Article 4.—We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are:—... (4) Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
1. The Holy Ghost Promised.—John the Baptist, proclaiming in the wilderness repentance and baptism by water, foretold a second higher baptism, which he characterized as being of fire and the Holy Ghost; this was to follow his administration,[453] and was to be given by that Mightier One whose shoes the Baptist considered himself unworthy to bear. That the holder of this superior authority was none other than the Christ is proved by John's solemn record:—"Behold the Lamb of God.... This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me.... And I knew him not, but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me: Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost."[454]
2. In declaring to Nicodemus[455] the necessity of baptism, the Savior did not stop with a reference to the watery birth alone, that being incomplete without the quickening influence of the Spirit; born of water and of the Spirit is the necessary condition of him who is to gain admittance to the kingdom. Many of the scriptural passages quoted in proof of the purpose and necessity of baptism, show baptism by fire and the Holy Ghost to be closely associated with the prescribed ordinance of immersion in water.
3. Christ's instructions to His apostles comprise repeated promises concerning the coming of the "Comforter," and the "Spirit of Truth,"[456] by which expressive terms the Holy Ghost is designated. In His last interview with the apostles, at the termination of which He ascended into heaven, the Lord repeated these assurances of a spiritual baptism, which was then soon to take place.[457] The fulfillment of this great prediction was realized at the succeeding Pentecost, when the apostles, having assembled together, were endowed with mighty power from heaven,[458] being filled with the Holy Ghost so that they spake in tongues other than their own as the Spirit gave them utterance. Among other manifestations of this heavenly gift, may be mentioned the appearance of flames of fire like unto tongues, which rested upon each of them. The promise so miraculously fulfilled upon themselves was repeated by the apostles to those who sought their instruction. Peter, addressing the Jews on that same day, declared, on the condition of their acceptable repentance and baptism, "Ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."[459]
4. Book of Mormon evidence is not less conclusive regarding the Holy Spirit's visitation unto those who obey the requirements of water baptism. Nephi, Lehi's son, bore solemn record of this truth,[460] as made known to him by the voice of God. And the words of the resurrected Savior to the Nephites come in plainness indisputable, and with authority not to be questioned, proclaiming the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost unto all those who obey the preliminary requirements.[461]
5. Unto the Saints in the dispensation of the fulness of times, the same great promise has been made. "I say unto you again," spake the Lord in addressing certain elders of the Church, "that every soul that believeth on your words, and is baptized by water for the remission of sins shall receive the Holy Ghost."[462]
6. Personality and Powers of the Holy Ghost.—The Holy Ghost is associated with the Father and the Son in the Godhead. In the light of revelation, we are instructed as to the distinct personality of the Holy Ghost. He is a Being endowed with the attributes and powers of Deity, and not a mere thing, force, or essence. The term Holy Ghost and its common synonyms, Spirit of God,[463] Spirit of the Lord, or simply, Spirit,[464] Comforter,[465] and Spirit of Truth,[466] occur in the scriptures with plainly different meanings, referring in some cases to the person of God, the Holy Ghost, and in other instances to the power or authority of this great Being. The context of such passages will show which of these significations applies.
7. The Holy Ghost undoubtedly possesses personal powers and affections; these attributes exist in Him in perfection. Thus, He teaches and guides,[467] testifies of the Father and the Son,[468] reproves for sin,[469] speaks, commands, and commissions,[470] makes intercession for sinners,[471] is grieved,[472] searches and investigates,[473] entices,[474] and knows all things.[475] These are not mere figurative expressions, but plain statements of the attributes and characteristics of this great Personage. That the Holy Spirit is capable of manifesting Himself in the true form and figure of God, after which image man is shaped, is indicated by the wonderful interview between the Spirit and Nephi, in which He revealed Himself to the prophet, questioned him concerning his desires and belief, instructed him in the things of God, speaking face to face with the man. "I spake unto him," says Nephi, "as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the form of a man, yet nevertheless I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto me as a man speaketh to another."[476] However, the Holy Ghost does not possess a tangible body of flesh and bones, as do both the Father and the Son, but is a personage of spirit.[477]
8. Much of the confusion existing in our human conceptions concerning the nature of the Holy Ghost arises from the common failure to segregate our ideas of His person and powers. Plainly, such expressions as being filled with the Holy Ghost,[478] and the Spirit falling upon men, have reference to the powers and influences which emanate from God, and which are characteristic of Him; for the Holy Ghost may in this way operate simultaneously upon many persons, even though they be widely separated; whereas the actual person of the Holy Ghost cannot be in more than one place at a time. Yet we read that through the power of the Spirit, the Father and the Son operate in their creative acts and in their general dealings with the human family.[479] The Holy Ghost may be regarded as the minister of the Godhead, carrying into effect the decisions of the Supreme Council.
