Baptism for the remission of sins

Qualifications for baptism

In all of Christianity, few tenets are as argued over as baptism. Baptism is meant as an outward affirmation of an inward shift in your desire to align with God as far as you understand him to be and adopt his purpose with your whole heart.

Baptism is only available to those who show themselves worthy of it. Worthiness is not a question of desire, tradition, or expectation. It is a matter of choosing to submit fully to God. In order to be worthy to be baptized, a person must live as they believe God would in their place and commit to continuing to do so as God continues to teach them more about himself.¹

Baptism is called the first fruit (or result) of repentance because it is meant to come after one decides to fully submit to and serve God.² Baptism is only valid for those who have changed their thoughts, feelings, and actions to align with how they believe Jesus would live in their place.³ Thus, one should be born again before being baptized.

What is the remission of sins, and how is it obtained?

Baptism and the remission of sins are often linked in the scriptures. The remission of sins means the forgiveness of past sins and the cessation of future sins. In the scriptural framework, this is synonymous with justification, a state where an individual is freed from the guilt and eternal penalty of their past choices through continuously making the best choices they now know of. This occurs when one is born again.

Remission of sins is something you choose,⁴ not something that happens to you. You obtain the remission of sins through forsaking all sin.⁵ To have a remission of sins is to be in a state where you continuously follow the example of Jesus, as far as you understand him to be.⁶ In this state, you cease to sin as far as you know. It is called remission of sins and not just cessation of sins—which it includes— because a person who has stopped sinning has fulfilled the conditions given by Christ to be forgiven of their past sins.⁷

Sometimes, baptism and remission of sins are mentioned together because baptism and the remission of sins share the same requirement: keeping all God’s commandments as far as you know them.⁸ Baptism is a commandment,⁹ and all who keep God’s commandments will seek to be baptized. However, it is the keeping of all God’s commandments—not just baptism—that brings forgiveness of past sins.¹⁰

Baptism does not change you. Rather, it is a commandment that you follow and a symbol acknowledging the change you have already made. The distinction between baptism and the remission of sins is made clear in the case of people who have forsaken their past sins, yet do not have access to someone who can baptize them. They still have remission of their sins, because they are living how Jesus would in their place,¹¹ even if they have not yet been baptized due to conditions beyond their own control. Likewise, there are many people who have been baptized, but who do not have a remission of their sins because they continue to think, feel, or act contrary to how they believe Jesus would in their place.

A remission of sins is a perishable state. If an individual willfully sins after having been forgiven, their former sins return to them,¹² and they become even worse off than they were before.¹³

Degrees of baptism

Most people who are baptized know they are participating in a sacred ritual. Some few among them further understand that they are agreeing to attempt to follow Jesus in some way. Baptism is intended to consist of a much more detailed and intense commitment.

To receive the most from baptism, the participant must understand it as a symbol of reconciliation to what they already know about God and a promise to continue to reconcile to all they learn about God in the future. Until a person makes and maintains this sacrifice by consistently thinking, feeling, and doing as they sincerely believe Jesus would in their place, authoritative baptism would be of no benefit to them. Anything less will cause the recipient to believe they are better off than they actually are and less willing to repent than they would otherwise be.

The level of understanding you have of the character of Jesus Christ at baptism will vary based on the quantity and quality of instruction you have received before baptism. Consequently, each person who is baptized will be baptized to a potentially different standard, even if all are equal in their perfect obedience to their understanding of Christ.¹⁴

All people who are baptized after receiving and living up to an improved understanding of the character of Christ will receive the blessing of forgiveness of sins, but the blessings that come from living and learning the character of Christ will only flow to the extent that what is learned and lived accurately reflects how he actually is.

Authority to baptize

As explained in a prior chapter, priesthood authority comes through obtaining and living information about and from God. The qualification for authority to baptize is knowing about and living more like Jesus than those you baptize. The authority to baptize consists of a willingness to live up to the character of Christ beyond those you baptize.

The stark contrast between this assertion and what is taught by today’s churches is acknowledged. To help bridge the gap, consider the following question: What is being offered through baptism? When performed validly, the baptizing priest is certifying to God that the candidate is true and faithful to everything they could presently know about the character of Christ. That witness requires someone who a) knows at least as much about the Lord as the baptismal candidate, and b) lives what he knows about him. To seek baptism is essentially to persuade someone that you are living up to everything you mutually believe about God. Optionally and ideally, that person will know more about God than you. Not optionally, they live those beliefs themselves.

