Marvel not that all mankind... must be born again...and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. (Mosiah 27:25-26)
The consequence of our individual sin is estrangement from God. The penalty of sin is not the arbitrary penalty of a vengeful God. Instead, it keeps us out of God’s presence in this life, and causes us to permanently recoil from him in the hereafter.
O, my beloved brethren, turn away from your sins; shake off the chains of him that would bind you fast; come unto that God who is the rock of your salvation. Prepare your souls for that glorious day when justice shall be administered unto the righteous, even the day of judgment, that ye may not shrink with awful fear; that ye may not remember your awful guilt in perfectness, and be constrained to exclaim: Holy, holy are thy judgments, O Lord God Almighty—but I know my guilt; I transgressed thy law, and my transgressions are mine; and the devil hath obtained me, that I am a prey to his awful misery. (2 Nephi 9:45-46)
If the penalty of sin were arbitrary, it would be arbitrarily simple to remove it. If sin’s consequences were the result of an arbitrary decree from God, then an arbitrary decree from God could remove them. If this were the case, Jesus would not have had to condescend from heaven to be born on earth, he would not have had to live a perfect life, and would not have had to pay the price for our sins. Instead, he had to live a perfect life in a fallen world, finishing it with his bodily and spiritual sacrifice. His suffering in Gethsemane was so intense that “his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44) He was whipped repeatedly, each lash bursting his flesh and muscle open. He had a crown of long thorns driven deep into his skin. He finished his sacrifice by hanging on a cross, suspended by large nails placed through his hands and feet. Truly, there is a consequence assigned for sin. Jesus illustrated this fact with the necessity of his suffering to pay the price of our sin.
The penalty of sin must be removed in order for us to dwell with God. This comes in two parts: First, we must be forgiven for past sins. Second, we must overcome those sins so as not to repeat them in the future. Because of his sacrifice, Jesus Christ has been given power from his Father to forgive men of past sins: “And he hath power given unto him from the Father to redeem them from their sins because of repentance;” (Helaman 5:11) Whenever we sincerely ask for forgiveness, God forgives us. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
Past sins, however, are not the only barrier to dwelling in God’s presence in joy. If salvation simply required forgiveness of past sins, the state of being saved could not be much different than our current state. How could we imagine heaven to be a better place than earth if it is full of men and women with the same evil desires as those on earth?
To reconcile ourselves to God is not merely to ask for forgiveness, but to become the kind of person who would not transgress again. It requires a change in our character. If our desires are not aligned with God’s, we are unclean before him.
Wherefore, if ye have sought to do wickedly in the days of your probation, then ye are found unclean before the judgment-seat of God; and no unclean thing can dwell with God; wherefore, ye must be cast off forever. (1 Nephi 10:21)
Those whose desires are like God’s desires will find that they also act like God. Being saved is much more than simply being forgiven. To be saved is to become like Christ. We must not only be forgiven of past sins, we must forsake them.
Forsaking past sin is not so easy, and usually not as quick as asking for forgiveness. However, abandonment is necessary:
Now my son, I would that ye should repent and forsake your sins...for except ye do this ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. (Alma 39:9)
Through repentance, or changing our character to be like God’s, we can return to God’s presence. This is something we cannot do by ourselves, but it is also something that can’t be done for us. Those who fully yield their desires and actions to God with a broken heart and a contrite spirit will not only be resurrected from the dead, but will find themselves able to endure God’s presence, even before death.
This change in character is a process, not an event, but it begins with a single event. This event is known as entering the gate, being baptized with fire, having a mighty change of heart, or being born again. Like salvation itself, being born again is not a process that is only of our own making or only God’s doing. Rather, it requires both parties.
What does it mean to be born again?
Jesus explained that to be born again does not mean to physically be reborn. Rather, it means to be born of water and spirit.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, 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.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (John 3)
To be born of water is to repent and be baptized. This is the part of the process that is performed by the individual. Jesus said, “And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.” (3 Nephi 11:38)
To be born of spirit is to be bathed in the Holy Ghost. This is the part of the process that is performed by God. Jesus said, “...after that ye are baptized with water, behold, I will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost;” (3 Nephi 12:1)
When one is born again, they—through a combination of personal repentance and an outpouring of God’s power—enter into a state where they are redeemed from the fall of Adam, a state they continue in as long as they do not commit sin:
25 And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters;
26 And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. (Mosiah 27)
Why is it necessary?