9. In the execution of these great purposes, the Holy Ghost directs and controls the numerous forces of Nature, of which indeed a few, and these perhaps of the minor order, wonderful as even the least of them seems to man, have thus far been made known to the human mind. Gravitation, sound, heat, light, and the still more mysterious, seemingly supernatural power of electricity, are but the common servants of the Holy Spirit in His operations. No earnest thinker, no sincere investigator supposes that he has yet learned of all the forces existing in and operating upon matter; indeed, the observed phenomena of nature, yet wholly inexplicable to him, far outnumber those for which he has devised even a partial explanation. There are powers and forces at the command of God, compared with which, electricity, the most occult of all the physical agencies controlled in any degree by man, is as the pack-horse to the locomotive, the foot messenger to the telegraph, the raft of logs to the ocean steamer. Man has scarcely glanced at the enginery of creation; and yet the few forces known to him have brought about miracles and wonders, which but for their actual realization would be beyond belief. These mighty agencies, and the mightier ones still to man unknown, and many, perhaps, to the present condition of the human mind unknowable, do not constitute the Holy Ghost, but the mere means ordained to serve Divine purposes.
10. Subtler, mightier, and more mysterious still than any or all of the physical forces of nature, are the powers that operate upon conscious organisms, the means by which the mind, the heart, the soul of man may be affected. In our ignorance of the true nature of electric energy, we speak of it as a fluid; and so by analogy the forces through which the mind is governed have been called spiritual fluids. The true nature of these higher powers is unknown to us, for the conditions of comparison and analogy, so necessary to our frail human reasoning, are wanting; still the effects are experienced by all. As the conducting medium in an electric current is capable of conveying but a limited current, the maximum strength depending upon the resistance offered by the conductor, and, as separate circuits of different degrees of conductivity may carry currents of widely varying intensity, so human souls are of varied capacity with respect to the diviner powers. But as the medium is purified, as the obstructions are removed, so the resistance to the energy decreases, and the forces manifest themselves with greater perfection. By analogous processes of purification, may our spirits be made more susceptible to the power of life, which is an emanation from the Spirit of God. Therefore are we taught to pray by word and action for a constantly increasing portion of the Spirit, that is, the power of the Spirit, which is a measure of the favor of God unto us.
11. The Office of the Holy Ghost in His ministrations among men is very fully described in scripture. He is a Teacher sent from the Father;[480] and unto those who are entitled to His tuition He will reveal all things necessary for the soul's advancement. Through the influences of the Holy Spirit, the powers of the human mind may be quickened and increased, so that things past may be brought to remembrance. He will serve as a guide in things divine unto all who will obey Him,[481] enlightening every man,[482] in proportion to his humility and obedience;[483] unfolding the mysteries of God,[484] as the knowledge thus revealed may tend to spiritual growth; conveying knowledge from God to man;[485] sanctifying those who have been cleansed through obedience to the requirements of the gospel;[486] manifesting all things;[487] and bearing witness unto men concerning the existence and infallibility of the Father and the Son.[488]
12. And not alone does the Holy Ghost bring to mind the past, and explain the things of the present, but His power is manifested likewise in prophecy concerning the future;—"He shall show you things to come," declared the Savior to the Apostles in promising the advent of the Comforter. Adam, the first prophet of earth, under the influence of the Holy Ghost "predicted whatsoever should befall his posterity unto the latest generation."[489]
13. The power of the Holy Ghost then is the spirit of prophecy and revelation; His office is that of enlightenment of the mind, quickening of the intellect, and sanctification of the soul.
14. To Whom is the Holy Ghost given? Not to all indiscriminately. The Redeemer declared to the apostles of old, "I will pray to the Father and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him."[490] Clearly, then, a certain condition of the candidate is requisite before the Holy Ghost can be bestowed, that is to say, before the person can receive a right to the company and ministrations of the Spirit. God grants the Holy Ghost unto the obedient; and the bestowal of this gift follows faith, repentance, and baptism by water.
15. The apostles of old promised the ministration of the Holy Ghost unto those only who had received baptism by water for the remission of sins;[491] John the Baptist gave assurances of the visitation of the Holy Ghost to those only who were baptized unto repentance.[492] The instance of Paul's rebaptizing the twelve disciples at Ephesus before he conferred upon them the Holy Ghost, on account of a probable lack of propriety or of authority in their first baptism,[493] has already been dwelt upon. We read of a remarkable manifestation of power among the people of Samaria,[494] to whom Philip went and preached the Lord Jesus; the people with one accord accepted his testimony and sought baptism. Then came unto them Peter and John, through whose ministrations the Holy Ghost came upon the new converts, whereas upon none of them had the Spirit previously fallen, though all had been baptized.
