the same post-mortal blessings as us.
1 Corinthians 15:29 says, "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?" Paul never condemns this practice, and the fact that nothing else about it is mentioned anywhere in either Testament should make it obvious that the Bible is incomplete.
Interestingly, "for" in this instance was translated from the Greek word "huper", which in this context means "in behalf of" or "for the sake of", i.e. in place of someone else. It's the same word used when the Bible talks of Jesus suffering "for" our sins. But here's the real kicker: baptism for the dead was practiced for up to four centuries after Christ's ascension by Christian groups such as the Marcionites, Orthodox Christians, Ethiopian Christians (Abyssinians), Coptics (who still practice it today occasionally), and even early Catholics. So why do so many people think it came from Joseph Smith's imagination?
Next: Exaltation (Becoming Gods)
1 Corinthians 15:29 says, "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?" Paul never condemns this practice, and the fact that nothing else about it is mentioned anywhere in either Testament should make it obvious that the Bible is incomplete.
Interestingly, "for" in this instance was translated from the Greek word "huper", which in this context means "in behalf of" or "for the sake of", i.e. in place of someone else. It's the same word used when the Bible talks of Jesus suffering "for" our sins. But here's the real kicker: baptism for the dead was practiced for up to four centuries after Christ's ascension by Christian groups such as the Marcionites, Orthodox Christians, Ethiopian Christians (Abyssinians), Coptics (who still practice it today occasionally), and even early Catholics. So why do so many people think it came from Joseph Smith's imagination?
Next: Exaltation (Becoming Gods)
