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I would like to thank all those who have viewed this blog and given me their feedback! (whether on this blog or telling me in person.) Unfortunately, I have found myself at a point in my life where I am deeply involved in projects and responsibilities. So, as a result I am trying to scale back, and one of these cutbacks will be the lengths of these blog posts. I will continue to post answers to questions/criticisms of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but they will be extremely shortened. I hope that this blog (even in its condensed form) will still provide you with insight, as you answer question about the LDS church! Once again thank you so much for your support!

Is Baptism Essential for Salvation?

One of the things that critics condemn the LDS church for is our insistence on coming to Christ through Baptism. The LDS church believes that in order to be with Jesus and our Father in heaven, an individual must be baptized. Many of our critics cry blasphemy because we teach that in order to be saved you must first be baptized. The Critic says you only need to believe in Christ and confess him with your mouth! Although many of these critics teach this; they also perform baptism. Why perform baptism if it is not needed for salvation? 

So, onto today’s question:  Is baptism essential for salvation in the kingdom of God?

The short answer to this question is "yes it is!" The Bible clearly teaches that baptism is a requirement of salvation.

Many of our Critics say that baptisms were performed in the New Testament but that when Christ died (for the sins of all mankind) he fulfilled that law and it was done away.  But to believe this means you would have to ignore the rest of what the Bible teaches. Just look at the instruction from the risen Savior in Mark 16:16 "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned." Does anything more needed to be said?...for the Critic the answer seems to be yes. It doesn't seem that Christ did away with the baptism for the remission of sins but rather he strengthens it by making it a requirement for salvation. We will continue this post (because there is so much more the Bible wants to say on baptism) but for the Critic to deny what the scriptures say at this point just shows their blind disbelief.

As we continue to look at baptism after the resurrection of Jesus, we find Peter and the apostles teaching the Jews about Christ. In Acts 2:37-38 the Jews begin to believe the apostles and ask "what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." According to these scriptures in Acts when a person believes in Christ he must repent of his sins, and then be baptized for the remission of those sins. Then he will receive the companionship of the Holy Ghost.

Some of the critics claim at this point, that The LDS church is replacing the Blood of Christ, which takes the sins of the world, with a dead ordinance of baptism. The truth of the matter is we are following the scriptures and Christ’s blood is the factor that makes baptism of any effect. Look at 1 Pet 3:21 "even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God)." Notice Peter understands and correctly explains that baptism is a symbol for answering to God, yet he expresses how baptism is the mode whereby we are saved.

The ordinance of baptism is a symbol of our willingness to receive Christ’s sacrifice and be forgiven of our sins. Gal 3:27: "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Once we have "put on Christ" His sacrifice cleanses us of our sins. 

Often critics of baptism will quote Rom 10:9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus ...thou shalt be saved." They assume that this means nothing else is necessary to be saved. But look at the part that is skipped over in verse 9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."  In order to "believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead" wouldn't you need to be baptized? Rom 6: 3-4: "Know ye not that so many of us were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death." Yet all those who refuse to be baptized or say that baptism is not needed for salvation seem to be fulfilling the words of Paul, "They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate." (Titus 1:16)

The Mormon church believes that Christ’s blood saves us from all our sins. But we also believe Christ has commanded us to be baptized in order to show our willingness to accept him. We know that no work of ours, independent of His, will ever save us from our sins.  Titus 3: 5:  "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration (baptism), and renewing of the Holy Ghost."

Know that Jesus did not do away with baptism as a requirement of salvation but commanded it.  John 3:3-5:  "Jesus answered...Verily, verily, I say unto thee; except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God." When Nicodemus inquired how a man who was born could be "born again" Jesus answers him in verse 5,"Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."

What does it mean to be born of water and Spirit?

Rom 6:3-4 "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." Baptism is performed in such a way that it would remind us of Christ and his resurrection and our being "born of water". Look at Acts 8:12-17; here the believers were baptized by Philip but had to wait for Peter and John to give them the Holy Ghost.  Acts 8:16"(for as yet he {the Holy Ghost} was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)" Thus we see the people were born of the water but also needed to be born of the Spirit.

The question maybe asked why did Jesus and his disciples baptize people if it wasn't necessary for their salvation? The scriptures says "after these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea: and there he tarried with them, and baptized." (John 3:22) The scriptures here and elsewhere show that Christ meant baptisms to be performed for those who believed.

Even Jesus himself was baptized. Matt 3:13-15 "Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him." Why did Jesus say he needed baptism from John? "Jesus answering said unto him, suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness." Jesus, though he had no sins, knew that he must be baptized of John to please his Father in heaven, "and lo a voice from heaven saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matt 3:17) 

The Book of Mormon prophet Nephi echoes this sentiment. 2 Nephi 31:5 “Now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!”

Luke 7:29-30 shows us the people needed baptism to be justified. "And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him." Which group do you think the critic would be found in, those who "justified God" or those who "rejected the counsel of God"? Scary thought rejecting the counsel of God!

Acts 2:41 says "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized."

Look at the prison guard converted through the work of Paul and Silas in Acts 16:30-33 "Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house...And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway."

Even Paul that great apostle who saw a vision of the Lord and believed on him recounts his own conversion and the instruction he received in Acts 22:14-16 "And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord."

In all of these examples we see that the person(s) who believed in Christ then went through the process of being baptized in order to show that they truly received Christ. Why else would those of the New Testament age go through a process of being baptized? As it says in Col 2:12, we are "Buried with him (Jesus) in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God."

Modern revelation not only tells us that baptism is essential for salvation but that without this ordinance we will be damned.  D&C 84:74“I say unto you, they who believe not on your words, and are not baptized in water in my name, for the remission of their sins, that they may receive the Holy Ghost, shall be damned, and shall not come into my Father’s kingdom where my Father and I am. ( see also Mark 16:16)

The instruction in the Bible is clear; the Lord wants those who claim to be his to be baptized for the remission of sins, to show that they will be his followers! If they cannot take this one simple step how will they be able to do anything else the Lord commands? This ordinance is essential for Salvation!