What about ordination? John the Baptist was purportedly ordained at eight days old with the authority to baptize.¹⁵ By lineage, he also possessed the right to baptize, as his father was the High Priest. However, he would have had all the rights and privileges he exercised without these factors based solely on the fact that while all of his contemporaries knew the gospel, he actually lived it. Thus, he was more like Jesus Christ than his contemporaries.

While there are scriptural examples of people being given authority to baptize, there are also examples of people who conducted valid baptisms without ever being ordained. For example, the Lord not only commended Alma Sr.’s ministry, but made particular mention of those he had baptized, a ministry he had embarked upon based solely on his hearing the sermon delivered by Abinadi.¹⁶ Paul was as much an apostle as any other in his time, and yet there is no record of his ordination by Peter, James, and John. Instead, he cited as his authority his personal knowledge of Jesus Christ, who had called him directly.¹⁷

This teaching presents a paradigm shift in the interpretation of the Lord’s ending invitation in the gospel of Matthew:

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:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28)

The Lord’s instruction wasn’t just to his eleven apostles—or his several hundred remaining disciples—but to anyone who knows anything about him to go and teach others to live the same, in whatever scope of life they occupy, conveying upon them the authority to baptize based on the information they have received about Jesus and their willingness to live it.

If the authority to baptize is based only on having learned and lived some dispensation of information about the Lord, why were there instances where Jesus gave particular authority to particular people? The primary purpose was to provide a mechanism to resolve disagreements. The Lord identified a hierarchy for the purpose of indicating whose perspective was to be accepted as his own in the event of a disagreement.¹⁸ It is sad to reflect upon how much the idea of religious authority has been abused while simultaneously ignoring the purpose for which it was given.

The role of the baptizing priest

Priests are meant to teach people how Jesus is and baptize those who choose to become like him.¹⁹ The baptizing priest has a duty to teach the candidate what the priest knows and lives about the character of Jesus, subject to the limits of capacity—but not effort—in the candidate.

As a symbol of submission to God, a baptismal candidate must conform to what they understand about God. To be worthy of baptism, you have to make any changes necessary to live as you understand God would in your place. The priest you apply to for baptism decides whether you are worthy of it. By performing the ordinance, a baptizing priest is certifying to God that the candidate has been true and faithful to everything he has taught them about God.²⁰

Once the priest is satisfied with the candidate’s repentance, he leads the recipient into the water,

24 ...calling them by name, saying:
25 Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. And then shall ye immerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water. (3 Nephi 11)

It is very difficult for a baptizing priest to adequately ascertain the worthiness of a candidate he does not know well. The greater the proximity of the priest to the candidate, the more effectively he can teach the candidate, and the more accurately he can assess whether they are fully living the gospel in the details of their lives. Ideally, the baptizing priest will be the husband or father of the applying candidate.

While a priest may baptize a candidate with less instruction,²¹ interaction, and verification,²² such baptisms provide far less of an opportunity to the candidate to learn about and live like Jesus before the baptism and a much lower likelihood that they will continue to do so after baptism. The gospel is designed so that, where possible, adherents can remain with the person teaching them more about Jesus until they have exhausted what the priest has to teach them. In ancient times, technological and geographical limitations forced gospel interactions to incidental contact on one extreme and leaving everything to accompany a gospel teacher on another.²³ In the modern era, the internet provides opportunities for much greater contact without the need to uproot one’s life to follow a preacher.

What to do when you are not aware of someone capable of baptizing you

You may not presently know of anyone with the ability to baptize you. God can lead you to such a person, and your effort to find one is part of the process of coming into submission to God. For example, Limhi and his people experienced an increase in preparatory humility as they sought someone to baptize them, finally coming under the authority of Alma, who they had previously rejected, persecuted, and chased out of their kingdom.

