Why Baptism?
Why Baptism?
By Kathy Penrod
My kids, when they were younger, used to draw on the sidewalk with chalk. They had fun writing silly sayings and drawing pictures while on their knees. These masterpieces would stay proudly on the sidewalk until the next rain. As the rain restored the flora and cleansed the air, it also washed away any trace of youthful sidewalk art. The rain left everything clean and fresh. Restored.
Similarly, it is that way with baptism. When we choose to be baptized by immersion and by one holding the proper authority from God, we are being washed clean. We are fresh and restored. So one reason we should be baptized is to cleanse ourselves of sin.
Jesus Christ set the example for us by being baptized. In Mark 1:9 it says, “And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.”
Jesus Christ is perfect. He didn’t have a single sin to erase. John the Baptist knew this and tried to forbid Jesus. But Jesus answered John saying, “Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.” (Matthew 3:15)
Jesus wasn’t being baptized to erase His sins. He was being baptized because it was a commandment. He told Nicodemus, in John 3:5, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” He was baptized to set an example for us. This is another reason we should be baptized.
And so it is with us. If we want to enter the kingdom of God, we, too, must be baptized. And because we have all sinned, baptism can make us clean again, erasing those sins.
There are a few important things to note about baptism.
First, not just anyone can perform a baptism. Baptism must be performed by someone properly authorized by God with the Holy Priesthood. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, this would be a man who has been ordained a priest.
Second, baptism must be done by immersion, just as Jesus was baptized. In Matthew 3:16 it says, “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water…” Being baptized by immersion symbolizes burying our sins as we are submersed in the water. We leave behind those sins as we rise from the water. It also symbolizes our victory over spiritual death through Jesus Christ’s atonement.
Third, baptism by water needs to be accompanied by baptism by the spirit. Just as the scripture in John 3:5 says, a person must be born of water AND the spirit. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, baptism by water is followed by the baptism of spirit, or receiving the Holy Ghost. (You can read more about the Holy Ghost in a previous blog post of mine here.)
Baptism is covenanting with God that we will take upon the name of Christ and do our best to live as He did. It is promising to mourn with those who mourn and to comfort those who stand in need of comfort. It means you will stand as a witness of Christ at all times. (Mosiah 18:8-9)
But baptism is not a destination. It is a promise of more. It is the beginning of our covenants with God. It is a beginning of conversion. Elder J. Devn Cornish taught,
“Baptism is not the destination, not even when accompanied by the essential element of the gift of the Holy Ghost. Baptism is the gate to the ongoing, lifelong process of true and enduring conversion.”
Baptism is a sacred ordinance – so important that the Savior, Himself, was baptized. If you are thinking of being baptized, talk with one of the representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints to learn more.
