What does it mean to be born again?
It is quite common in Christianity to discuss the necessity of being “born again.” After all, the Lord himself instructed that it was impossible to even see the kingdom of God “except a man be born again...” (John 3:3). What does it really mean to be born again and what are its effects?
To be born again refers to the combination of a choice you make to submit completely to God and the gift of the Holy Ghost that God gives you as a result.
The gift of the Holy Ghost is access to a greater breadth, depth, quantity, and quality of information from God beyond what all people have access to through the Light of Christ.1 The Light of Christ is a source of information possessed by all people through physical birth.2 The Light of Christ actuates our understanding,3 enabling moral judgment and critical thinking.4 Factors before birth dictate the quantity of the Light of Christ an individual has to start, and their decisions according to or against that influence determine whether it waxes or wanes during life. The channel of the Light of Christ is limited in bandwidth and content. These limitations are demonstrated when you experience unanswered prayers and unmet requests to God. Each barrier you experience in the information you request from God indicates a limit in the window of what you are willing and able to receive from him.
By fully surrendering how you feel, think, and act in preference to how Jesus would in your place, you gain access to the gift of the Holy Ghost, which makes more information available to you about God, yourself, and the word.
The combination of your complete submission to God and the additional information you receive from him cause you to perceive the world through a different lens than before, providing you with the opportunity to choose to act differently than before. The scriptures describe this change as becoming a “new creature.”739
Discussions of spiritual rebirth tend to interchangeably refer to the gift of the Holy Ghost and the choice that precedes it. The choice made by an individual to turn toward God catalyzes what God does in response to that choice. The remainder of this chapter will focus on what a person must do to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, rather than what occurs thereafter.
Footnotes
- 1. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. (1 Corinthians 12:7) For behold, the Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil; wherefore, I show unto you the way to judge; for every thing which inviteth to do good, and to persuade to believe in Christ, is sent forth by the power and gift of Christ; wherefore ye may know with a perfect knowledge it is of God. (Moroni 7:16) ↩
- 2. And that I am the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. (D&C 93:2) That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. (John 1:9) ↩
- 3. Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me. But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you; therefore, you shall feel that it is right. But if it be not right you shall have no such feelings, but you shall have a stupor of thought that shall cause you to forget the thing which is wrong; therefore, you cannot write that which is sacred save it be given you from me. (D&C 9:7-9) ↩
- 4. And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged. (Moroni 7:18) ↩