In the meantime, remember that baptism is a part of repentance, not the other way around. You can fully reconcile your life to your understanding of Jesus before you meet someone capable of baptizing you, and doing so is the best way to prepare to recognize and receive them when you do. For example, as the aforementioned people of Limhi searched for someone to baptize them, they were able to make the sacrifice of deciding to follow the Lord’s example at all costs:

They were desirous to be baptized as a witness and a testimony that they were willing to serve God with all their hearts... (Mosiah 21:35)

...for they themselves had entered into a covenant with God to serve him and keep his commandments. (Mosiah 21:31)

The fact that the blessings of a broken heart and contrite spirit are available to those who have no available way to be baptized does not mean that baptism is of no effect, or that its outcomes are available to those who have not received it. Every commandment from God has a blessing associated with it,²⁴ and baptism is no exception. The blessings of baptism consist of the blessing of living up to your understanding of God’s commandments, as well as blessings that come through the interactions between the person being baptized and the priest who baptizes them. Water baptism matters beyond the general blessings of obeying all commandments because it requires you to find and reconcile to the teachings of a person who knows more about God than you do and therefore can provide you with invitations to improve beyond where you could otherwise.²⁵

Baptism is how people join the Lord’s church

Some correctly understand that baptism is the form in which God has designated people to join his church,²⁶ but most do not realize that cessation of known sin is required before anyone can be baptized into the church in a way that God will acknowledge.

Neither did they receive any unto baptism save they came forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and witnessed unto the church that they truly repented of all their sins. (Moroni 6:2)

And again, by way of commandment to the church concerning the manner of baptism—All those who humble themselves before God, and desire to be baptized, and come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits, and witness before the church that they have truly repented of all their sins, and are willing to take upon them the name of Jesus Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end, and truly manifest by their works that they have received of the Spirit of Christ unto the remission of their sins, shall be received by baptism into his church. (D&C 20:37)

Churches that do not require baptismal candidates to conform to the commandments of God as they teach are not practicing the form of baptism prescribed by the Lord.

That being said, to think of the church of Christ as an entity that controls access to the ability to repent and come unto him is to reverse roles. The Lord’s church is composed of those who align with their understanding of how he is:

67 Behold, this is my doctrine—whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church.
68 Whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me; therefore he is not of my church.
69 And now, behold, whosoever is of my church, and endureth of my church to the end, him will I establish upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. (D&C 10)

The important takeaway here is that baptism isn’t about joining a church, but becoming the church,²⁷ and you don’t do that by finding an institution, but by finding a person who knows him better than you.

Circumstances for rebaptism

There are two potential circumstances where one might consider rebaptism is in order. The first is when you break your baptismal covenant to always live as Jesus would in your place. The second is when something causes a disconnection between you and the priest who baptizes you. Neither of these are valid reasons to be rebaptized.

In baptism, you promise to God to keep all of his commandments, even unto death.²⁸ If you knowingly break a commandment, you have broken the covenant of baptism through willful rebellion against God. You repent and renew your commitment to God through forsaking the sins of which you are aware and rededicating yourself to greater fidelity to God than you had before. Since this commitment is independent of baptism, there is no reason to get rebaptized in order to renew it. In other words, while there is such a thing as baptism for repentance, there is no such thing as rebaptism for repentance, as the only people that would need to be baptized in order to repent of their sins are those who have not yet been validly baptized.

The commandment of baptism is to receive it once. There is no commandment to maintain a valid baptismal connection to a worthy priest. For example, while Jesus went to lengths to receive baptism from John the Baptist, he had no continuing connection to John after his baptism. One of the blessings of baptism is the additional information about God or application of that information to your life that could come from a continued relationship with the man who baptizes you. However, such relationships are available outside of the context of baptism. Whether you have an ongoing relationship with the priest who baptized you or not, the blessings available from those who know God better than you are always available.

Considerations for children

In order for a person to enter the covenant of baptism, they must possess the ability to make moral judgments. Authoritative baptism requires a candidate to be capable of learning more about and living like Jesus. Like all phases of human development, this does not occur at a given age for everyone, but depends on their particular environment, capabilities, and choices. Those baptized as babies have never entered into the covenant of baptism, because the choice was made for them by others.²⁹ Some baptized as children may feel the same way. In both cases, these individuals should seek to be rebaptized.

Those possessing moral judgment still possess it to varying degrees. A priest will be impeded in his ability to convey what he knows about God to someone with less understanding than he has. The certification of baptism is not “this person knows and lives what I do,” but “this person has learned and lived everything they have the capacity to from me, given their capabilities.” The certification of baptismal worthiness isn’t a question of achieving equivalence in holiness to the person baptizing, but a question of demonstrating complete submission to God.