I found this scripture
today. I found it fascinating.
DC 19:31 And of tenets thou shalt not talk,
but thou shalt declare repentance and faith on the Savior,
and remission of sins by baptism, and by fire, yea, even
the Holy Ghost.
We are told by the
Lord not to teach tenets. What are tenets? The Lord clarifies by
telling us what to teach this generation. Questions: Are Mormons
needing to hear repentance and faith in the Savior?
What does it mean to
receive a remission of sins by baptism? Does it happen
automatically? Maybe. Maybe not.
What does it mean to
be baptized by fire? Has this happened to you? Has it happened to
me? What does it feel like? Is the baptism of fire, the remission
of sins? 2 Nephi 31:17 seems to indicate this.
Other verse seem to indicate that it is a separate event connected to
baptism of water.
These are the three or
four first milestones in a Latter-day saints life. The first is baptism,
the second is a remission of your sins, the third is being baptized by fire and
the fourth is being baptized by the Holy Ghost. God could combine them
into one or two.
This is Jesus’ gospel. DC 33:11-12. 11 Yea, repent and
be baptized, every one of you, for a remission of your sins; yea, be
baptized even by water, and then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy
Ghost. 12 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, this is my gospel; and remember that
they shall have faith in me or they can in nowise be saved;
Why? Because
when a person receives the cleansing, the joy, the rejoicing, the gratitude
associated with these four distinct events he has truly (finally) received
Christ into his heart and Christ has reciprocated with the above blessings
(remission, fire, Holy Ghost).
DC 33:13 then tells us
that we are [finally] built upon His Rock. “And upon this rock I will build
my church; yea, upon this rock ye are built, and if ye continue, the gates of hell shall
not prevail against you.”
Some of us have
received the joyous occasion of receiving the Spirit-filled, joyful experience
of having the sins remitted. I suppose others in the Church have been
baptized with fire and others with the Holy Ghost. These are milestones in our
progression back to the Father. They are the first steps. And, yes,
holding a temple recommend helps us (me) be able to retrace my steps and
receive these blessings. In fact, the three or four steps are
symbolically shown us in the temple.
I have been retracing
my steps of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ for the last ten years.
And, what wonderful results! The joy and rejoicing I feel!
So, build yourself on
the ROCK. And not Dwayne Johnson!
Scott
P.S. – Oliver Cowdery
describes the joy he felt when he was baptized and received the Aaronic
priesthood. Look for the feelings he expresses. Ask yourself, have
I had these feelings? If so, when? Can I feel so now? (Alma
5:26). I have underlined some of my favorite lines. I love feeling
this way!
Oliver Cowdery describes these events thus:
“These were days never to be forgotten—to sit under the sound of a voice
dictated by the inspiration of heaven, awakened the utmost gratitude of
this bosom! Day after day I continued, uninterrupted, to write from
his mouth, as he translated with the Urim and Thummim, or, as the Nephites
would have said, ‘Interpreters,’ the history or record called ‘The Book of
Mormon.’
“To notice, in even few words, the interesting
account given by Mormon and his faithful son, Moroni, of a people once beloved
and favored of heaven, would supersede my present design; I shall therefore
defer this to a future period, and, as I said in the introduction, pass more directly
to some few incidents immediately connected with the rise of this Church, which
may be entertaining to some thousands who have stepped forward, amid the frowns
of bigots and the calumny of hypocrites, and embraced the Gospel of
Christ.
“No men, in their sober senses, could
translate and write the directions given to the Nephites from the mouth of the
Savior, of the precise manner in which men should build up His Church, and
especially when corruption had spread an uncertainty over all forms and systems
practiced among men, without desiring a privilege of showing the willingness of
the heart by being buried in the liquid grave, to answer a ‘good conscience by
the resurrection of Jesus Christ.’
“After writing the account given of the
Savior’s ministry to the remnant of the seed of Jacob, upon this continent, it
was easy to be seen, as the prophet said it would be, that darkness covered the
earth and gross darkness the minds of the people. On reflecting further it was
as easy to be seen that amid the great strife and noise concerning religion,
none had authority from God to administer the ordinances of the Gospel. For the
question might be asked, have men authority to administer in the name of
Christ, who deny revelations, when His testimony is no less than the
spirit of prophecy, and His religion based, built, and sustained by immediate
revelations, in all ages of the world when He has had a people on
earth? If these facts were buried, and carefully concealed by men whose craft
would have been in danger if once permitted to shine in the faces of men, they
were no longer to us; and we only waited for the commandment to be given ‘Arise
and be baptized.’
“This was not long desired before it was
realized. The Lord, who is rich in mercy, and ever willing to answer the
consistent prayer of the humble, after we had called upon Him in a fervent
manner, aside from the abodes of men, condescended to manifest to us His will.
On a sudden, as from the midst of eternity, the voice of the Redeemer
spake peace to us, while the veil was parted and the angel of God came down
clothed with glory, and delivered the anxiously looked for message, and the
keys of the Gospel of repentance. What joy! what wonder! what
amazement! While the world was racked and distracted—while millions
were groping as the blind for the wall, and while all men were resting upon
uncertainty, as a general mass, our eyes beheld, our ears heard, as in the
‘blaze of day’; yes, more—above the glitter of the May sunbeam, which then shed
its brilliancy over the face of nature! Then his voice, though mild, pierced to
the center, and his words, ‘I am thy fellow-servant,’ dispelled every fear. We
listened, we gazed, we admired! ’Twas the voice of an angel from glory, ’twas a
message from the Most High! And as we heard we rejoiced, while His
love enkindled upon our souls, and we were wrapped in the vision of the
Almighty! Where was room for doubt? Nowhere; uncertainty had fled,
doubt had sunk no more to rise, while fiction and deception had fled forever!
“But, dear brother, think, further think for a
moment, what joy filled our hearts, and with what surprise we must
have bowed, (for who would not have bowed the knee for such a blessing?) when
we received under his hand the Holy Priesthood as he said, ‘Upon you my
fellow-servants, in the name of Messiah, I confer this Priesthood and this
authority, which shall remain upon earth, that the Sons of Levi may yet offer
an offering unto the Lord in righteousness!’
“I shall not attempt to paint to you the
feelings of this heart, nor the majestic beauty and glory which
surrounded us on this occasion; but you will believe me when I say, that earth,
nor men, with the eloquence of time, cannot begin to clothe language in as
interesting and sublime a manner as this holy personage. No; nor has this earth
power to give the joy, to bestow the peace, or comprehend the wisdom which was
contained in each sentence as they were delivered by the power of the Holy
Spirit! Man may deceive his fellow-men, deception may follow deception, and the
children of the wicked one may have power to seduce the foolish and untaught,
till naught but fiction feeds the many, and the fruit of falsehood carries in
its current the giddy to the grave; but one touch with the finger of his love,
yes, one ray of glory from the upper world, or one word from the mouth of
the Savior, from the bosom of eternity, strikes it all into insignificance,
and blots it forever from the mind. The assurance that we were in the presence
of an angel, the certainty that we heard the voice of Jesus, and the truth
unsullied as it flowed from a pure personage, dictated by the will of God, is
to me past description, and I shall ever look upon this expression of
the Savior’s goodness with wonder and thanksgiving while I am permitted
to tarry; and in those mansions where perfection dwells and sin never comes, I
hope to adore in that day which shall never cease.”—Messenger
and Advocate, vol. 1 (October 1834), pp. 14–16.