16. The Holy Ghost dwells not in tabernacles unfit and unworthy. Paul makes the sublime declaration that the body of man when filled with the power of the Holy Ghost becomes a temple of this spirit; and the apostle specifies the penalty prescribed for defiling a structure sanctified by so holy a presence.[495] Faith in God leads to repentance of sin, this is followed by baptism in water for the remission of sins, and this in turn by the bestowal of the Holy Ghost, through whose power come sanctification and the specific gifts of God.
17. An Exception to the Prescribed Order is shown in the case of the devout Gentile, Cornelius, unto whom, together with his family, came the Holy Ghost, with such power that they spake with new tongues to the glorification of God, and this before their baptism.[496] But sufficient reason for this departure from the usual order is seen in the prejudice that existed among the Jews toward other nations, which, but for the Lord's direct instructions to Peter, would have hindered, if indeed it did not prevent, the apostle from ministering unto the Gentiles; as it was, his act was loudly condemned by his own people; but he answered their criticisms with a recital of the lesson given him of God, and the undeniable evidence of the Divine will as shown in the reception of the Holy Ghost by Cornelius and his family before baptism.
18. And in another sense the Holy Ghost has frequently operated for good through persons that are unbaptized; indeed, some measure of this power is given to all mankind; for, as seen already, the Holy Spirit is the power of intelligence, of wise direction, of development, of life. Manifestation of the power of God, as made plain through the operations of the Spirit, are seen in the triumphs of ennobling art, the discoveries of true science, and the events of history; with all of which the carnal mind may believe that God takes no direct concern. Not a truth has ever been made the property of human kind except through the power of that great Spirit who exists to do the bidding of the Father and the Son. And yet the actual companionship of the Holy Ghost, the divinely-bestowed right to His ministrations, the sanctifying baptism with fire, are given as a permanent possession only to the faithful, repentant, baptized candidate for salvation; and with all such this gift shall abide, unless it be forfeited through transgression.
19. The Bestowal of the Holy Ghost is effected through the ordinance of an oral blessing, pronounced upon the candidate by the proper authority of the Priesthood, accompanied by the imposition of hands by him or those officiating. That this was the mode followed by the apostles of old is evident from the Jewish scriptures; that it was practiced by the early Christian Fathers is proved by history; that it was the acknowledged method among the Nephites is plainly shown by the Book of Mormon records; and for the same practice in the present dispensation authority has come direct from heaven.
20. Among the instances recorded in the New Testament, we may mention the following: Peter and John conferred the Holy Ghost upon Philip's converts at Samaria, as already noted, and the ordinance was performed by prayer and the laying on of hands.[497] Paul operated in the same manner on the Ephesians whom he had caused to be baptized; and "when he had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them, and they spake with tongues and prophesied."[498] Paul also refers to this ordinance in his admonition to Timothy not to neglect the gift so bestowed.[499] The same apostle, in enumerating the cardinal principles and ordinances of the Church of Christ, includes the laying on of hands as following baptism.[500]
21. Alma so invoked the power of the Holy Ghost in behalf of his co-laborers:[501]—"He clapped his hands upon all them who were with him. And behold, as he clapped his hands upon them they were filled with the Holy Spirit." The Savior gave authority to the twelve chosen Nephites,[502] by touching them one by one; they were thus commissioned to bestow the Holy Ghost.
22. In this dispensation, it has been made a duty of the Priesthood "to confirm those who are baptized into the Church by the laying on of hands for the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost."[503] The Lord has promised that the Holy Ghost shall follow these authoritative acts of His servants.[504] The ceremony of laying on of hands for the bestowal of the Holy Ghost is associated with that of confirmation in the Church. The officiating elder acting in the name and by the authority of Jesus Christ, says, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost;" and "I confirm you a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints." Even these words are not prescribed, but their meaning should be expressed in the ceremony; and to such may be added other words of blessing and invocation as the Spirit of the Lord may dictate to the officiating elder. This act completes the outward form of the baptism so indispensable to salvation—the birth of water and of the Spirit.
