LeGrand L. Baker

 Alma 8: 14-17 — LeGrand Baker — guardian angels

Alma 8: 14-17
14  And it came to pass that while he was journeying thither, being weighed down with sorrow, wading through much tribulation and anguish of soul, because of the wickedness of the people who were in the city of Ammonihah, it came to pass while Alma was thus weighed down with sorrow, behold an angel of the Lord appeared unto him, saying:
15  Blessed art thou, Alma; therefore, lift up thy head and rejoice, for thou hast great cause to rejoice; for thou hast been faithful in keeping the commandments of God from the time which thou receivedst thy first message from him. Behold, I am he that delivered it unto you.
16  And behold, I am sent to command thee that thou return to the city of Ammonihah, and preach again unto the people of the city; yea, preach unto them. Yea, say unto them, except they repent the Lord God will destroy them.
17  For behold, they do study at this time that they may destroy the liberty of thy people, (for thus saith the Lord) which is contrary to the statutes, and judgments, and commandments which he has given unto his people.

When Hugh Nibley taught about this verse he said

Obviously this angel was assigned to Alma. He said, I’m the same one who visited you before, and now here I am again. He was watching over Alma. We used to say much more about guardian angels in the Church. We used to teach much more of that doctrine, always taught it to our kids. We don’t do it anymore. I don’t know why not, because it’s a very real thing, the presence of another world. (Hugh Nibley, Teachings of the Book of Mormon–Semester 1: Transcripts of Lectures Presented to an Honors Book of Mormon Class at Brigham Young University, 1988–1990 [Provo: Foundation for Ancient Re 303)

The idea that there are guardian angels was very prevalent among the early leaders of the church, and still is today. Last night in Priesthood Conference, President James E. Faust said (as nearly as I could recall it as I wrote it down), “We do not constantly recognize how much these divine messengers influence our lives.” Then he quoted one of the brethren saying those messengers are often deceased family members who care a great deal for our welfare.

Mine personal belief about that is rather simplistic. It seems to me to be reasonable to suppose that we all had lots of good friends with whom we associated, and whom we loved, when we were in the spirit world before we came here. It seems to me to be equally reasonable to suppose that I would not have been brave enough to believe I would not need a great deal of help after I left that world, and tried to muddle through this world’s experiences. So with those notions as a premises, I have concluded that many of the family associations and friendships I have in this world are covenant based. That is, I believe that while we were in the spirit world we made covenants with each other that we would support each other as family and friends—to help each other throughout all or part (perhaps only just a specific, but short segment, like through high school, or while we were living in such and such a ward) of our experiences, and trials, and triumphs, as we work our way through our earthly lives. So, I believe, when, by happenstance, we meet someone who becomes a dear friend, that it was not by happenstance at all. Rather, it happened to facilitate our keeping the covenants we made with each other. Now the question is: if that is true, who caused it to happen? The answer is that either God himself must do it all, or he is following the same pattern in those relationships as he has established on the earth now. We call that pattern home teaching, but I suspect it is much more efficient and caring than ours could ever be.

It also seems reasonable to me that not all of our dearest friends were assigned to come into this world at the same time and place that we were. (With members of our extended family, that is obviously so.) Those differences in our assignments would not have changed our concern for each other’s well being. Since I can’t believe I thought I could get through this life without a great deal of help from those friends also, I suppose the help we receive from such family members and friends is also covenant based.

So my conclusion is this: because we need help from people we love, and because we need to help people we love, covenantal arrangements were made to assure us that we would get all the help we were willing to accept. The object of our lives here-even though we have lost most of our memory and are pretty much trying to find our way in the dark-is to learn to be charity, and to learn how to express that charity by living the law of consecration. That law, as I understand it, is this: that we bless the lives of others as their needs and our circumstances allow, and that we accept blessings from others on those same principles. There is appreciation felt by both, but no sense of indebtedness on the part of either the one who gives or the one who receives. So we rejoice in giving, and we rejoice in receiving from family and friends. I understand that as this law is eternal, so its application is eternal also. When I consider the intricate precision of the timing of events that caused me to just happened to meet some of my dearest friends, I conclude that there must be a magnificent home teaching program coordinating the activities of a whole cadre of guardian angels in order to bring our lives together so we could meet at the right moment in the right place. That is one very important way that I believe our lives are blessed by the people who care about us, but whom we cannot see.

What follows are some quotes about guardian angels from some of the brethren. All, except the first one by President McKay, are in roughly chronological order.

This story was told by President McKay about an experience he had when he was a young missionary in Scotland.

