Imagine the
Saviour appearing and you are among the multitude to witness that appearance
and He calls you by name to come to Him: “And Nephi arose and went forth, and
bowed himself before the Lord and did kiss his feet” (3 Nephi 11:19). Imagine
the honour, the overflowing of your heart, the tears that would flow, the expression
of humility and deepest gratitude for your salvation that would propel you to kiss
His feet……it makes me feel the moment….
Right from
the start of His visit to the Americas, the Saviour made it plain He was there
to teach the members of His Church. Hence immediately after calling Nephi to
come forth, He gave him and the Twelve that
He chose, authority to baptize with specific instructions as to how it is to be
done.
From 3
Nephi 11:21 to 12:3, the Saviour mentioned baptism 19 times and reiterated 7
times that His doctrine is: faith, repentance, baptism and the gift of the Holy
Ghost. So insistent was He that this is the only path to salvation, that He emphasized
that ‘whose does not believe in Him, and is not baptized, shall be damned’ (3
Nephi 11:33,34).
Worthy of
mention is the concept of unity which baptism grants to all who believe in
Christ and His doctrine. I have a fondness for noticing repetition in
scriptural teachings. It speaks ‘importance’ to me. In the block of scriptures regarding baptism,
the Saviour mentions the Father 16 times.
The sense
of unity between Him, the Father and the Holy Ghost is unmistakable…..”the
Father will bear record of me, and the
Holy Ghost will bear record of Him and Me, for the Father and I, and the Holy
Ghost are one” (3 Nephi 11:35,36).
I am
reminded of the intercessory prayer that was uttered by Christ where He prayed ‘not
for the world but for them which the Father had given Him’, meaning His
disciples (John 17:9). And then for the rest of the Church membership, meaning
us: “Neither pray I for these alone but for them also which shall believe on me
through their word, that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I
in thee, that they also may be one in us….” (v 21).
Thus
baptism, a covenant of obedience, which makes us Christ’s, becomes also a
covenant of unity, with the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. As we come
into the fold of God and become ‘the body of Christ’ we also become one with
one another. The baptismal covenant reads thus (Mosiah 18:8):
·
We come into the fold of God;
·
We are being called His people;
·
We bear one another’s burdens;
·
We mourn with those that mourn;
·
We comfort those who stand in need of comfort;
·
We stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all
places;
·
We enter into a covenant to serve God;
·
We covenant to keep His commandments.
I was baptized
when I was 18 years of age. The moment I was raised out of the water, I was so
overcome by the spirit which descended upon me that I wept uncontrollably. I
knew I was one with Christ and that I was home. I know if I ever left the
Church, I would be betraying my covenant of baptism, even if I continued to
live the commandments….because I would no longer be Christ’s. I would not wish
to lose that….ever.
How
godly You were
When
You planted the heavens
And
laid the foundations of the earth;
How
noble and honourable
When
You gave me hope
Through
the water’s gate;
I
bequest to You my earthly deeds
And
fly to You
With
my arms of faith.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: The Holy Ghost Descended Like a Dove by Greg Collins)