23. The authority to so bestow the Holy Ghost belongs to the higher or Melchizedek Priesthood,[505] whereas water-baptism may be administered by a priest, officiating in the ordinances of the lesser or Aaronic order of priesthood.[506] This order of authority, as made known through revelation, explains that while Philip had authority to administer the ordinance of baptism to the converted Samaritans, others who held the higher priesthood had to be sent to confer upon them the Holy Ghost.[507]
24. Gifts of the Spirit.—As already pointed out, the special office of the Holy Ghost is to enlighten and ennoble the mind, to purify and sanctify the soul, to incite to good works, and to reveal the things of God. But, beside these general blessings, there are certain specific endowments promised in connection with the gifts of the Holy Ghost. Said the Savior, "These signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing it shall not hurt them: they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover."[508]
25. These gifts of the Spirit are distributed in the wisdom of God for the exaltation of His children. Paul thus discourses concerning them: "Now, concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.... Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.... But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 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 gift of healing by the same Spirit. To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kind of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues. But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will."[509] No man is without some gift from the Spirit; one person may possess several.
NOTES.
1. Effect of the Holy Ghost on the Individual.—"An intelligent being, in the image of God, possesses every organ, attribute, sense, sympathy, affection, of will, wisdom, love, power and gift, which is possessed by God Himself. But these are possessed by man in his rudimental state in a subordinate sense of the word. Or, in other words, these attributes are in embryo, and are to be gradually developed. They resemble a bud, a germ, which gradually develops into bloom, and then, by progress, produces the mature fruit after its own kind. The gift of the Holy Spirit adapts itself to all these organs or attributes. It quickens all the intellectual faculties, increases, enlarges, expands, and purifies all the natural passions and affections, and adapts them by the gift of wisdom, to their lawful use. It inspires, develops, cultivates, and matures all the fine-toned sympathies, joys, tastes, kindred feelings, and affections of our nature. It inspires virtue, kindness, goodness, tenderness, gentleness, and charity. It develops beauty of person, form and features. It tends to health, vigor, animation, and social feeling. It develops and invigorates all the faculties of the physical and intellectual man. It strengthens, invigorates, and gives tone to the nerves. In short, it is, as it were, marrow to the bone, joy to the heart, light to the eyes, music to the ears, and life to the whole being."—Parley P. Pratt, Key to Theology, pp. 96-97 (4th ed.).
2. The Laying on of Hands.—From the scriptures cited, it is plain that the usual ceremony of bestowing the gift of the Holy Ghost consisted in part in the imposition of hands by those in authority (Acts viii, 17; ix, 17; xix, 2-6; Alma xxxi, 36; III Nephi xviii, 36-37; Doc. and Cov. xx, 41). The same outward sign has marked other authoritative acts: for example, ordination to the priesthood; and administration to the sick. It is probable that Paul had reference to Timothy's ordination when he exhorts him thus: "Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery" (I Tim. iv, 14). And again, "Stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands" (II Tim. i, 6). The first ordination to the priesthood in latter times was done by the imposition of hands by John the Baptist (Doc. and Cov. xiii). That Christ in healing the sick sometimes laid His hands upon the afflicted ones is certain (Mark vi, 5); and He left with His apostles a promise that healing should follow the authoritative laying on of hands (Mark xvi, 15, 18). The same promise has been repeated in this day (Doc. and Cov. xlii, 43-44). Yet, notwithstanding the importance given to this sign of authority, the laying on of hands is but exceptional among the practices of the many sects professing Christianity to-day.
3. Operation of the Holy Ghost.—The means through which the Holy Ghost operates are no more truly the Holy Ghost in person than are the light and heat and actinic energy of the sun, the sun itself. The influence, spirit, or power of the Holy Ghost is that of enlightenment and progression, and this is given unto men in proportion to their receptiveness and worthiness; but the right to the special ministrations of the third member of the Godhead is obtainable only through compliance with the preliminary requirements of the Gospel—faith, repentance, and baptism.
4. Mode of Conferring the Holy Ghost.—Questions have arisen as to the ceremony of confirmation and the bestowal of the Holy Ghost, particularly as to the propriety of saying: Receive ye the Holy Ghost; or Receive ye the Gift of the Holy Ghost.. Since the companionship of the Holy Ghost embraces all the spiritual graces and gift in so far as such are deserved by and appropriate to the person, the Church teaches that officiating Elders in confirming baptized candidates should use the form: Receive ye the Holy Ghost.
In explaining the reception of the Holy Ghost by the apostles of old, the First Presidency of the Church issued an instructive statement Feb. 5, 1916. See Deseret News of that date, and Improvement Era, March, 1916; and for excerpt from same see "Jesus the Christ" (third and later editions), p. 720.
