and Spiritual Atrophy
“One Lord, one faith, one baptism,” (Ephesians 4: 5)
Many times, prior to my own children’s baptism, they would ask, almost nervously, “why is baptism important, Daddy?” Or, perhaps fearing the worst, “…you won’t let me drown, will you Daddy? I’m scared to go under the water.” After some brief explanations, my children would insightfully ask “why did the Savior need to be baptized?” and “why do we need to follow the Savior’s example?” In order to answer these questions correctly, we need to understand the ordinance of baptism, what baptism is, why it is so important, what we do after we make the covenant of baptism, and how it can help us achieve a spiritual rebirth which results in true discipleship.
“One Lord, one faith, one baptism,” (Ephesians 4: 5)
When my oldest
daughter, Casey, was getting ready to be baptized in the fall of 2003, my
family and I had the opportunity to attend a picnic luncheon for LDS
Humanitarian Center employees as an expression of gratitude from the Sr.
management for all of our hard work we had done for the year. I remember
that it had been a pretty rough year for natural disasters around the world,
which had kept us pretty busy sending out Hygiene kits, Neonatal resuscitation
kits for newborns, School kits and other humanitarian aid. There was an
enormous earthquake in Algeria that required much assistance, as well as a
devastating heat wave in France that had attributed to thousands of deaths and
crippled the country at the time.
Upon arriving at the picnic spot, I introduced
my family to the manager of the Humanitarian Center, Bill Reynolds. When
introducing my daughter Casey to him and his wife, Bonita, I quickly
volunteered that Casey was soon to be baptized.
I remember while Bill was shaking her hand, he looked her in the eye and
asked “Are you sure you want to be baptized?” I remember some momentary
anxiety over the question and worried how Casey would respond, but her innocent
response not only surprised me, but made me quite proud. Without any
hesitation, she looked right back at Bill and said “Of course…..don’t’ you
think it’s the right thing to do?” I remember Bill standing straight up,
smiling, and looking over at Tami and I and saying “you raised her right…!”
Although the desire to be baptized is one thing,
it is another to fully understand the commitment involved and the covenant we
make at baptism. When it comes to gospel principles, I have always used the
“crawl, walk, run” methodology of teaching that I learned from my own parents,
who learned it from their parents. For example, taking your children to see
their friends and neighbors get baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints is a wonderful teaching opportunity. It generates gospel
oriented questions from them and offers a perfect time for parents to conduct
personal interviews with their children to address those questions. It also is
a good opportunity to teach them by the Spirit in their own language and
understanding.
Many times, prior to my own children’s baptism, they would ask, almost nervously, “why is baptism important, Daddy?” Or, perhaps fearing the worst, “…you won’t let me drown, will you Daddy? I’m scared to go under the water.” After some brief explanations, my children would insightfully ask “why did the Savior need to be baptized?” and “why do we need to follow the Savior’s example?” In order to answer these questions correctly, we need to understand the ordinance of baptism, what baptism is, why it is so important, what we do after we make the covenant of baptism, and how it can help us achieve a spiritual rebirth which results in true discipleship.
Baptism as a Saving Ordinance
For each of us, starting on the road towards exaltation and eternal
life with our Father in Heaven begins with faith, repentance, and then
ultimately baptism (Articles of Faith 4[i]). These three steps, combined with the
ordinance of baptism, are the first steps and the first saving ordinance that we must do to return and live with
Him. Our Savior understood this, so He
was baptized to show us the “the
straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the gate, by which [we] should
enter” (2 Ne. 31:9). “Notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the
children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the
Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in
keeping his commandments” (2 Ne. 31:7). Because He was
a perfect example to each of us, and because He was obedient to His Father in
Heaven, is there any question why He began His ministering in the same way?
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan,
to be baptized by him.
John would have
prevented him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to
me?"
But Jesus
answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to
fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented.
And when Jesus
had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were
opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting
on him. And a voice from heaven said,
"This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well
pleased."
(Matthew 3:
13-17)
Additionally, our Savior emphasized the
importance of baptism in His final and closing words here on 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 always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20, emphasis added).
