In considering the principles of the gospel, it will not be difficult to see that faith occupies the first place in the catalogue of righteous principles which, as a whole, go to constitute the plan of salvation. It is the principle existing in the human soul which goes before all action and leads to good works. It pleases God that man should repent of all sin by ceasing therefrom, thus accomplishing a reformation of life without which remission of sins would not be granted; and as repentance and good works are pleasing to God, we must accept of faith first, for Paul says: "But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." (Heb. xi:6.)
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (Heb. xi:1.) The inspired translation by the prophet Joseph Smith renders the word "assurance" instead of "substance," which appears more consistent with the latter clause in the passage, which says, "the evidence of things not seen," not the substance itself, for that would amount to knowledge or the actual possession of the object hoped for. This assurance of things hoped for must come through some evidence, either of a character which can be demonstrated in a tangible manner, or through some impression which gives an assurance to the mind of the individual possessing it, if to no other. This faith prompts to action all intelligent beings. Without the assurance of reaping, the farmer would not sow; the laborer would not commence his daily task unless he believed he would accomplish it; and so it is in religious matters.
Upon the day of Pentecost the multitude never would have appealed to the apostles to know what they should do to be saved unless they first believed in God and in His Son, Jesus Christ—so recently crucified in their midst—and also in the authority of the apostles to teach and administer in the ordinances of eternal life. This faith was based upon the evidence presented by Peter that Jesus was the Christ, sealed upon their hearts by the Spirit of God, and not by the wisdom or ability of man. The result was obedience, and a knowledge of the truth for themselves; for the promise is: "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." (St. John vii:17.) If Peter had been an impostor, deceiving the people, he might, perchance, have persuaded some to accept his theories; but what would have been the result? The evidence being false, the faith or assurance would have a false foundation to act upon, and disappointment would have been the result. When the evidence is true, the faith resulting and acted upon will bring knowledge.
When Columbus discovered America, and the use of gunpowder was displayed to the astonishment and fear of the Indians, some of the Europeans told the natives that all they had to do was to procure some powder and sow it like grain, and it would grow. The poor natives believed the lie, acted upon their belief, and disappointment was the result, to the destruction of their confidence in the white man. This illustrates that belief may be built upon false evidence, and no matter how sincere the believer, the laws of sincerity cannot be changed to vindicate the dishonesty of the deceiver nor to avoid disappointment befalling the deceived. Why should it be otherwise regarding the law of God? Sincerity is not evidence that the believer will obtain the good for which he seeks, for if his religious devotion is based upon his confidence in the preaching or teaching of false guides, God will not change His laws and ordinances, neither will He acknowledge the authority of impostors, and thus become accessory to the deception, in order to satisfy those who allow themselves to be led astray.
It is a maxim of skeptics that "We doubt all things in order to prove all things"; and thus doubting, they reject the means which God has designated as the way to become acquainted with and prove for themselves the truth of the promise: "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine."
The history of the world proves that in the advancement made in science, in arts, in human government, the leaders and promoters of all that is good, in the majority of instances, have been believers in God; and their faith in Him and the ultimate success of their enterprises have prompted them to action. In the language of Paul on this subject of faith: "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness, which is by faith": "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went." (Heb. xi:7, 8.) I might add numerous testimonies from the Scriptures that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, and the principle which prompts to action all intelligent beings, and that when based upon the promises of the Lord, unmixed with the theories of men, and acted upon, it has never failed to bring knowledge and rest to the weary mind in that security which comes from a pure knowledge of God.
Having shown something of the nature of faith in a general way, as a principle existing in the human mind and as directing all human action, whether religious or secular, let us now draw the line of distinction between faith in its general sense, and faith as a principle of power as enjoyed and exercised by those who are truly the people of God.
Let us first remember that it is one thing to believe in the power of God as manifested by revelation, prophecy, healing, etc., when presented to us merely as the events of history, and altogether another thing to be confronted with the testimony of living apostles, presenting to the world doctrines that are unpopular and with which the cherished creeds of men have never failed to conflict—apostles who ask us to believe them to be servants of God, called by new revelation, and testing our faith by the promise that "if you will repent and be baptized" with honest hearts, you shall know for yourselves the truth, and need not depend upon the assertions of any other man for your knowledge concerning it. It is an undeniable fact of history that God has never sent a prophet to warn the world but He found thousands professing belief in the dead prophets, yet ready to reject and slay the living. It cannot be said that this generation is an exception, for the religious education they receive from the so-called Christian pulpit is that apostles and prophets, together with the ancient gifts and powers of the gospel, are no longer needed; and if any come professing the ancient apostleship, they may reject them without investigation as "false prophets." They apparently forget that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to produce a counterfeit coin unless the genuine existed.
