what jesus told nicodemus.
jesus said to nicodemus, "except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of god." we have just learned what it means to be born of water. when a man has gained the gift of faith and believes sincerely in the saving mission of jesus christ; when he has added to his faith works, and has learned to walk in the way of the righteous—then he must be baptized by immersion in order to fulfill all righteousness. as we have learned, such a man is then born of water: for, by obeying the law, he has laid aside his sins, and comes forth out of the water spiritually a new man, reborn. there are some people in the world who hold that when a man has done all this, he has fulfilled all the requirements, and may therefore hope to gain admittance into the kingdom of god without observing any further ceremony. but jesus said, "except a man be born of water and of the spirit." evidently, then, to enter the kingdom of god, one must be born not only of water, but also of the spirit. and to be born of the spirit means to be born of the holy ghost. but, by what means may one be born of the spirit?
the laying on of hands.
this question is a very important one, since a man may not hope to enter the kingdom of god if he has not been born—or quickened—by the spirit. in the preceding lesson, it was stated that the prophet, joseph smith, once stated the principal doctrines of the church of jesus {138} christ of latter-day saints in a sort of creed, known as the articles of faith; and that the fourth article, in enumerating the first principles and ordinances of the gospel, names the ordinance of the laying on of hands for the gift of the holy ghost as the fourth essential step in becoming a member of the church of christ. according to this statement, then, one may be born, or quickened, of the spirit—after having been baptized—through the ordinance of the laying on of hands. but was this the teaching of the primitive church and of the lord jesus himself?
the teaching and practice of paul.
anxious that the saints to whom he ministered should grow in the knowledge of god, and should not stand still merely rehearsing the first and practice principles of the gospel, the apostle paul wrote to the hebrews as follows: "therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward god, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands." it is very interesting to note that paul lists here as one of the first four principles the ordinance of the laying on of hands. but what use did paul make of the ordinance? it happened once that paul, in his missionary travels, came, to the city of ephesus, and found there certain disciples who had been baptized, apparently, by the followers of john the baptist. paul asked of these disciples, "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, {139} 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." this use, then, did paul make of the ordinance of the laying on of hands: upon those who had been baptized unto jesus, paul laid his hands, and he confirmed them, and the holy ghost then came upon them, endowing them with spiritual gifts. moreover, this practice was not limited to the missionary labors of paul alone; all the apostles likewise confirmed those who had been baptized and conferred thus the gift of the holy ghost upon them.
the practice of the apostles.
furthermore, it was understood that only such men as possessed the necessary delegated authority from god might presume to confer the gift of the holy ghost by the laying on of hands. it is recorded in the history of the doings of the apostles that philip, a deacon, went down to samaria and preached the gospel to the samaritans. many of the samaritans believed, and were baptized by philip, among them a certain man named simon, "which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of samaria, giving out that himself was some great one." but philip, apparently did not hold the necessary authority to confer the gift of the holy ghost, and he was too wise and righteous a man to attempt to do what he had no right to do. so, "when the apostles which were at jerusalem heard {140} that samaria had received the word of god, they sent unto them peter and john: who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the holy ghost: . . . . then laid they their hands on them, and they received the holy ghost." naturally, simon the sorcerer was very much interested in this wonderful ceremony. such power he had never seen manifested before. he longed himself to possess such authority. therefore, he offered money to the apostles, saying, "give me also this power, that on whomsoever i lay hands, he may receive the holy ghost. but peter said unto him. thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of god may be purchased with money." the lesson here is perfect. the authority to lay on hands for the gift of the holy ghost may not be merely assumed—not even by a man of such enduring faith as philip's—neither may it be purchased with wordly goods.
[sidenote: the teaching and practice of the apostles derived from jesus.]
of course, the apostles did nothing but what they had seen their master do, or had been instructed by him to do. in this they were wholly like him; for he also declared, "the son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the son likewise." there can be no question, then, that jesus taught that the gift of the holy ghost should be conferred by the laying on of hands by men holding the proper authority. jesus himself practiced laying on of hands to confer blessings, to heal the sick, to ordain, to authorize, and for other purposes. and he taught very distinctly that god would not recognize any usurped authority. "ye {141} have not chosen me," said jesus to the apostles, "but i have chosen you and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the father in my name, he may give you."
what is the gift of the holy ghost?
but what is the gift of the holy ghost which is conferred upon the repentant and baptized believer by the laying on of hands? to his apostles jesus made this promise, "i will pray the father, and he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." again, jesus said to them, further explaining his promise, "the comforter, which is the holy ghost, whom the father will send in my name. he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever i have said unto you." and still continuing his instructions to these beloved disciples, jesus said again, "howbeit, when he, the spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come." now, we have already learned what the holy ghost is. the holy ghost is the third member of the godhead, and is a personage of spirit. but it appears that the special gift derived, through obedience, from the holy ghost is the gift of mental and spiritual insight—the gift of intelligence. the comforter, said jesus, is the spirit of truth; it shall teach all things, and bring to remembrance {142} whatsoever has been heard; it shall guide into all truth, and speak only such things as it shall itself hear; it shall show things yet to come. to receive the gift of the holy ghost, is then to receive the gift of light, and truth, and intelligence. of this gift of the holy ghost, the great joseph smith has said many important things. among others we find recorded this: "the first comforter or holy ghost has no other effect than pure intelligence. it is . . . powerful in expanding the mind, enlightening the understanding, and storing the intellect with present knowledge." in another place, is recorded the following: "we believe that the holy men of old spoke as they were moved by the holy ghost, and that holy men in these days speak by the same principle; we believe in its being a comforter and a witness bearer, that it brings things past to our remembrance, leads us into all truth, and shows us of things to come; we believe that 'no man can know that jesus is the christ, but by the holy ghost.'"
the conditions and the source of intelligence.
in studying about faith, and repentance, and baptism, we learned that the same principles operate in the daily affairs of life, and underlie all material success. so it is also with the source of principle of the gift of the holy ghost. the young chemist who tried to cover his watchcase with gold, learned to understand the spirit of truth, and gained greater intelligence, when he obeyed fully the requirements going before. and as he learned further the principle of obedience, he grew steadily in scientific intelligence. so it is then with us. we are required to exercise faith in god, and in his son, jesus christ; we are required to repent {143} of our sins, and to learn to live righteously: we are required to be baptized by complete immersion in water for the remission of sins; and then we are required to submit ourselves to the ordinance of the laying on of hands for the gift of the holy ghost. when we have done all this we have fulfilled the requirements of the law. then our minds will be opened, and our understandings quickened; for then the holy ghost can act upon us to give us light and intelligence. this is being born of the spirit; and therefore should everyone obey the commandment of the lord, "repent and be baptized, every one of you, for a remission of yours sins; yea, be baptized even by water, and then cometh the baptism of fire and of the holy ghost."
the references
john 3:5. john 14:16, 17, 26.
heb. 6:1, 2. john 16:13,14.
acts 19:1-7. hist. of the church, vol. 3, page 380.
acts 8:5-24. hist. of the church, vol. 5, page 26.
john 15:16. doc. and cov. 33:11.
the questions
1. what twofold requirement is contained in the teaching of jesus to nicodemus?
2. how may one be born of the spirit?
3. what was the teaching and practice of paul concerning the laying on of hands?
4. what was the practice of the apostles in the matter of laying on hands?
5. whence did the apostles derive their knowledge of the ordinance of laying on hands?
6. what is the gift of the holy ghost?
7. what parallel may be found in the work of the world?
8. what is the source of intelligence?