From these scriptures we learn
that baptism is very important to our Savior Jesus Christ, which means that it
should be just as important for all of His followers today. If we want to become like our Savior, then we
should take part in baptism. It is part
of our Father in Heavens plan of happiness for us.
Baptism as a Covenant
It’s important to understand that
our Father in Heaven works with all
His children through covenants. For instance, covenants that we make as His children, and covenants
that He has made to us. Simply put, a covenant is a pact or agreement
between two or more parties. These covenants are significantly different
from worldly covenants however. For example, worldly covenants are negotiated
(like what we would see in any legal document, employee contract, home owners
association, etc.) but our Father in Heaven’s covenants are imposed by
Him. For example, from the beginning,
our Father in Heaven’s relationship to us has been defined by certain
requirements and promises. God tells man
what is required of him, what he expects man to do, and what will happen when
His commands (or covenants) are met with obedience. These covenants are
stipulated to us in the Scriptures. The
New and Old Testaments are literally
New and Old Covenants. The word "testament" comes from the Latin word
“testamentum” or “testamenti” which means covenant[1].
So, the Bible is a covenant document. As His children, we make
covenants with our Father in Heaven, and He, in turn, makes covenants with us if we are true and faithful to the
promises (or covenants) we make. The
Doctrine and Covenants teaches us that:
There
is a law, irrevocably decreed in heaven before the foundations of this world,
upon which all blessings are predicated—
And
when we obtain any blessing from God, it
is by obedience to that law upon which it is predicated. (See D&C 130: 20-21, emphasis added)
If we do not understand covenants we cannot understand, in full, the issue
of baptism, because baptism is a covenant ordinance. As mentioned earlier, it
is so important, that even our Savior, Jesus Christ participated in this sacred
ordinance. President Spencer W. Kimball
(1895-1985) taught that: “To be baptized is to enter into a covenant [with God]
… to do, not merely to refrain from doing,…[ii]”.
President Kimball goes on later to say that our covenant of baptism is also
“…to work righteousness as well as to avoid evil”[iii]. We
will discuss how the covenant of baptism can help and motivate us to avoid evil
later on in this book.
By reading Doctrine and
Covenants 20: 37 and from the Book of Mormon, Mosiah 18: 8-10, we make the
following covenants with the Lord when we are baptized. We:
1.
Enter
the Church of Jesus Christ
2.
Are
called after His name
3.
Are
willing to serve God and keep His commandments
4.
Serve
each other and bear one another’s burdens and
5.
Will
always be a witness for Jesus Christ and His Church.
Sounds a lot like the Sacrament prayer, doesn’t it? In return, conditional upon our obedience to
the baptismal covenant, the Lord promises that He will:
1.
Forgive
us of our sins
2.
Provide
the guidance of the Holy Ghost for us
3.
Bring
us forth in the first resurrection and
4.
Give
us Eternal Life, the greatest of all of God’s gifts to his children (D&C
14: 7).
Baptism as a Symbol
The Lord uses symbols to help us
understand eternal truths. The ordinance
of baptism is particularly rich with symbolism, and it would be to our benefit
to reflect and ponder upon its meaning, and the more we do so, the more these
symbols (especially with baptism) will begin to make sense to us. Elder Russell
M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explains that “…we are taught in
the Masters way. His way differs from
modes of others. His way is ancient and
rich with symbolism. We can learn much
by pondering the reality for which each [baptismal] symbol stands”[iv].
We know that baptism is an outward testimony of what has occurred inwardly in a
believer’s life. Additionally, baptism illustrates a future member’s
identification with Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.
Symbols bring color and strength to
language, while deepening and enriching our understandings. Even Adam, our
first parent, needed help in understanding the symbolism of sacrifice (Moses
5:7), so we too may need help in understanding the “ancient and rich” method
the Lord uses with regards to baptism. Symbolically speaking, going under the
water represents dying and being buried with Christ. The action of coming out
of the water represents Christ’s resurrection over death, and our willingness
to accept Him into our life by terminating our “old life,” or cleansing and
washing it away in favor of a “new life” that the Savior has promised us to
those who accept Him.