In speaking of faith as a principle of power, the apostle Paul said to the Hebrews: "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. * * * And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae, of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again," etc. (Heb. xi:3 32-35.) Besides these, innumerable other events have been brought about through faith exercised by men having authority to speak and act in the name of God. Jesus promised that "these signs shall follow them that believe. In my name shall they cast out devils, they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover."
These are only a few of the characteristics associated with true faith, the "faith that was once delivered to the saints," and so much in striking contrast to the weak yet high-sounding pretensions of modern professors who have a form of godliness, yet deny the power thereof.
As a contrast to the wisdom and learning of men, we are promised as the result of acting upon true faith, that to one is given the word of wisdom, to another knowledge. Tongues, prophecy, etc., all are characteristic of that faith which emanates from God. These gifts are not merely to satisfy curiosity or to convince skeptics.
As a principle of eternal truth it is a necessity that not only must the administrator have faith, but the one who is the recipient of the blessings also must exercise it so far as he is capable. Therefore, as a rule, when Jesus healed the sick and opened the eyes of the blind, He said to the individual: "Go thy way,thyfaith hath made thee whole." As a further testimony of this He told unbelievers when they sought a sign: "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign, and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas; for as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Matt. xii:39, 40.) Yet be it remembered that this sign of Christ's three days' rest in the tomb was not given to convince skeptics, for it was an event ordained of God before the foundation of the world, in the plan of human redemption, and would have occurred if all the world had received Him gladly. But they did not receive Him even when He was resurrected, for the same class who sought a sign circulated the fabrication that the body of Christ was not risen from the dead, but that His disciples had come in the night and stolen Him away.
There are sign-seekers today, even among those who profess Christ, and may we not say the same of them as Jesus said of the ancient sign-seekers, from the fact that what was true then is true now, and what is true of a generation is true of the individuals which compose it. Further, the Savior said to His apostles when they failed to cast out the devils and sought Him to know the reason: "Because of your unbelief, for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, 'Remove hence to yonder place,' and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you." (Matt. xvii:20.)
To these quotations might be added many others, but this will suffice to show the effects of faith, that it is a principle of power. We ask, has God changed? Is not faith, being a principle emanating from Deity, as unchangeable as God Himself? Who, professing to believe in Christ, will say, if we believe and are baptized by rightful authority in this age, that Jesus will fail in His part of the contract to bestow the promised blessings?
In view of all that is written in the Bible concerning this true faith and the effects which flow therefrom, and the reverse of that pure faith of the Bible which characterizes the "Christianity" of today, is it wonderful that the Savior exclaimed: "When the Son of Man cometh, shall He find faith on earth?" (Luke xviii:8.)
Repentance follows faith as a natural sequence; for when the human mind has sufficient faith in God, based upon the perfection of His attributes, to desire His guidance and a final return to His presence, the thought is foremost that no unclean thing can enter his presence. Repentance from all sin, not merely an expression of sorrow but a discontinuance of sinful practices, amounting to a reformation of life, therefore suggests itself as a matter of course. This philosophical view of the subject is in perfect accord with Holy Writ. Hence it was, upon the day of Pentecost, when the sin-convicted multitude cried out: "Men and brethren, What shall we do?" that Peter commanded them to repent as the first step following the manifestation of their faith in Christ and His atonement. (Acts ii:37.)
That repentance is an indispensable condition of salvation has been taught in all ages of the world by men of God, the only exception being that which applies to all other requirements of the Gospel. That exception is in the case of persons incapable of knowing good from evil, such as children who cannot believe, or disbelieve, and are exempt from the law until they arrive at the years of accountability. Hence the saying of the Savior: "Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. xix:14.)
Ezekiel said to ancient Israel, in his 18th chapter and 30th verse, "Repent and turn yourselves from all your transgressions, so iniquity shall not be your ruin." Israel did not repent as a nation, and their sad history proves that iniquity caused their ruin. The olive branch of peace was offered them without money and without price. They rejected the means of escape, and in consequence they have verified the words of Moses, their great lawgiver: "And I will scatter you among the heathen and will draw out a sword after you; and your land shall be desolate and your cities waste." (Lev. xxvi:33.)
