the first principles and ordinances.
when the prophet joseph smith was asked to make a statement of the principal doctrines of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints, he prepared what we know now as the articles of faith. the articles of faith are very plain, and touch the fundamental tenets of the church. the third article of faith states that "we believe that through the atonement of christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the gospel;" and the fourth article declares that, "we believe that the first principles and ordinances of the gospel are: first, faith in the lord jesus christ; second, repentance; third, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, the laying on of hands for the gift of the holy ghost." those who profess faith in jesus must forsake the way of evil, and learn to take delight in the law of the lord. this, we have learned, constitutes the requirement of the first two principles of the gospel.
blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the
ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
but his delight is in the law of the lord;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;
his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
the ungodly are not so;
but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
for the lord knoweth the way of the righteous;
but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
{130} baptism essential to salvation.
it is not enough, however, that the man who professes faith in jesus, shall merely forsake the way of the ungodly. jesus fulfilled in his coming the law of carnal commandments—a law which paul asserts was but a sort of schoolmaster to train the people and prepare them for the coming of jesus—and established through his ministry "the more perfect law" of the gospel, the power of god unto salvation. and that law requires that those who believe in jesus, and repent of their evil doings, shall further take upon them his name in the ordinance of baptism. one night, there came to jesus a pharisee named nicodemus, a ruler of the jews. "rabbi," said nicodemus, recognizing in jesus a power greater than his own, "we know that thou art a teacher come from god: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except god be with him. 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 was puzzled; for he thought, of course, only of a physical rebirth, and could not understand how such a remarkable thing could happen. so he asked, "how can a man be born when he is old?" then jesus answered, "verily, verily, i say unto thee. except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of god." this jesus said, of course, of the ordinance of baptism and of the holy ghost. not only, then, must one believe and repent, but one must also be baptized in water in fulfillment of the requirement of the law. without such a renewal of the spiritual life, a man may not even see the kingdom of god.
{131} humility and obedience the psychology of baptism.
there are some people who pretend not to see any value in the ordinance of baptism. how can baptism make one any better, they ask, or have any effect on one's subsequent life? these people do not understand the true nature of the ordinance. there was once a syrian captain named naaman who became afflicted with the loathsome and infectious disease of leprosy. at the suggestion of an israelitish captive, naaman sought out the prophet elisha in the land of israel, that the affliction might be rebuked. elisha did not even come forth to see naaman, but sent a messenger to him with this word: "go and wash in jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee and thou shalt be clean." then naaman became angry, because he did not understand the principle of obedience. why should he wash in jordan? were not the waters of the rivers of damascus better than the water of jordan? but his servants prevailed upon him, saying, "if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldst thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, wash, and be clean." here was sound reasoning, naaman listened; he went down to the jordan and dipped himself seven times; he came forth with his flesh as clean as that of a little child, and was healed. what was it that healed naaman? was it the water of jordan, with curative powers greater than those of the rivers of damascus? certainly not. naaman bowed his haughty and powerful will to that of god. he humbled himself; he was humiliated. he learned the lesson of obedience, which is better than sacrifice. and the lord god has chosen the ordinance of baptism as the means whereby men may show their humility, {132} their complete acceptance of the mission of jesus, their sincere repentance, and whereby further they may become initiated into the church of jesus christ. here the lord makes use of a wonderful psychology, and baptism literally washes away sin.
the law of obedience in daily life.