Baptism also represents the individual’s commitment to a life in Christ,
being born of God, thus born again of the water and of the Spirit (See Rom. 6:
3-6; Mosiah 18: 13-14; Moses 6: 59-60; and D&C 128: 12-13). It is a step towards complete
obedience—publicly declaring faith in Jesus Christ and a commitment to
Him. It clearly states from the Book of Mormon that our
baptism is a covenant to “…stand as witnesses of God [and His kingdom] at all times and in all things, and in all places that
ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered
with those of the first resurrection,
that ye may have eternal life” (Mosiah 18:9; emphasis added).
Baptism as a motivator to live
a more committed life
As wonderful and fulfilling as baptism is,
we need to understand that it is not a “free ticket” into the Celestial Kingdom
of our Father in Heaven. This
doesn't mean that we'll never sin again, because sin has a way of coming back
to life, but it does mean, like Paul said, that we should no longer be slaves
to sin (see Romans 7:14). We certainly know and understand that we will all sin
again and that “…no unclean thing can enter into his kingdom; therefore nothing
entereth into his rest save it be those who have washed their garments in my
blood, because of their faith, and repentance of all their sins, and their
faithfulness unto the end” (3 Nephi 27: 19). After Baptism, we should
make every effort to insure that sin no longer dominates or controls our lives
as we strive to "be holy even as He is holy" (see 1 Peter 1:15-16).
As in all
principles and doctrines that our Savior taught, unless true conversion
comes first, then baptism is just a meaningless ordinance. Taking upon us His name is one of the most
significant experiences we can have in life.
Oftentimes, the outward act of baptism is emphasized, but it's the
inward change that we truly need to focus on.
Many times, we pass through this experience without a full understanding
of what it truly means. Missionaries and
members of the Church who are helping bring others into the “Fullness of the
Gospel” must also understand that:
“…baptism and
confirmation is not the end goal. It is
the missionaries [and members] privilege and responsibility to teach
investigators that there are additional covenants and ordinances that they may
receive in the House of the Lord”[v].
Most of us are familiar with the catch
phrase “To be in the world, but not of the world (see John 17: 11,
14-17). It is important for us to
understand as children of a loving Heavenly Father that our mortal existence is
necessary to fulfill our Father in Heavens plan of salvation. This means, literally, that we live in this world, but also that we must
live not of this world because of all
the worldly influences that are ever before us.
Elder Robert D. Hales, of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, teaches us
this:
“Each week in sacrament
meeting we promise to remember the atoning sacrifice of our Savior as we renew
our baptismal covenant. We promise to do as the Savior did—to be obedient to
the Father and always keep His commandments. The blessing we receive in return
is to always have His Spirit to be with us”[vi].
The “new lifestyle” that follows
conversion is what we usually call “sanctification,” or the lifelong process of
becoming free from sin, pure, clean and holy through the atonement of Jesus
Christ (Moses 6: 59). This is another area where synergism (“working together”)
is required. In sanctification both the accountable mortal human and the divine
(the Holy Ghost) must work together, simultaneously. For example, in the Book of Mormon, it says:
Nevertheless they did fast and pray oft, and did wax stronger and
stronger in their humility, and firmer and firmer in the faith of Christ, unto
the filling their souls with joy and consolation, yea, even to the purifying
and the sanctification of their hearts, which sanctification cometh because of
their yielding their hearts unto God (Helaman 3: 35)
The ability to “yield” our
hearts to God is no easy task and takes a lifetime of work and effort. However, we do know that our Father in Heaven
has made it possible through the atonement, and that we should work out our
salvation with “fear and trembling” (see Phil 2: 12), but I do want to point
out, that many people fail to see what is written in the very next verse which
says: “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Phil 2: 13).
So the question is, how can we, as
accountable mortal humans, get God to work within us, so that we, together as a
team, can do what He pleases at the same time?
The power of His word is especially moving and can motivate us to change
and will us into action. Therefore, the key lies in two
attributes: 1. knowledge, which leads to
2. motivation. The scriptures say:
But be ye doers
of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
For if any be a
hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural
face in a glass.
For he
beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of
man he was.