It was supposed by those in Palestine that the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with the sacrifices, were greater sinners than others because such agonies had come upon them. "And Jesus answering said unto them, 'Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffererd such things? I tell you nay, but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.'" The foregoing contains the divine lesson that suffering is not a substitute for repentance: that while He did not justify the agonies brought upon them by persecution, He did not intimate that the suffering would be acceptable instead of repentance, or that these sufferings were any evidence of the sins of the sufferers as to the height or depth of their transgressions. The weight of responsibility is measured either by the light men possess or the light which opportunities afford them to possess. As Paul said to the Athenians (Acts xvii:30.), "And the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent"; and again the Savior enunciated this doctrine: "And this is the condemnation that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." (St. John iii:19.)
No matter how strict the individual may be in living a life of moral rectitude, it is very plainly taught in the Scriptures that rejecting further light from God constitutes a sin. We cite the case of the young man told of in Matthew, chapter 19, who came to the Savior for instructions, but who, when he was commanded by the Redeemer to sell all that he had, give to the poor, and follow Him, went away sorrowful, rejecting the injunction of the Savior, and yet he had kept the commandments from his youth up, and probably was as righteous as any modern Christians, who, if commanded by the Savior to give their possessions to the poor, would go away sorrowful. There were "devout" people assembled on the day of Pentecost, and yet Peter made no exception when he commanded the multitude to repent. If they had done the best they could previously with the light they had, greater light had come to them and they must receive it or be condemned.
This truth applies to every gospel dispensation, not excepting the "dispensation of the fullness of times," the greatest of all. God promised to send a holy angel and make a restitution of all things as predicted by the ancient prophets, preceding the second advent of the Messiah. The light has come. A new dispensation has been ushered in. The Everlasting Gospel has been restored with its ancient gifts and blessings, and "God commandeth all men everywhere to repent," whether they be so-called Christians or infidels. Repentance is a principle and not merely an expression of penitent grief. It involves, as before stated, a reformation of life. In II Cor, vii:9, 10, Paul says: "Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance. * * * For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of, but the sorrow of the world worketh death." The sorrow of the world may be illustrated by the conduct of the inebriate, who, when intoxicated, commits acts of violence which mantle his brow with shame and fill him with remorse in his sober moments. He expresses sorrow, perhaps weeps in his agony, but again gives away to the tempter and repeats his acts of dishonor instead of "fleeing temptation." This kind of sorrow does not work repentance to salvation. We find religious people sorrowing and sometimes confessing their sins, only to repeat sin. This is the sorrow of the world and needs to be repented of because it savors so much of hypocrisy, and consequently "worketh death." On the contrary, true repentance consists, not in the outward expression of grief, but in forsaking sin. "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." (Isa. lv:7.) Repentance is required not only of the evil deed, but of the unrighteous thought. Every wicked deed is first conceived in the mind, hence the need of casting away the evil thought before it germinates into actual crime, which leads to prison, the gallows and to spiritual death. Of the ruin caused by the talented, but corrupt Aaron Burr it was truly said: "His brain conceived it, his hand brought it into action."
Let us now examine a passage of Scripture which is frequently quoted to substantiate the erroneous doctrine that God is pleased to save men in their sins, or that death-bed repentance is all-sufficient. The passage is found in Luke xxiii:42, 43, and reads thus: "And he (the penitent malefactor) said unto Jesus, 'Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.' And Jesus said unto him, 'Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in Paradise.'" From this statement thousands in the Christian world have taken it for granted that the thief on the cross received full and complete salvation. With this unwarranted perversion of a sacred passage, the minister has taught the murderer in the felon's cell to confess Christ and all would be well with him; and as the hangman drew the bolt and let the culprit swing into eternity, the minister has stood close by and said, "The Lord Jesus receive thy soul." On the other hand, the poor victim of the assassin has been cut off without time to confess Christ, and the same doctrine which wafts the murderer to the courts of glory consigns the victim to the flames of hell. Is it possible that Christ ever taught such a heinous doctrine? A doctrine so inconsistent, so revolting to reason, so repugnant to justice! We answer emphatically "No," nor did He utter a syllable from which such an inference can be drawn or establish the idea that the malefactor went to heaven. The question is, then, where did he go? If not to heaven, then the paradise named and heaven are two different places. Let the Scriptures answer for themselves. Three days after the crucifixion the Savior came forth a resurrected being, and as Mary met Him at the tomb, He said to her, "Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father." Thus we have from His own lips, in which there was never guile, that He had not ascended to the Father; and if He had not, neither had the thief. If no further light than this could be found in the sacred volume, this would be sufficient to show that the malefactor did not go to heaven, for where Jesus went the thief went, for that was the promise. Where, then, did the Lord go? Turn to I Peter iii 18-21, and the question is answered: "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but quickened by the Spirit: By which also He went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometimes were disobedient when once the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah."