       I remember as if it were but yesterday, the intensity of the inspiration of that occasion. Everybody felt the rich outpouring of the Spirit of the Lord. All present were truly of one heart and one mind. Never before had I experienced such an emotion. It was a manifestation for which as a doubting youth I had secretly prayed most earnestly on hillside and in meadow. It was an assurance to me that sincere prayer is answered “sometime, somewhere.”
During the progress of the meeting, an elder on his own initiative arose and said, Brethren, there are angels in this room.” Strange as it may seem, the announcement was not startling; indeed, it seemed wholly proper; though it had not occurred to me there were divine beings present. I only knew that I was overflowing with gratitude for the presence of the Holy Spirit. I was profoundly impressed, however, when President James L. McMurrin [President McKay’s mission president] arose and confirmed that statement by pointing to one brother sitting just in front of me and saying, “Yes, brethren, there are angels in this room, and one of them is the guardian angel of that young man sitting there,” and he designated one who today is a patriarch of the Church.
Pointing to another elder, he said, “And one is the guardian angel of that young man there,” and he singled out one whom I had known from childhood. Tears were rolling down the cheeks of both of these missionaries, not in sorrow or grief, but as an expression of the overflowing Spirit; indeed, we were all weeping” ( David O. McKay, Cherished Experiences from the Writings of President David O. McKay, rev. and enl., compiled by Clare Middlemiss [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1955], 13.)

In another place he added this personal detail:

       Designating two of the brethren, he said their guardian angels were present, then turning to me he continued, “\’Let me say to you, Brother David, Satan has desired you that he may sift you as wheat, but God is mindful of you, and if you will keep the faith, you will yet sit in the leading councils of the Church.’” (Jeanette McKay Morrell, Highlights in the Life of President David O. McKay [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1966], 37 – 38.)

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In November 17, 1844, in Nauvoo, Zina Jacobs who later married Brigham Young, recorded this in her journal:

       I went to hear Orson Hyde. He spoke concerning our guardian Angels that attended each Saint, and would until the Spirit became grieved. Then they take there departure and the person is left to hardness of hart and blindness of mind.” (Nauvoo diary of Zina Jacobs (Young), published under the title “‘All Things Move in Order in the City’: The Nauvoo Diary of Zina Diantha Jacobs,” ed. Maureen Ursenbach Beecher, in BYU Studies 19 [Spring 1979]: 298)

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Orson Hyde continued to teach that same principle after the Saints came to Utah. In an 1854 conference, he said:

       Have angels anything to do with what will take place in the last days? He makes His angels ministering spirits, and they are sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation. The Lord is everywhere present by His ministering angels, just like any other ruler, monarch or king, who has ministers everywhere throughout His dominions; and God’s ministers are everywhere. (Journal of Discourses, 2: 64 – 65.)

Again in 1860, when the missionaries were called home because of trouble with the federal government:

       To you, my faithful brethren abroad, the Spirit of Christ has often whispered, during the last six months, “Go home—go home.” Your guardian angels have said it to you in dreams and in visions, and we expect to see you come. Scores have already arrived. God bless them and you too, if you listen to the whisperings of that voice that speaks truth to the heart.  (Journal of Discourses, 6: 16.)

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Orson Pratt, during a conference in 1855, expressed this opinion:

       We heard a most excellent discourse last Sunday about the angels being sent to the various nations of the earth, to superintend the affairs and destinies thereof; also about each person upon the face of the whole earth having his guardian angel from the time that he comes into the world. The Holy Spirit acts in conjunction with those angels, and in places where they cannot be, for there are a great many places where those angels cannot be present, and the Holy Spirit being omnipresent is in every place at the same moment of time, regulating the seasons, and governing the planets in their courses. There would have to be a vast number of angels to be present in every place at the same instant of time, directing the movements of each particle of matter throughout the vast extent of space; consequently this is attended to by that All-powerful Spirit that exists in inexhaustible quantities throughout the universe.” (Journal of Discourses, 2: 344.)

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Heber C. Kimball frequently described the help he and others received from the angels during their mission in England. Here is one example:

       You have frequently heard of brother Hyde, brother Russell, and myself being afflicted with devils in England. There were legions of them came upon us and sought to destroy us: but we were not alone; our guardian angels were there to assist us, and they delivered us out of the danger, and out of the power of our enemies.  (Journal of Discourses, 8: 258.)

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Brigham Young said:

       Shall we be in the presence of God, as brother Spencer is? Yes, if we are faithful, for we have the privilege of being crowned with immortality and eternal lives. All people have their guardian angels. Whether our departed dead guard us is not for me to say. I can say we have our guardian angels. (Journal of Discourses, 13: 76.)

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George Q. Cannon, in a conference in1890, described the angels this way:

       The agencies which our Father in heaven has at His control are utterly beyond our conception. Every department of His heavenly and illimitable Kingdom is under the immediate supervision of His agents. . . . Lord Jesus plainly informs us concerning certain agencies which the Father uses to watch over his little ones—guardian angels, who always behold His face in heaven. They watch over those who are put in their charge, and no one can offend or despise them with impunity.” [George Q. Cannon, Gospel Truth: Discourses and Writings of President George Q. Cannon, Jerreld L. Newquist, ed., (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1987), 65.]

