Under the section of the gift of the Holy Spirit, I read, "baptism by water must be followed by baptism of the Spirit, or it is incomplete." This means that the individual must both be baptized by immersion by someone who is holding the Priesthood (direct authority from Jesus Christ), and then also receive the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. Otherwise, it is incomplete.
In Matthew 3: 13-17, it says, "Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo, a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
From this passage, it clearly shows that the Holy Spirit (Spirit of God) descended onto Christ after he came up from the water. By the dove landing on Him, Christ was baptized by fire. This same idea is repeated in John 3:5, "Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." Once again, Christ succinctly explains this idea to Nicodemus, exhorting him to be baptized by both water and the Spirit. Now, that leads to the question of, how does one get the gift of the Holy Spirit, which God showed was necessary, and Christ repeated as well.
Acts 19: 1-6, "And it came to pass, that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? and they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied." This passage in Acts shows how anyone receives the gift of the Holy Ghost; it is through the laying on of hands by those who hold the proper authority. The men that Paul was speaking to had been baptized, and that was all fair and good, but the baptism was not yet complete, since they hadn't received the Holy Ghost. Since Paul had already been ordained, he could confer the gift of the Holy Ghost via the laying on of hands. That is how the Holy Ghost was conferred in Biblical times, and that is how it is conferred today. But why does the person who is doing the baptizing and conferring the gift of the Holy Ghost need to hold the Priesthood, and thus be worthy?
In Hebrews 5: 1-6, "For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer up sins. And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek." Baptism is a crucial element for showing that we have entered into a covenant with God, so that Jesus Christ will atone for our sins. Since this deals with sins, this covenant can only be entered into with someone who is worthy, and as seen by the italicized section of the verses, that person needs to be called of God. That individual needs to receive the Priesthood, unto the order of Melchizedek, to be able to perform the necessary ordinances of baptism and receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost.
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we have the restored Priesthood. The same Priesthood that was in place during the times of Christ, re-established on the earth today via the Prophet Joseph Smith. That is why people who join the Church, like converts, need to be baptized again. They may have been baptized before, but the baptism had not been done by the proper authority, and was not complete because there was no receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. And the basis for all of this is in the Bible. It's really interesting to see what one can learn, like myself, when being guided during studies.
My baptism: October 20, 2012
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