This makes it plain that the paradise referred to was the prison house, to which place Jesus went and opened up a dispensation of the Gospel to the dead. The next chapter, 6th verse, says: "For for this cause was the Gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit." The thief therefore went to a place of confinement to remain until the justice of God should be satisfied and mercy step in and claim her own. The difference between the penitent malefactor, who appears to have repented before death, and the antediluvians was that the former immediately went to a place where Christ would present to him the plan of life, that day, while the latter had waited hundreds of years for that privilege. This shows that repentance brings its blessings even upon the deathbed; but to say that, after a life of sin, the malefactor went straight to the abode of the Father and remained there in glory, is in conflict with the teachings of Christ and Peter. The statements of Peter relative to the mission of Christ to the spirits in prison throws light upon the saying of the Savior in St. John v:25, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live."
Thus we see the privileges of the penitent malefactor. He went to the prison house and heard the Gospel, but how long he remained there before receiving all the saving benefits of the Gospel, we are not told. One thing is certain-he did not come back with the Messiah, nor have we ever heard of him sitting down with Christ on the right hand of the Father. The Scripture being true which says, "The murderer hath not eternal life abiding in him," it is safe to say that the prayers of all the ministers on earth cannot carry the souls of the assassin to the presence and glory of God. As there are different degrees of glory, so are there various grades of crimes to which are attached the different degrees of punishment, all of which clearly maintain the justice and mercy of God.
In Galatians v:19-21, we read as follows: "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."
In conclusion, as a true definition of repentance, let us quote the words of Paul to the Ephesians, iv: 25, 30: "Wherefore putting away lying speak every man truth with his neighbor. * * * Be ye angry and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole, steal no more. * * * Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth. * * *" This is the only repentance taught in Holy Writ, and simply means to forsake all sin and accomplish a reformation of life.
We come now to considering the necessity of the ordinance of baptism. When men have repented of their sins it is natural for them to desire a forgiveness of those sins. How shall this boon be obtained? That repentance alone does not blot out the sins of the past may be illustrated in part by a comparison between the temporal and the spiritual. A man acquires a debt by purchasing goods on credit, and finding it a ruinous policy, resolves, for the future, to pay as he goes. This changes his course and constitutes in his business life a reformation, but it does not pay the debt already incurred. He must liquidate the obligation, or be forgiven the debt by the creditor. Some may say that this is the difference between the earthly transaction of men and the dealings of God with His children. God forgives, it is true, but every blessing is predicated upon a condition, and the condition is laid down by the Lord; hence it is written in Mark i:4: "John did baptize in the wilderness and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." From this scripture it is evident that baptism is to follow repentance, and that at least one object of baptism is the remission of sins.
Let us now examine some statements of Holy Writ which point out clearly the necessity of this ordinance. "Then cometh Jesus from Gallilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. 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." (Matt. iii:13-15.) Every thoughtful, God-fearing person must be impressed with the feeling that if it was essential for the "Only Begotten of the Father," "who is full of grace and truth," to be baptized, none can be exempt who have arrived at the years of accountability. It appears also from the language used in the quotation that without being baptized he could not fulfill "all righteousness." After teaching His disciples for three years, being crucified and risen from the dead, He gave to them this commission: "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." (Mark xvi:15, 16. ) Also in Matthew xxviii:19: "Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost"; and in Luke xxiv:45-47: "Then opened He their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." In the latter quotation the word baptism is not used, but the same writer says in Luke iii:3, regarding the mission of John: "And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins," thus enunciating the doctrine that remission of sins is obtained through baptism.
The same writer gives us the following (Luke vii: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." From this it is manifested that by receiving baptism they honored and obeyed God, and that the rejection of this simple yet divine institution amounted to rejecting the counsel of God, with all the terrible consequences attendant upon such disobedience.
We read in the eighth chapter of Acts that Philip baptized the Samaritans and the Ethiopian. In the same book is related the baptism of Saul, of Lydia, of the Philippian jailor, and of Cornelius. It is not necessary to multiply quotations to show that baptism was taught and practiced all through the apostolic dispensation, as being essential to salvation. As a direct statement of Jesus Himself, to close this part of the subject, we quote His words to Nicodemus, St. John iii:5: "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." The birth of the water can only be accomplished by baptism, and if an accountable being cannot enter into the kingdom of God without baptism, then that ordinance must be essential to salvation.