moreover, obedience and humility of the kind required by the ordinance of baptism is demanded also in the daily walk of life. a young man in a chemical obedience in laboratory attempted one day, by a process of electro-plating, to put a new covering of yellow gold over his watch case. he prepared very carefully the solution of gold-leaf in aqua regia; he built up an excellent voltaic battery; he made all the connections close and secure; and he cleaned carefully the old watchcase that the new gold might be deposited upon it evenly and smoothly. then in the evening, when everything was in readiness, he suspended the case properly in the gold solution, closed the circuit, and went home, hoping to find his watch case in the morning with a beautiful new coating of yellow gold ready to polish. but when he entered the laboratory the next morning, and went to examine his electro-plating, he found to his horror that his watch case was as black as coal. what had happened? everything was as he had left it the evening before. so far as he could tell there was no reason why his experiment should not have been successful. then he resorted to his books again. after patient searching, in the volumes on his desk, he arose a wiser and a more careful man. he had overlooked one requirement of the law. in the process of electro-plating, he remembered now, the gold is deposited in its usual yellow form only when the gold solution is warm. when the electric current is {133} passed through a cold solution, the gold is deposited in an unusual black form. the young chemist had learned that obedience is better than sacrifice.
the example set by jesus.
as always, jesus himself practiced the doctrine that he presented to his people. jesus was baptized. moreover, in his own baptism, jesus taught both the necessity and the proper mode of baptism. john was baptizing in the river jordan. apparently, he selected places where the water was deep; for, later in the ministry of jesus we read, that, john was baptizing in aenon, near to salim, "because there was much water there." when he was ready to begin his ministry, jesus went to john to be baptized. but john forbade 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 fulfill all righteousness. then he suffered him. and jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water." from this record, it is clear that jesus recognized the ordinance of baptism as essential to salvation, and therefore set the example himself. then jesus was baptized correctly; he went down into the water; he was immersed; he came up out of the water. for it is now an accepted fact that john baptized by immersion. in stanley's eastern church occurs the following passage, which dr. geikie considers of such authority that he quotes it in his excellent life and words of christ: "the mode of john's baptism has been and still is much discussed, but the practice of the eastern church, and the very meaning of the word, leave no sufficient grounds for questioning that the original form of baptism was complete immersion in the deep baptismal {134} water." this form of baptism it was certainly that the apostles themselves practiced, else there could be no meaning to the favorite figure of paul, "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 should walk in newness of life. for if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection."
the purpose of baptism.
do you ask what is the purpose of baptism? as has been already suggested baptism serves to wash away sin, and to initiate the repentant believer into the church of christ. john's baptism was for "the remission of sins." peter, the chief apostle, called to the people on the day of pentecost, "repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of jesus christ for the remission of sins." and it follows that since baptism is for remission of sins, those who have not reached the age of sinning have no need of baptism. there has grown up in the world a vicious habit of baptizing infants and little children. such a practice is wrong. jesus himself said of little children, "of such is the kingdom of heaven." infants and little children have not learned to know the difference between good and evil. they cannot sin. baptism should not be administered to them till they reach the age of discretion. "little children need no repentance," wrote the nephite prophet, "neither baptism. behold, baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments unto the remission of sins."
{135} the door of the sheepfold.
this then did jesus teach: baptism is essential; it is correctly performed by complete immersion in water; it is for the remission of sins; it should be administered only to those who have reached the age of accountability; only by obedience to the law can one enter the kingdom of god. "verily, verily, i say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. . . . i am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." only through jesus, you see, can one enter the sheepfold, and become a member of it. and the way to enter by jesus was thus stated in his final commission to the eleven apostles, just before he ascended to heaven. "go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy ghost." "he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be dammed."
the references
psalm 1. acts 2:38.
john 3:1-5. moroni 8:8-14.
2 kings 5:1-14. john 10:1-18.
matt. 3:13-16. matt. 28:19-20.
rom. 6:3-5. mark 16:15, 16.
{136} the questions
1. what are the first principles and ordinances of the gospel?
2. show that baptism is required by the teaching of jesus.
3. by what process does baptism wash away sin?
4. how does the law of obedience operate in the daily affairs of life?
5. how did jesus show in his own acts that baptism is essential to salvation?
6. what is the proper mode of baptism?
7. what is the purpose of baptism?
8. to whom should baptism be administered?
9. summarize the teachings of jesus concerning baptism.
10. what is the teaching of our own church concerning baptism?