The goal of eternal life is possible only to those who have been born again. Living in heaven is only possible if you have been born again. Jesus said,
Jesus answered, 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. (John 3:5)
One cannot be saved by themselves. By complying with the requirement of repentance, an individual qualifies for God to effect a change in their desires. Being washed in the Holy Spirit changes a person beyond what they can change of themselves. One group expressed it this way:
“...the Spirit of the Lord Omnipotent, which has wrought a mighty change in us, or in our hearts, that we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually.” (Mosiah 5:2)
The mighty change in heart does not remove a person from the opposing temptation to do evil. Instead, it shifts the source of the disposition to do evil. Instead of coming from within, it comes from without.
The resulting purification allows increased communication with God through the Holy Spirit, enabling the individual instruction necessary to bring us to eternal life.
Being born again provides us with the confidence we need to stand in the presence of God:
14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts?
15 Do ye exercise faith in the redemption of him who created you? Do you look forward with an eye of faith, and view this mortal body raised in immortality, and this corruption raised in incorruption, to stand before God to be judged according to the deeds which have been done in the mortal body? 16 I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth? (Alma 5)
Being born again is the launch pad from which we develop the ability to overcome all temptation and become sinless.
How does one become born again?
Becoming born again is simple, but it is not easy. The decision to turn to God is not one that should be taken lightly. One individual described his own experience as starting with an abrupt awareness of his sinful state and miserable destiny:
28 Nevertheless, after wading through much tribulation, _repenting nigh unto death_ , the Lord in mercy hath seen fit to snatch me out of an everlasting burning, and I am born of God.
29 _My soul hath been redeemed_ from the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity. I was in the darkest abyss; but now I behold the marvelous light of God. My soul was racked with eternal torment; but I am snatched, and my soul is pained no more. (Mosiah 27)
Freedom from this bitterness can only come through total repentance. To repent is to reconcile oneself to God, or to bring one’s actions, thoughts, and intentions into accordance with God’s commandments. In other words, to submit to God in all things:
For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father. (Mosiah 3:19)
Full submission to God is not an easy thing to achieve. Submission to God comes in phases. In the first phase, we seek to escape pain. This is what Paul referred to as the sorrow of the world.
9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. (2 Corinthians 7)
Worldly sorrow is not sufficient to save. Those with worldly sorrow ask God to relieve their pain. Whether he does or not, they rarely change.
Worldly sorrow is simply the misery of the damned. It is misery caused by a difference between one’s reality and one’s lustful desires. There may be depression, bitterness, despair, or sorrow, but without seeking God’s will.
Godly sorrow is the realization that the emptiness and darkness within one’s heart is the result of rebellion against God. You realize that you have become desensitized and that you have preferred darkness to light, your own will to Christ’s. The sorrow you feel comes not from the temporal consequences of your sin, but from your awareness of your offense to God. It causes you to change. It creates a desire to move forward in submission to God.
The next phase of submission is initial sacrifice. In this stage, we are willing to make limited changes to our life to move towards God. This degree of sacrifice is portrayed in the scriptures when kings willingly offer up “half their kingdom” to satisfy the requests of a person they seek to appease (see Esther 5:6, Alma 20:23, etc.). Here, you remove things from your life that offend God, and start doing the things he has commanded you to do.
The next phase is full sacrifice. In this phase, the individual sets no boundaries on what they are willing to give God in order to appease him.
O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day. And now when the king had said these words, he was struck as if he were dead. (Alma 22:18)
It is only in this last phase that an individual has achieved full submission. They are not seeking their own lives, their own comfort, or to retain or restore any worldly attainment in their lives. They have an eye single to the glory of God, and their only desire is to please God. This is the sacrifice that God requires. This is full submission.
Another way full submission is described is with the phrase “broken heart and contrite spirit”:
And ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I baptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost... (3 Nephi 9:20)
A broken heart and contrite spirit is when your desire to obey God becomes so great that it crushes any other desire in your life. A broken heart and contrite spirit is what, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, qualifies you for eternal life:
6 Wherefore, redemption cometh in and through the Holy Messiah; for he is full of grace and truth.
7 Behold, he offereth himself a sacrifice for sin, to answer the ends of the law, unto all those who have a broken heart and a contrite spirit; and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered.