Let us next consider the object of this sacred rite. It is evident that inasmuch as a man cannot enter into the kingdom of God without the baptism of water, then his sins must necessarily be remitted through faith, repentance and baptism from the fact that "no unclean person * * * hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God."
In Mark i:4 and Luke iii:3 we read that "John did baptize in the wilderness and preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins." On the day of Pentecost, when the mighty power of God rested upon the apostles and the Spirit bore witness to the multitude that they were in sin, notwithstanding their devoutness, they cried out, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" To this Peter answered, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." (Acts ii:38.)
Paul narrates before King Agrippa his conversion, in Acts xxii:16, and says that Ananias, to whom he had been commanded to apply, said: "And now, why tarriest thou? Arise and be baptized and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." The foregoing quotations will suffice to show that God instituted baptism for the remission of sins, but from other passages already quoted. Mark i:4, also xvi:15-16, and the account of Simon, the sorcerer, in the eighth chapter of Acts, it is very evident that the result—forgiveness—is not secured unless baptism is accompanied on the part of the candidate by faith and a genuine repentance in turning aside from sin. Otherwise there would be the solemn mockery of administering a sacred ordinance to a hypocrite. Hence the apostles said to Simon, "Thy money perish with thee because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money." (Acts viii:20.) Notwithstanding he had been baptized he was still in his sins, because his heart was not pure, and he had not repented. For this reason the apostles said to him, "Repent therefore of this wickedness. * * * For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity." (Acts viii:22-23.) This should be a warning to those modern professors whose religion is in many instances a cloak, hidden beneath which is the depraved heart that garnishes the sepulchres of the dead prophets but is ready to slay the living ones.
We now come to that part of the subject which formerly caused so much dissension among the Christian sects, but which latterly is smoothed over with the assertion that it makes no difference which mode—sprinkling, pouring, or immersion—is used; "either will do," "let the candidate take his choice; it is immaterial." To these unwarranted assertions we reply: First, that if either mode will do, none will do, for still other forms may be added by the whims of men. Christ established but one true mode, "One Lord, one faith,one baptism,"and if one is right, the others are wrong. This is a plain proposition. Again, the dissension and conflict on this point is proof against the inspiration of the sectarian world, if they have any, for the reason that the Spirit of God will not lie nor contradict itself. If, therefore, the Spirit of the Lord teaches me that immersion is right, it will not teach another sprinkling, and yet another pouring. This division, then, is because men are guided by opinion and preference and not by the spirit of revelation from God, which guides into all truth and brings those who possess it to a unity of faith.
Now as concerning the baptism of Jesus, who is the pattern, we have Matt. iii:16, which says, "And Jesus when He was baptized went up straightway out of the water." It is not likely that John would be baptizing in Jordan and that Jesus would have gone down into the water if anything less than immersion would have fulfilled the law. This also agrees with the account of the Ethiopian's baptism by Philip (Acts viii:38): "And they went down both into the water,both Philip and the eunuch,and he baptized him." As making still plainer this using a river of water and going"down into the water"to receive the sacred rite, we quote from St. John iii:23: "And John also was baptizing in Enon, near to Salim, because there wasmuch water there."A statement so plain as the foregoing needs no comment. It speaks for itself. He was baptizing not only in Enon, but at a certain point in the stream "because there was much water there." Such a reason could not have been given if sprinkling or pouring had been a proper mode.
We refer further to the New Testament statements where not only the mode of baptism is indicated by the language, but the fact that baptism symbolizes the birth into the world, the death, and the resurrection of the body. To Nicodemus, Jesus said: "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." (St. John iii:5.) When man comes forth into the world, he is born or brought out from the watery element, being first buried in it, and this constitutes his birth. To be "born of water" as a sacred ordinance would be impossible if the rite of sprinkling or pouring be the mode employed. Only complete immersion will answer the ordinance indicated in the language of Jesus to Nicodemus.
Paul also said to the Romans, "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. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection." (Rom. vi:3-5.) The foregoing shows that baptism is a likeness of burial. When the body is laid lifeless in the tomb it is covered completely; it is not left partly buried and partly uncovered; and as the body comes forth in the resurrection, immortal, and free from the conditions of mortality, thus walking in "newness of life," so by the remission of sins through faith, repentance and baptism, the obedient candidate comes forth free from sin, and walks in a new life, prepared for the birth of the spirit, thus symbolizing in beautiful similarity the death and resurrection of the body. This is still farther emphasized by the language, "For if we have been planted," etc., thus using a word which implies a complete burial as in planting seeds in the earth.
