After the people felt the Savior’s wounds, He called Nephi
to come before Him. Nephi went before the Lord and bowed before Him, kissing
His feet. “And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and
worshipped” (Exodus 34:8).
After being commanded to stand, Nephi stood before the Lord.
The Lord gave Nephi the authority to baptize. The scriptures
are full of references to the necessity of authority to perform ordinances for
the Lord. “And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with
him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they
may minister unto me in the priest’s office” Exodus 28:41).
“And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of
heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and
whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew
16:19).
“And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and
that he might send them forth to preach” (Mark 3:14).
“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained
you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should
remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it
you” (John 15:16).
“For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set
in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had
appointed [GR directed, ordered] thee” (Titus 1:5).
“And it came to pass that Alma1, having authority
from God, ordained priests; even one priest to every fifty of their number did
he ordain to preach unto them, and to teach them concerning the things
pertaining to the kingdom of God” (Mosiah 18:18).
“And it came to pass that king Limhi and many of his people
were desirous to be baptized; but there was none in the land that had authority
from God. And Ammon declined doing this thing, considering himself an unworthy
servant” (Mosiah 21:33).
“And now, Alma1 was their high priest, he being
the founder of their church.
“And it came to pass that none received authority to preach
or to teach except it were by him from God. Therefore he consecrated all their
priests and all their teachers; and none were consecrated except they were just
men” (Mosiah 23:16-17).
“And the voice of warning shall be unto all people, by the
mouths of my disciples, whom I have chosen in these last days” (D&C 1:4).
After giving Nephi authority to baptize, the Lord instructed
him how the ordinance of baptism was to be performed.
“The twelve Nephite disciples received authority to baptize
directly from the resurrected Jesus and not from earlier scripture or the
community of believers (3 Nephi 11:21–26; 12:1). The specific granting of
divine authority to mortals is a recurrent element in the resurrected Lord’s
ministry at the Book of Mormon’s climax (3 Nephi 18:5, 36–37; 20:4; 4 Nephi
1:5).”[1]
“It is not surprising that when the Savior visited the
ancient Americas, besides teaching doctrine, He gave Nephi and others the power
to baptize. In other words, the doctrine and the ordinances stood side by side.
The full application of the teachings of the Book of Mormon does require
priesthood ordinances with their associated covenants.”[2]
Those who repent of their sins through Nephi’s words,
desiring to be baptized, shall be baptized. They are to go into the water, and
in the Savior’s name, are to be baptized.
Once in the water, they are to be called by name, and
saying, “Having authority given me of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen” (3 Nephi
11:25). The person is to be immersed and
lifted up out of the water. This is how Alma1 baptized at the waters
of Mormon (see Mosiah 18:26).
The Nephites were commanded to follow this method, and no
one is to dispute this and other points of His doctrine, as had happened in the
past.
He warned the Nephites to avoid contentions among
themselves. The spirit of contention, He said, was of the devil. His doctrine
is not meant to cause contentions. This is why He is declaring his doctrine to
the Nephites.
This is His doctrine He received from the Father. He bore
“record of the Father and the Father beareth record of me.
“This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ;
not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth
witness, because the Spirit is truth.
“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father,
the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
“And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit,
and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
“If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is
greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son” (1
John 5:6-9).
The Holy Ghost bears record of the Father and the Son. The
Father gives the gift of the Holy Ghost to us through the Savior. “And the Holy
Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and the Father giveth the Holy Ghost
unto the children of men, because of me” (3 Nephi 28:11).
“It is true that the power or influence of the Holy Ghost
may on occasion be felt, according to the will of the Lord, by any person
irrespective of that person’s religious persuasion. But the full measure, or
gift, of the Holy Ghost comes only after a person has received, with ‘a broken
heart and a contrite spirit,’ the ordinances of baptism and the gift of the
Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. These and other sacred ordinances may be
performed only under the direction and power of the priesthood of God.”[3]
The Savior told them those who believed to be baptized and
they would be saved. “He that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned”
(Mark 16:16). Those that do not believe in the Savior, and will not be
baptized, they will be damned.
The doctrine He teaches, He received from the Father. The Holy Ghost will bear witness to this with
fire. And whatsoever thing persuadeth men to do good is of me; for good cometh
of none save it be of me. I am the same that leadeth men to all good; he that
will not believe my words will not believe me—that I am; and he that will not
believe me will not believe the Father who sent me. For behold, I am the
Father, I am the light, and the life, and the truth of the world” (Ether 4:12).
We must repent, become as a child, and be baptized. “The image of Jesus blessing little children
directly or pointing to them as living metaphors of what disciples should
become is not new. Biblical commentators have written extensively about the
lessons to be gleaned from such events. However, in 3 Nephi the central
importance of believers becoming as little children is emphasized dramatically
by Christ when he speaks amid the darkness caused by the great destructions
preceding his appearance in the New World (see 9:22). His initial teaching
following his appearance declares characteristics that are foundational
requirements for discipleship … [T]he Savior calls his followers to emulate the
characteristics of children, to become ‘as a child, submissive, meek, humble,
patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit
to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father’ (Mosiah 3:19).”[4]
The Savior then gave the parable of building a house on a
rock and sand. Here is a side-by-side
comparison.
3 Nephi 11:39-40
|
Matthew 7:24-27
|
39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my
doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates
of hell shall not prevail against them.
40 And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and
establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon
my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand
open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them.
|
24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and
doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a
rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the
winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded
upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and
doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house
upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the
winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of
it.
|
“The Book of Mormon contains ‘the fulness of the everlasting
gospel’ (see Joseph Smith-History 1:34; see also D&C 20:8-9). While
it does not contain all gospel teachings or practices of the modem Church, it
nonetheless contains the ‘fulness of the gospel’ in that it contains the
Savior's own teaching of what constitutes his doctrine or gospel. ... Faith,
repentance, baptism by water and by fire, enduring in faithfulness to the end,
keeping the commandments and following the example of the Savior-these arc all
integral components of the doctrine of Christ. All the prophets have testified
of these same principles and ordinances that are central to the plan of
salvation. (pp. 59).”[5]
[1] The
Historical Case against Sidney Rigdon’s Authorship of the Book of Mormon,
Matthew Roper, and Paul J. Fields, Mormon
Studies Review 23/1 (2011): 117.
[2] Becoming
More Powerful Priesthood Holders, Elder Walter F. González, October 2009
General Conference.
[3] The
Father and the Son, Elder Christoffel Golden Jr., April 2013 General
Conference.
[4] The
Savior and the Children in 3 Nephi, M. Gawain Wells, Journal of Book of Mormon Studies, Volume 14, Number 1, 2005: 64.
[5] As quoted in Review
of Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, vol. 4, Third Nephi through
Moroni (1992), by Joseph Fielding McConkie, Robert L. Millet, and Brent L. Top,
Darrell L. Matthews, Review of Books on
the Book of Mormon 5/1 (1993): 184.
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