8 Wherefore, how great the importance to make these things known unto the inhabitants of the earth, that they may know that there is no flesh that can dwell in the presence of God, save it be through the merits, and mercy, and grace of the Holy Messiah, who layeth down his life according to the flesh, and taketh it again by the power of the Spirit, that he may bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, being the first that should rise. (2 Nephi 2)
Most people are blissfully ignorant of their true standing with God. Either they don’t believe in him, or they fool themselves into thinking that their religion has reconciled them to him when such is not the case. Typically, a broken heart and contrite spirit can only occur in an individual who understands his true situation with God due to the fall, and what awaits him if he meets God without preparing for the event. For example, this is how one minister helped a powerful king to achieve a broken heart and contrite spirit through understanding the fall, the mission of Christ, and the need for personal repentance:
13 And Aaron did expound unto him the scriptures from the creation of Adam, laying the fall of man before him, and their carnal state and also the plan of redemption, which was prepared from the foundation of the world, through Christ, for all whosoever would believe on his name.
14 And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory; and Aaron did expound all these things unto the king.
15 And it came to pass that after Aaron had expounded these things unto him, the king said: What shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what shall I do that I may be born of God, having this wicked spirit rooted out of my breast, and receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold, said he, I will give up all that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this great joy.
16 But Aaron said unto him: If thou desirest this thing, if thou wilt bow down before God, yea, _if thou wilt repent of all thy sins_ , and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith, believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the hope which thou desirest.
17 And it came to pass that when Aaron had said these words, the king did bow down before the Lord, upon his knees; yea, even he did prostrate himself upon the earth, and cried mightily, saying:
18 O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and _I will give away all my sins to know thee_ , and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day... (Alma 22)
14 Now I say unto you that ye must repent, and be _born again_ ; for the Spirit saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore come and _be baptized unto repentance_ , that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness.
15 Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and _lay aside every sin_ , which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and _show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins_ and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism. (Alma 7)
Turning away from our sins is not complete without baptism by water, a rite prescribed by God through which an individual can signal to God that he has made the decision to turn to him without reservation.
And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they cannot be saved in the kingdom of God. (2 Nephi 9:23)
To the apostles of the New Testament, Jesus gave authority to baptize those who repented: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” (Matthew 28:19) He did the same to his believers on this continent when he visited here after his resurrection: “I give unto you power that ye shall baptize this people when I am again ascended into heaven.” (3 Nephi 11:21) Jesus always personally appoints servants to baptize, and today is no exception.
Although there are many imposters who seek to baptize without receiving his commission, there are those who have, and they can and must be prayerfully sought.
The beginning, not the end
The mighty change that occurs with baptism by fire is neither permanent nor unconditional. It lasts as long as the conditions of repentance are maintained.
And whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same will remember that I say unto him, yea, he will remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life, according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which testifieth in me. (Alma 7:16)
Maintaining this condition is called retaining a remission of your sins.
A remission of your sins can be retained as long as you maintain a broken heart and a contrite spirit. In other words, as long as you continue to hunger and thirst for God’s word, and you submit to it and live it as soon as you receive it, you will remain in the same state you entered into upon being born again.
Being born again is the first event in a process leading to eternal life, and not the culmination of obtaining eternal life. It is described in the scriptures as “entering the gate” or “starting on the path” to eternal life.
17 Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance and baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.
18 And then are ye in this strait and narrow path which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive.
19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow path, I would ask if all is done? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by the word of Christ with unshaken faith in him, relying wholly upon the merits of him who is mighty to save.
20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life. (2 Nephi 31:17)
A person who is on the path to eternal life retains a remission of sins by keeping God’s commandments.
We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. (1 John 5:18. See also 1 John 3:1-10)
When someone who has been born again sins, they remove themselves from the path to eternal life. They have failed to “endure to the end”:
And if they will not repent and believe in his name, and be baptized in his name, and endure to the end, they must be damned; for the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, has spoken it. (2 Nephi 9:24)
Those who have left the path can reenter it the same way they did before: by entering in at the gate, or fully repenting of their sins, fully submitting to God, and being born again.
The sacrifice of Jesus Christ provides us with a way to be forgiven of the sins we have committed, submit to him fully, and receive a spiritual rebirth. After being reborn, we are given the rest of our lives to follow Jesus by living his commandments. Our lives become a probation, to test us to see if we will keep God’s commandments. “... there was a space granted unto man in which he might repent; therefore this life became a probationary state; a time to prepare to meet God...” (Alma 12:24) If we do, we will qualify to live with him. If we do not, we must repent and begin to live his commandments, or we will disqualify ourselves from dwelling with him.