Again, we quote the words of Paul to the Colossians, ii: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." This corresponds with the statement before quoted from Romans, and also the teachings of Christ to Nicodemus.
From the Scriptures already quoted on the necessity, object and mode of baptism, we may deduce the conclusion that the ordinance established to follow and go with faith and repentance, and which constitutes the third principle of the gospel, is baptism by immersion for the remission of sins.
Having shown that faith, repentance and baptism are essential to the remission of sins, let us now consider the reception of the Holy Spirit. That this should follow, and not precede, the birth of the water must be evident to every thoughtful person. It is clear that a man is not prepared for the indwelling of the Holy Ghost unless he repents of his sins and becomes freed from them by obedience to the laws of God. Some people may contend that, because Jesus stated that man must be born again, in order to see the kingdom of heaven, such a birth precedes baptism, and is synonymous with the birth of the Spirit mentioned by the Savior in the third chapter of St. John; but being born again, in order to see the kingdom, evidently shows that a man must have some light above the natural senses, sufficient to the light of Christ to make him see the kingdom of God. In other words, to secure, and we may say, consistently constitute his conversion.
This light which guides him to the truth does not, however, forego the absolute necessity of obeying the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. As proof of this we cite the conversion of Paul. He received a personal manifestation of the Savior's power, even hearing his voice and witnessing a light from heaven. Notwithstanding this, Jesus commanded him to go to Ananias, an authorized servant of Christ, who should instruct him regarding his salvation. He was therefore required to be born of water and of the Spirit. Cornelius, also, as related in the tenth chapter of Acts, saw an angel and received a manifestation of the Holy Ghost previous to baptism. Yet both men were required to obey the ordinances enjoined by the Gospel of Christ. If they rejected these requirements, undoubtedly the light they had received would have departed from them and this would have added to their condemnation.
The historical fact of the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost is not, in every instance, recorded in the Scriptures, and it is not necessary that it should be, in order to prove that the ordinance was established by the Messiah. In the matter of baptism He said to John, "Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." He made no exception of Himself, but gave the example by his own obedience. How can others be excused? To show that the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, by those having divine authority was practiced by the ancient apostles, we refer to Acts viii:14, 17: "Now, when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard 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: (for as yet He was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them and they received the Holy Ghost."
Philip did not have the authority to lay on hands for this gift, hence Peter and John were sent from Jerusalem for the express purpose of performing this higher ordinance of the Gospel. In the nineteenth chapter of Acts is an account of Paul's visit to the city of Ephesus, where he found about twelve men who claimed to have received the same form of baptism as administered by John the Baptist. But in answer to Paul's question, "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" they told him they had not so much as heard of it, and his action in re-baptizing them would strongly indicate that some imposter had counterfeited in form the true baptism. This being performed without legitimate authority, their sins were not remitted, and they were not in a condition to receive the Holy Ghost. Hence Paul baptized them; and the sixth verse says: "And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came upon them and they spake with tongues and prophesied."
An imposter can baptize in water by physical force, imitate the true form at the submission of the candidate, but the gift of the Holy Ghost cannot be given without authority from God; and while the water baptism is equally destitute of its legitimate results when not performed by authority, the imposture is not so readily detected because not usually accompanied by the same manifestation of divine power; therefore designing or ignorant men have taken pains either to deny the gift of the Holy Ghost as being essential with its ancient spiritual powers, or to tell the people that no outward ordinance was essential to confer it, thus endeavoring to dispense with this sacred ordinance.
The following references also indicate the laying on of hands as a sacred rite which would not have been adopted by the apostles unless 'commanded of God to do so: I Tim. iv:14-"Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery." II Tim. i:6-"Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my hands." Also showing that this ordinance was laid down as a positive doctrine, we call attention to the sixth chapter of Hebrews, first and second verses: "Therefore leaving (another translation, that of the prophet Joseph Smith, reads 'not 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."
That man might duplicate in form this divine ceremony without authority and without effect, we do not deny; but we confidently assert that without this ordinance being administered by an acknowledged authority from God, the operation would be of non-effect. The undeniable facts of religious history for seventeen centuries prove that men did not receive the Holy Ghost. Where the tree is, there will the fruit be produced, unless the tree is dead; and no one will contend that the Holy Spirit is dead.
The following quotations will point out the fruits of the Holy Spirit: "But 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." (St. John xiv:26.) "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 shall show you things to come." (St. John xvi:13.) "As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, 'Separate me Barnabas and Saul, for the work whereunto I have called them.'" (Acts xiii:2.) "Wherefore I give you to understand that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. * * * For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another, the word of Knowledge by the same Spirit; To another, faith by the same Spirit; to another, the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecy; to another discerning of Spirits; to another, divers kinds of tongues." ( I Cor. xii:3, 4, 8, 9, 10.) "But the fruits of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." (Gal. v:22-23.)