But whoso
looketh unto the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work,
this man shall be blessed in his deed (James 1: 22-25)
As the scriptures indicate, it’s not
enough to be just “hearers of the word, but doers also”. We must hear, and then go do. That’s the wonderful blessing of the Gospel
of Jesus Christ. Being part of this
Gospel, we must, by default, teach it to others whether it be by formal
assignment or by example. Teaching of
the Gospel powerfully convicts us and moves our hearts and wills into
action. It also can reprove us at times,
correct us, and instruct us further in what we need to do to be more like He
is. As indicated earlier, if we don’t
understand the reason we are baptized, if we lack the knowledge, it can’t
motivate us to become better. It’s a lot
like having a house wired for electricity, but not knowing how to turn on the
lights or how to use the appliances powered by that electricity.
Personally, I have discovered that it’s
easy to be educated about a gospel principle, but much different to turn that
education into motivation to do better.
This may happen because we get so caught up in teaching sound doctrine about
faith, repentance and baptism (which is necessary), but we fail to forget about
the heart and will of the individual. In
other words, we fail to motivate. We can
become very shortsighted. We work hard
to motivate an investigator to become baptized, teaching them sound doctrine,
but then we neglect to lead that convert to the complete commitment and
lifelong obedience for which he has now accepted. There needs to be some “post-conversion”
experience which can help the new convert feel the impact on their heart of
accepting the Gospel of Jesus Christ and be moved to a higher level of
spirituality, love, and commitment.
President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910-2008) said:
"They [the
missionaries] still have an obligation to nurture and help those they have
baptized - to befriend them, to write to them, to give them encouragement. But
greater than that is your responsibility, my brethren, as bishops, as stake
presidents, as elders quorum presidents, to put your arms around these people
and make them feel comfortable and at home and warm and happy. It is an
imperative. What does it profit the
missionary to baptize someone who leaves the Church within six months? Nothing
is accomplished, in fact, damage is done. We have pulled them away from their
old moorings and brought them into the Church, only to have them drift away"[vii].
So it would seem that the power and
potential to move to this deeper level of covenant keeping has been there all
along, but the motivation to live it simply needs a “jump-start”. It breaks my heart when I hear of people that
are so preoccupied by the “things of this world” that they are not necessarily
in “transgression” for being that
way, but certainly they can be in “diversion”
which consequently can cause them to waste “the days of their probation” (see 2
Nephi 9: 27). Regardless, many of these
people claim that they proudly live “without God in the world” (see Alma
41:11), with the gates and doors unfortunately locked from the inside!
Baptism as a way back home
Oftentimes we hear when referring to
baptism, the term synonymous with baptism as a “renewal” or as “the way back
home”. There can be very tender memories
of those that make a conscience decision to “come back home” and subsequently
feel the love of our Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ when those decisions
to be baptized are made. For others,
this can be a very frightening decision with the fear of seclusion being the
most prevalent. This fear of isolation
or loneliness is a lie perpetuated by the adversary. This new family you become part of, this
family of Christ, is where we all belong.
It alters us forever. For me,
becoming part of a new family where I didn’t know a soul, but was so warmly
received and valued, reminds me of a couple of experiences I had several years
ago while serving in a church production at the LDS Church Conference Center
(taken from my personal journal):
“As we finished
the Christmas 2004 run of “Savior of the
World”, I had opportunity to thank all my many friends and cast members and
tell them how much I would miss them, and how forward I would look to seeing
them again. One of the ladies I have
gotten to know in costuming, a sweet, older lady named Susan (Suzy) said
something to me that has caused me to think.
As I was saying goodbye to her, my emotions came to the surface and some
tears were shed. I recall that she was
putting some clothing racks on the elevator with our costumes and after saying
goodbye; she turned to me and said that this must be what it is like at the
veil. I asked her what she meant by
that, so she expounded.
“We all have
friends here in this cast that we will miss terribly.” She said. I agreed.
She then went
on to explain, that in her opinion:
“We all had
friends in the pre-earth life that we were most likely better friends with,
people whom we would miss their company, companionship, and spirit. So when the time came for us to part, and to
begin our mortal life, there were probably tears at the veil as we parted for a
time.”
