Having shown that faith, repentance and baptism are essential to the remission of sins, let us now consider the reception of the Holy Spirit. That this should follow, and not precede, the birth of the water must be evident to every thoughtful person. It is clear that a man is not prepared for the indwelling of the Holy Ghost unless he repents of his sins and becomes freed from them by obedience to the laws of God. Some people may contend that, because Jesus stated that man must be born again, in order to see the kingdom of heaven, such a birth precedes baptism, and is synonymous with the birth of the Spirit mentioned by the Savior in the third chapter of St. John; but being born again, in order to see the kingdom, evidently shows that a man must have some light above the natural senses, sufficient to the light of Christ to make him see the kingdom of God. In other words, to secure, and we may say, consistently constitute his conversion.

This light which guides him to the truth does not, however, forego the absolute necessity of obeying the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. As proof of this we cite the conversion of Paul. He received a personal manifestation of the Savior's power, even hearing his voice and witnessing a light from heaven. Notwithstanding this, Jesus commanded him to go to Ananias, an authorized servant of Christ, who should instruct him regarding his salvation. He was therefore required to be born of water and of the Spirit. Cornelius, also, as related in the tenth chapter of Acts, saw an angel and received a manifestation of the Holy Ghost previous to baptism. Yet both men were required to obey the ordinances enjoined by the Gospel of Christ. If they rejected these requirements, undoubtedly the light they had received would have departed from them and this would have added to their condemnation.

The historical fact of the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost is not, in every instance, recorded in the Scriptures, and it is not necessary that it should be, in order to prove that the ordinance was established by the Messiah. In the matter of baptism He said to John, "Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." He made no exception of Himself, but gave the example by his own obedience. How can others be excused? To show that the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, by those having divine authority was practiced by the ancient apostles, we refer to Acts viii:14, 17: "Now, when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John, who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: (for as yet He was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them and they received the Holy Ghost."

Philip did not have the authority to lay on hands for this gift, hence Peter and John were sent from Jerusalem for the express purpose of performing this higher ordinance of the Gospel. In the nineteenth chapter of Acts is an account of Paul's visit to the city of Ephesus, where he found about twelve men who claimed to have received the same form of baptism as administered by John the Baptist. But in answer to Paul's question, "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?" they told him they had not so much as heard of it, and his action in re-baptizing them would strongly indicate that some imposter had counterfeited in form the true baptism. This being performed without legitimate authority, their sins were not remitted, and they were not in a condition to receive the Holy Ghost. Hence Paul baptized them; and the sixth verse says: "And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came upon them and they spake with tongues and prophesied."

An imposter can baptize in water by physical force, imitate the true form at the submission of the candidate, but the gift of the Holy Ghost cannot be given without authority from God; and while the water baptism is equally destitute of its legitimate results when not performed by authority, the imposture is not so readily detected because not usually accompanied by the same manifestation of divine power; therefore designing or ignorant men have taken pains either to deny the gift of the Holy Ghost as being essential with its ancient spiritual powers, or to tell the people that no outward ordinance was essential to confer it, thus endeavoring to dispense with this sacred ordinance.

The following references also indicate the laying on of hands as a sacred rite which would not have been adopted by the apostles unless 'commanded of God to do so: I Tim. iv:14-"Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery." II Tim. i:6-"Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee by the putting on of my hands." Also showing that this ordinance was laid down as a positive doctrine, we call attention to the sixth chapter of Hebrews, first and second verses: "Therefore leaving (another translation, that of the prophet Joseph Smith, reads 'not leaving') the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God of the doctrine of baptisms and of laying on of hands."

That man might duplicate in form this divine ceremony without authority and without effect, we do not deny; but we confidently assert that without this ordinance being administered by an acknowledged authority from God, the operation would be of non-effect. The undeniable facts of religious history for seventeen centuries prove that men did not receive the Holy Ghost. Where the tree is, there will the fruit be produced, unless the tree is dead; and no one will contend that the Holy Spirit is dead.

The following quotations will point out the fruits of the Holy Spirit: "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." (St. John xiv:26.) "Howbeit, when He, the Spirit of Truth, is Come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak, and He shall show you things to come." (St. John xvi:13.) "As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, 'Separate me Barnabas and Saul, for the work whereunto I have called them.'" (Acts xiii:2.) "Wherefore I give you to understand that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. * * * For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another, the word of Knowledge by the same Spirit; To another, faith by the same Spirit; to another, the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecy; to another discerning of Spirits; to another, divers kinds of tongues." ( I Cor. xii:3, 4, 8, 9, 10.) "But the fruits of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." (Gal. v:22-23.)

The same cause will ever produce the same effect; a tree is known by its fruits, and to be convinced that we need such gifts today it is only necessary to look at the spectacle of jarring "Christianity" with its many creeds. Where is the Spirit that guides into all truth, which does not contradict itself, but teaches the "common salvation" of "one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all?" That brings us "to a unity of faith," and makes us one in Christ, as He prayed that His disciples and all whom the Father should give Him out of the world might be one even as I am one in the Father and the Father in me, that they may be one in us, "that the world may believe that thou hast sent me?" Where is the Spirit of prophecy? "The testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy," the gifts of revelation, healings and all the glorious powers enumerated in the Scripture quotations made. Well did Isaiah say, "The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances and broken the everlasting covenant." (Isa. xxiv:5.)

Without further comment on the gifts of the Spirit, we will introduce quotations to show that the laying on of hands was practiced also for ordination to office in the Church of Christ, and for the healing of the sick, as well as to confer the gift of the Holy Ghost: "Whom they set before the apostles; and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them." (Acts vi:6.) This refers to the ordination of Stephen and six others. "As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them they sent them away." (Acts xiii:2, 3.)

The same ordinance was also had in ancient times before the coming of the Savior. Paul informs us in Gal. iii, that the Gospel was preached before unto Abraham. "And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua, the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay thine hands upon him. And he laid his hands upon him and gave him a charge, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses." (Num. xxvii:18, 23.) "And Joshua, the son of Nun, was full of the Spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands upon him." (Deut. xxxiv:9.)

It is most reasonable to conclude from the evidence presented that this practice came down from the beginning, and was before and after Christ a divine ordinance. That it was practiced for the healing of the sick is evident from the following historical and doctrinal statements made in the New Testament by the Messiah and His apostles: "They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover." (Mark xvi:18.) "And He could there do no mighty work save that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk and healed them." (Mark vi:5.) "Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them, and healed them." (Luke iv:40.) "And putting His hands on him, said Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me that thou mightest receive thy sight," etc. (Acts ix:17.) "And it came to pass that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever, and of a bloody flux; to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him." (Acts xxviii:8.) "Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up," etc. (James v:14, 15.).

Although the laying on of hands is not expressly mentioned in the last quotation, it is readily seen that the sick could not be anointed without the imposition of hands.

The foregoing should be sufficient to convince all Bible believers that the laying on of hands is a sacred ordinance for the purposes specified in Holy writ, that it follows the baptism of water, and occupies its relationship in the plan of salvation as the fourth essential principle to fully establish men in the Church of Christ; the order is, faith, repentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. This is the door into the sheepfold; "he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber." (St. John x:1.)