(Scripture Reading Exercise.)

SPIRIT BAPTISM.

SPECIAL TEXT: "Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of heaven. * * * Except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God." (St. John iii:3,5.)

DISCUSSION.

1. The Birth of Water and of the Spirit: "There, cometh one mightier than I after me," said John the Baptist. "I have baptized you with water," he continued, "but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost."^[A] Jesus said to Nicodemus: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God." At this the Pharisees marveled, and enquired, "How can a man be born again when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?" Then answered Jesus in way of explanation—"Except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God."^[B] This in plain allusion—it is universally conceded—to the baptism of water and of the Spirit essential to entrance into the Kingdom of God—into the Church of Christ.

[Footnote A: St. Mark i:7, 8.]

[Footnote B: St. John iii:3-5.]

2. The Testimony of Enoch to the Necessity of Water and Spirit Baptism: In the Pearl of Great Price occurs a very remarkable testimony of the necessity of water and spirit baptism; and indeed, of the whole Gospel plan of man's redemption, including an exposition of the Atonement and the relationship of the symbols of water and spirit baptism to the natural birth into the world. I quote it in extenso—the testimony is that of the Prophet Enoch, the seventh from Adam:

"And he said unto them [i. e., the people to whom he was preaching], Because that Adam fell, we are; and by his fall came death; and we are made partakers of misery and woe.

"Behold Satan hath come among the children of men, and tempteth them to worship him; and men have become carnal, sensual, and devilish, and are shut out from the presence of God.

"But God hath made known unto our fathers that all men must repent.

"And he called upon our father Adam by his own voice, saying: I am God; I made the world, and men before they were in the flesh.

"And he also said unto him: If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you.

"And our father Adam spake unto the Lord, and said: Why is it that men must repent and be baptized in water? And the Lord said unto Adam: Behold I have forgiven thee thy transgression in the Garden of Eden.

"Hence came the saying abroad among the people, That the Son of God hath atoned for original guilt, wherein the sins of the parents cannot be answered upon the heads of children, for they are whole from the foundation of the world.

"And the Lord spake unto Adam, saying: Inasmuch as thy children are conceived in sin, even so when they begin to grow up, sin conceiveth in their hearts, and they taste the bitter, that they may know to prize the good.

"And it is given unto them to know good from evil; wherefore they are agents unto themselves, and I have given unto you another law and commandment.

"Wherefore teach it unto your children, that all men, everywhere, must repent, or they can in no wise inherit the Kingdom of God, for no unclean thing can dwell there, or dwell in his presence; for, in the language of Adam, Man of Holiness is his name, and the name of his Only Begotten is the Son of Man, even Jesus Christ, a righteous Judge, who shall come in the meridian of time.

"Therefore I give unto you a commandment, to teach these things freely unto your children saying:

"That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory;

"For by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified;

"Therefore it is given to abide in you; the record of heaven; the Comforter; the peaceable things of immortal glory; the truth of all things; that which quickeneth all things, which maketh alive all things; that which knoweth all things, and hath all power, according to wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgment.

"And now, behold, I say unto you: This is the plan of salvation unto all men, through the blood of mine Only Begotten, who shall come in the meridian of time.

"And behold, all things have their likeness, and all things are created and made to bear record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me.

"And it came to pass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water.

"And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit of God descended upon him, and thus he was born of the Spirit, and became quickened in the inner man.

"And he heard a voice out of the heaven, saying: Thou art baptized with fire, and with the Holy Ghost. This is the record of the Father, and the Son, from henceforth and forever.

"And thou art after the order of him who was without beginning of days or end of years, from all eternity to all eternity.

"Behold, thou art one in me, a son of God; and thus may all become my sons. Amen."^[A]

[Footnote A: Book of Moses (Pearl of Great Price), ch. vi:48-68.]

3. One Faith and One Baptism—But Two Ordinances: The foregoing scriptures at once establish the absolute necessity for both water and Spirit baptism—being really but two phases of one fact—one baptism, but both phases essential to the one fact, the one baptism.^[A] Without this baptism of water and of Spirit, it is evident, first, one cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven; and of course, outside of the kingdom of heaven there can be no salvation, nor perfect happiness; second, its necessity appears from the very nature of things.

[Footnote A: Eph. iv:4-6. "One Lord, one faith, one baptism." "I further believe in the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. . . . . You might as well baptize a bag of sand as a man, if not done in view of the remission of sins and getting of the Holy Ghost. Baptism by water is but half a baptism, and is good for nothing without the other half—that is, the baptism of the Holy Ghost." (Joseph Smith's Discourse at Nauvoo, July 9th, 1843, History of the Church, Vol. V, p. 499.)]

Through water baptism is obtained a remission of past sins; but even after the sins of the past are forgiven, the one so pardoned will doubtless feel the force of sinful habits bearing heavily upon him. He who has been guilty of habitual untruthfulness, will at times find himself inclined, perhaps, to yield to that habit. He who has stolen may be sorely tempted, when opportunity arises, to steal again. While he who has indulged in licentious practices may again find himself disposed to give way to the seductive influence of the siren. So with drunkenness, malice, envy, covetousness, hatred, anger, and in short, all the evil dispositions that flesh is heir to.

There is an absolute necessity for some additional sanctifying grace that will strengthen poor human nature, not only to enable it to resist temptation, but also to root out from the heart concupiscence—the blind tendency or inclination to evil. The heart must be purified, every passion, every propensity made submissive to the will, and the will of man brought into subjection to the will of God.

4. Insufficiency of Man's Strength—Need of God's Grace: Man's natural powers are unequal to this task; so, I believe, all will testify who have made the experiment. Mankind stand in some need of a strength superior to any strength they possess of themselves to accomplish this work of rendering pure our fallen nature. Such strength, such power, such a sanctifying grace is conferred on man in being born of the Spirit—in receiving the Holy Ghost. Such, among other things, is its office, its work.

I do not draw such a conclusion directly from any one passage of scripture, but from the whole tenor of the teachings of the servants of God, in both ancient and modern times.

We have seen that it is this spirit which reproves the world of sin, of righteousness, and judgment,^[A] that guides into all truth, takes of the things of the Father and reveals them unto the children of men, and testifies that Jesus is the Christ. These things increase knowledge and faith; and as the foundations of knowledge and faith are broadened and deepened so are the powers to work righteousness increased.

[Footnote A: John xvi:8-11.]

We have seen also that the fruits of the Spirit are goodness, righteousness, truth, love, joy, peace, and gentleness;^[A] and as these things are increased in the soul, viciousness and impurity are rooted out, until the whole man is changed and in very deed becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus—is numbered among the pure in heart, and "blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see and dwell with God."

[Footnote A: Gal. v:22.]