Baptism
What is baptism? What does it have to with me?
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Marvin 27, Frankfurt
Marvin 27, Frankfurt
Baptism, Our First Covenant
Baptism is our first covenant, or promise between God and us. When we are baptized, we promise to be willing to follow God and the example of his son, Jesus Christ.
God promises to bless us. We promise to obey Him. The conditions of the covenants are set by God. We can only accept or deny it. When we keep our covenants, we receive blessings in this life and exaltation in the life to come.The origin of the word "baptism" in Greek, "Baptizo", relates to immersion. The early christians practiced baptism, or the immersion in water, as a sign of the acceptance of the teachings of the Savior, the remission of sins, and of the entering into His church.
Today, baptism has the same meaning. When somebody wants to receive this "ordinance" and participate in the religious ceremony, they must enter the water with someone who has been given authority by Jesus Christ.
The authorized person immerses the candidate in the water and brings them out again. This all happens so that you can enter into a covenant with God, which makes it possible, as long as you keep the commandments, to always have the Holy Ghost with you and to receive forgiveness for your sins. This is a symbol for the death and burial of an old life and the corresponding rebirth into a new life as a follower of Christ.
This does not mean, however, that afterwards we will never again make a mistake. Instead, it shows that we will give our best to stay loyal to the promise that we made with God.
If we stay true to the covenant we will receive blessings, for example the constant guidance of the Holy Ghost, remission of sins, and the privilege to be spiritually reborn.1
Forgiveness of sins
2
It is a commandment
3
It is necessary for salvation.
"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..."
- 1 Nephi 10:21, The Book of Mormon
Even Jesus, who had never sinned, was baptized to show obedience to God and to set an example for us. If we want to follow God, we need to baptized by immersion with the proper authority. It is a commandment, which comes with much peace and joy.
"And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!" (2 Nephi 31:5, The Book of Mormon)
Jesus lived a perfect life in order to show us the way to return to live with our Heavenly Father. Although he never sinned, Jesus was baptized anyway. Through His actions, He wanted to show us that He was always obedient to God and that baptism is a requirement that everyone must fufill.
Due to our imperfection and impurity, we need baptism to be cleansed.
3 Nephi 11:28 explains, "And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been;"
The Savior said himself, that not just anyone can baptize how they want to. Just like how Jesus Christ was baptized by John the Baptist in a river, we too need to be baptized by immersion by an someone with authority from God, so that the baptism is valid in the eyes of God.
Sita 16, Coburg