The same cause will ever produce the same effect; a tree is known by its fruits, and to be convinced that we need such gifts today it is only necessary to look at the spectacle of jarring "Christianity" with its many creeds. Where is the Spirit that guides into all truth, which does not contradict itself, but teaches the "common salvation" of "one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all?" That brings us "to a unity of faith," and makes us one in Christ, as He prayed that His disciples and all whom the Father should give Him out of the world might be one even as I am one in the Father and the Father in me, that they may be one in us, "that the world may believe that thou hast sent me?" Where is the Spirit of prophecy? "The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy," the gifts of revelation, healings and all the glorious powers enumerated in the Scripture quotations made. Well did Isaiah say, "The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances and broken the everlasting covenant." (Isa. xxiv:5.)
Without further comment on the gifts of the Spirit, we will introduce quotations to show that the laying on of hands was practiced also for ordination to office in the Church of Christ, and for the healing of the sick, as well as to confer the gift of the Holy Ghost: "Whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them." (Acts vi:6.) This refers to the ordination of Stephen and six others. "As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them they sent them away." (Acts xiii:2, 3.)
The same ordinance was also had in ancient times before the coming of the Savior. Paul informs us in Gal. iii, that the Gospel was preached before unto Abraham. "And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay thine hands upon him. And he laid his hands upon him and gave him a charge, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses." (Num. xxvii:18, 23.) "And Joshua, the son of Nun, was full of the Spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him." (Deut. xxxiv:9.)
It is most reasonable to conclude from the evidence presented that this practice came down from the beginning, and was before and after Christ a divine ordinance. That it was practiced for the healing of the sick is evident from the following historical and doctrinal statements made in the New Testament by the Messiah and His apostles: "They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover." (Mark xvi:18.) "And He could there do no mighty work save that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk and healed them." (Mark vi:5.) "Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them, and healed them." (Luke iv:40.) "And putting His hands on him, said Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me that thou mightest receive thy sight," etc. (Acts ix:17.) "And it came to pass that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever, and of a bloody flux; to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him." (Acts xxviii:8.) "Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up," etc. (James v:14, 15.).
Although the laying on of hands is not expressly mentioned in the last quotation, it is readily seen that the sick could not be anointed without the imposition of hands.
The foregoing should be sufficient to convince all Bible believers that the laying on of hands is a sacred ordinance for the purposes specified in Holy writ, that it follows the baptism of water, and occupies its relationship in the plan of salvation as the fourth essential principle to fully establish men in the Church of Christ; the order is, faith, repentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. This is the door into the sheepfold; "he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber." (St. John x:1.)
As Latter-day Saints we believe that all creation existed spiritually before the physical organism was brought into existence; "And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew." (Gen. ii:5.)
"And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing. And beast of the earth after his kind; and it was so." (Gen. i:24.) Therefore each kind, whether beast, bird or fish, as well as man, existed before it came to occupy a physical being, otherwise how could each have been created after its own kind? The spirit and the body must be the soul, as enunciated by the Lord in a revelation to the prophet Joseph Smith. (Doctrine and Covenants, sec. 88, verse 15.) "And the spirit and the body is the soul of man." Otherwise there might be an eternal fullness when the spirit and the body are separated. When Jesus was crucified He went, as stated by Peter, to preach to the spirits in prison, and did not enter into the fullness of His Father's glory until He ascended after His resurrection. This was the pattern to all men.
Without the union of the spirit and the body there is not a fullness of glory. As the spirit exists between death and the resurrection, so the spirit existed before the birth of the mortal body. God is the God and Father of the spirits of all flesh, as stated by Moses: "O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt Thou be wroth with all the congregation?" (Num. xvi:22.) "Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation." (Num. xxvii:16.) This declaration is corroborated by the apostle Paul in writing to the Hebrews: "Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh, which corrected us, and we gave them reverence; shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?"
We associate in this life with our natural fathers; we see them as they are. They teach, guide and direct us by virtue of their fatherhood and their advanced experience, which qualify them to teach us and direct our footsteps in the way we should walk. So in our pre-existence did we mingle with our heavenly Father and His children, our brother and sister spirits. We knew God and partook of His influence and power. We were agents to ourselves, and when propositions affecting man's eternal welfare were placed before us, we were left to choose for ourselves and be responsible for our own course. Thus Lucifer rebelled, and drew one-third part of the heavenly host away. They were cast out, and denied a body. So keenly have they felt this curse that they seek to possess the bodies of the human family. When Jesus cast the evil spirits from the men coming out of the tombs, so eager were they to possess some physical tabernacle, that they besought Him that they might enter the herd of swine. The request was granted, and the swine, possessed of evil spirits, ran down violently into the sea.