As I have
thought of this, I feel in my heart she is correct. I have only worked with these cast members for
the last four months, and when the time came to say goodbye, tears were
shed. I wonder (knowing me) how many
tears were shed when the time came for me to say goodbye to my friends (whom I
have known for an eternity) as I left my heavenly home to begin my mortal
life? I’ll bet it was very emotional for
me[viii].”
Then, the very next year at the
end of our 2005 production run of Savior of the World, I wrote the following
thought (copied from my journal):
“During our
last performance of Savior of the World, 2005, I again, had the distinct
privilege of saying goodbye to the hair and make-up lady Suzy. I have gotten to know Suzy really well during
our seasons together (particularly this season as I had to wear an artificial
beard and mustache during the entire run) and she is a complete joy to be
around. But like last season, her
parting words to me again stirred my soul and have caused me much reflection. As I was leaving the make-up room, with tears
in my eyes, I turned to her and told her how much we loved her. She looked at me and said “Come back home to
us, Chris”. Those words “come back home”
have a deeper meaning to me since doing Savior
of the World. I imagine that we all
had the opportunity to say goodbye to our friends in the pre-earth life where
many of them most likely said the same thing Suzy said to me, “Come back home
to us, Chris”. For some reason, this
statement just stirs my heart and causes me to reflect my life and do some
pondering. Is my life in harmony with
His teaching so that I CAN return home to live with Him? Am I doing all I possibly can? I can’t help but feel that I have heard this
statement before. I wonder now if my
Father in Heaven said something similar to that to me as I was leaving the
pre-earth life. Sometimes people can say
such profound things….[ix].”
What do these experiences from my own life teach me
about the covenant and ordinance of baptism? It teaches me that I need to be in
the world, but not of the world. It reminded me that I was to stand as a
witness of God [and His kingdom] at all times and in all things and in all
places (Mosiah 18: 9). Like baptism, being in these productions changed my
life, and helped me and my family establish an allegiance to the kingdom of
God. For me, when I think of my own baptism, or when I think of my part of
portraying an Apostle of Jesus Christ in the LDS Church Conference Center
production of Savior of the World, it
helps me to remember whom I am serving, why I am serving Him, and the promises
I have made to Him to do all I can to return and live with Him with my family
and all the friends that I have made here that want the same thing I do.
Conclusion
Oftentimes, we think of baptism as a once
in a life-time event, which it is in the sense that it only takes place once in
a members lifetime. However, the
covenants that we make with baptism are for our entire lifespan. It is to be
remembered and cherished each and every day of our lives. Because of this, the Sacrament should have
much more meaning and significance than just taking bread and water each
week. The Sacrament that we partake of
is set up to help us remember those covenants that we made at baptism each and
every week. As a result, the baptismal
covenant can remain an active part of our daily life and spiritual progression
long after the actual ordinance and will lead to much greater spiritual power
in our individual lives.
I feel such gratitude and appreciation for
my Savior and my baptism into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I am grateful for the saving ordinance, covenant, symbolism, and motivator to a
more committed lifestyle that baptism generates for me. I am thankful for
goodly parents, siblings, and teachers which help me along my path. It is my prayer that we may ponder and
reflect upon the sacred ordinance and covenant of baptism as the gateway into
His kingdom, and that we may cherish the choice we make to be part of His
kingdom.
Notes
[i]
[ii]
President Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle
of Forgiveness [1969], 94, emphasis added
[iii]
IBID, pg. 94
[iv]
“Personal Preparation for Temple Blessings,” Liahona, July 2001, pg. 38; Ensign,
May 2001, pg. 33.
[v]
Missionary Preparation Teacher Manual Religion 130, (2005), 87-91
[vi] Elder Robert D. Hales,
October 2000 General Conference, The
Covenant of Baptism: To be in the Kingdom and of the Kingdom
[vii]
President Gordon B. Hinckley, Woods Cross Utah Regional Conference, 10 January
1998, emphasis added
[viii]
Personal Journal of Christopher R. Greenwood, Vol. 1, pg. 3
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