Not only the fact of man's pre-existence, but also his power to do good and ill, seemed to be understood by the ancient apostles when they said, "Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents." (John ix:2, 3.) Jesus did not deny the possibility of sinning before birth. Why should not the spirit be just as capable of intelligent action before the birth into this world, as it is during its existence between death and the resurrection? As to that time, Jesus taught that all that were in their graves should hear His voice. (St. John v:25, 29.) When Job was in the depth of his affliction the Lord said unto him, "Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me. Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? * * * When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (Job xxxviii:3, 4, 7.) Doubtless Job was somewhere in existence or the Almighty would never have propounded such a question. The sons of God shouted for joy, and without doubt Job was among that honored number. Solomon also gives us to understand that the spirit once dwelt in the presence of the Lord. He says: "And the spirit shall return unto God who gave it."
The subject of pre-existence is made very plain in the first chapter, 5th verse of Jeremiah: "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee: and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." Thus in his pre-existent state did Jeremiah receive his ordination to be a prophet of the Lord to the nations of the earth. If such were the case with Jeremiah, why not with thousands of the sons of God? Indeed it is evident from Paul's writings that the time of man's coming to this world is not mere chance, neither is it regulated by the arrangements of human philosophy in this world: "God that made the world * * * hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth: and hath determined the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitations." (Acts xvii:24, 26.) In other words, the Father of our spirits determined when we should come and those portions of the earth where should be set the bounds of our habitation. It was no chance-work, then, that Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, the Savior, Joseph Smith, and the founders of liberty in this and other lands came to the earth in their respective times and to those countries where they played their great parts in the purposes of God and the drama of life. "I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world; again I leave the world and go to the Father." (St. John xvi:28.) "And now, O Father, glorify Thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was." (St. John xvii:5.) Jesus dwelt with the Father before He came here, so did we. Entering our temples of mortality we forget all that has passed before in our spiritual existence. This mortal state is a veil which hides the eternal past, from our recollection, and shuts off the visions of the eternal future, only as from time to time the revelations of the Holy Ghost bring "things past to our remembrance and shows us things to come."
It is probable, from some references in the Scriptures, that if our spirits were sent here unembodied, the remembrance of the past would come with us. At least, this was doubtless the case with Lucifer and his rebel host. When he tried to tempt the Savior, as recorded in Matthew, fourth chapter, he knew Him undoubtedly from their acquaintance in a pre-existent state. When the man with evil spirits met the Savior in the synagogue, the spirits cried out, "saying, let us alone. What have we to do with Thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us? I know Thee who thou art, the Holy One of God." (Luke iv:34.) A similar testimony was borne by evil spirits possessing the men coming out of the tombs, as recorded in Matthew, viii:29. "And behold they cried out, saying, What have we to do with Thee? Jesus, thou Son of God? art Thou come hither to torment us before the time?" "And unclean spirits, when they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried saying, Thou art the Son of God." (Mark iii:11) In Luke, viii:28, we have the testimony of the historian that the devils possessing a certain man cried out, "and with a loud voice" said, "Jesus, Thou Son of God." It is not probable that these evil spirits knew Jesus because of a testimony from above, while all Judea failed to recognize in Him the Messiah, the Savior of the world. Many likely knew Him because they had been associated and acquainted with Him before the world was.
John the Revelator in Revelations, twelfth chapter, describes the war in heaven, which took place between Satan and his followers on the one hand and Michael and his angels on the other. This description refers to their spiritual existence, as do the foregoing quotations from Holy Writ. These show us clearly that man did not begin with this world, nor does he end with this earthly life. Man is eternal, and will have no end. He lived and reigned with God in the heavens. His course there largely affects his condition here, as our conduct in this life will have all to do with the glory we attain to in the world to come. Man will live on forever. He dies as to the body, lives in the spirit world, and will again take up his body, a resurrected, glorified being, prepared on certain conditions to dwell with God throughout the countless ages of eternity, to become like unto Him. Possessing all things, even as Jesus, being in the image of His Father, "thought it not robbery to be made equal with him." "What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the Son of Man, that Thou visitest him? For Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet." (Psalms viii:4-6.)