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Joseph F. Smith wrote to his son that he believed guardian angels:

       In reply to your question: “Do we all have guardian angels, and is the Key to Theology authentic on this subject, pages 117 to 119?”
“To both of these propositions, I can answer yes, so far as I have been taught and am able to learn. Jesus said (“Matt. 18:10Matthew 18:10): “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you that in Heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in Heaven.” This is no exception to the rule. The rule applies to all of God’s children or little ones. But, the guardian angels of the pure, the innocent “which believe in me,” as Jesus said, verse 6, are they which “do always behold the face of my Father.” While those guardian angels of the disobedient, and etc., I would infer, cannot always bring up in remembrance before the Father such as are disobedient, and believe not in Christ.  [Joseph F. Smith, From Prophet to Son: Advice of Joseph F. Smith to His Missionary Sons, compiled by Hyrum M. Smith III and Scott G. Kenney (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1981), 39 – 40.]

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President Heber J. Grant and his counselors, J. Reuben Clark, Jr. and David O. McKay, wrote a broadside in October, 1941. Its final paragraph read:

The Lord loves you. His angels are always near to help you. Your guardian angels stand by you to see that no harm shall touch you, no evil thought disturb you.

[signed] HEBER J. GRANT, October, 1941 J. REUBEN CLARK, JR., DAVID O. MCKAY, First Presidency. [James R. Clark, comp., Messages of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 6 vols. (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965-75), 6: 134. Original in J. Reuben Clark, Jr., papers, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University.

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President Spencer W. Kimball warned:

The car can transport its occupants to home, school or temple. It can also take them to remote places, to moral dangers where consciences are silenced, righteous inhibitions deadened and guardian angels anesthetized. In short order, the car can transport a couple, youthful or otherwise, great distances from safe harbors. It can impart dangerous privacy and stimulate temptation.  [Spencer W. Kimball, The Miracle of Forgiveness (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1969.]

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Elder Carlos E. Asay wrote this about prayer:

       I regard sincere prayer as a protective covering, especially to those who pray that they will “not be tempted above that which (they) can bear” (Alma 13:28). It is also a spiritual shield to those who pray that they will be led by the Holy Spirit, watched over by guardian angels, or borne “up as on eagles’ wings” (D&C 124:18D&C 124:18). [Carlos E. Asay, Family Pecan Trees: Planting a Legacy of Faith at Home (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1992), 12.]

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President Harold B. Lee said,

       I heard this little flaxen-haired girl sing “I Am a Child of God.” “Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way.” The first time I heard it, this little girl sang it to her mother’s accompaniment. Now (her) mother is gone. But the mother came to this little girl in such a vivid dream that she said the next morning, “Oh, Mother was with us. We saw her in the family room, and I said, ‘Oh, Mother, you’re not dead.’ And she said, ‘No, my dear, I am not dead. I am very much alive. You won’t be able to see me all the time, but I won’t be far away from you, my dear.’ ” And with that childish assurance, the little girl is now growing to womanhood. Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, help me find the way. Guardian angels? Don’t you mistake it. It isn’t your father and mother who will be far away from you, children; it will be you who keep them far away.
“Those in the spirit world may be guardian angels to those in mortality. Who are guardian angels? Well, it would appear that someone who is quickened by some influence, not yet celestialized, is permitted to come back as a messenger for the purpose of working with and trying to aid those who are left behind. [ Harold B. Lee, The Teachings of Harold B. Lee, edited by Clyde J. Williams (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1996), 58-59.]

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Elder Dallin H. Oaks was quoted in a 1998 issue of LDS Church News,

Elder Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve commented: “Bible stories such as these do not mean that the servants of God are delivered from all hardship or that they are always saved from death. Some believers lose their lives in persecutions, and some suffer great hardships as a result of their faith. But the protection promised to the faithful servants of God is a reality today as it was in Bible times.
All over the world, faithful Latter-day Saints are protected from the powers of the evil one and his servants until they have finished their missions in mortality. For some the mortal mission is brief, as with some valiant young men who have lost their lives in missionary service. But for most of us the mortal journey is long, and we continue our course with the protection of guardian angels.” [Faithful LDS Protected from Power of Evil One”, LDS Church News, 1998, 07/04/98.]

Alma 8:8-13 — LeGrand Baker — prayer in behalf of others

Alma 8:8-13
8   And it came to pass that when Alma had come to the city of Ammonihah he began to preach the word of God unto them.
9  Now Satan had gotten great hold upon the hearts of the people of the city of Ammonihah; therefore they would not hearken unto the words of Alma.
10  Nevertheless Alma labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer, that he would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city; that he would also grant that he might baptize them unto repentance.
11  Nevertheless, they hardened their hearts, saying unto him: Behold, we know that thou art Alma; and we know that thou art high priest over the church which thou hast established in many parts of the land, according to your tradition; and we are not of thy church, and we do not believe in such foolish traditions.
12  And now we know that because we are not of thy church we know that thou hast no power over us; and thou hast delivered up the judgment-seat unto Nephihah; therefore thou art not the chief judge over us.
13  Now when the people had said this, and withstood all his words, and reviled him, and spit upon him, and caused that he should be cast out of their city, he departed thence and took his journey towards the city which was called Aaron.

This is a story that I suspect every missionary has experienced first hand. Let me tell you mine. The British Mission then had its own 16 lesson mission plan. It took about four months to complete, and the people who joined the Church in those days were so thoroughly converted that very few ever became inactive. My companion and I had tracted out a fine family. The father was an intelligent young man who loved what we taught him, and we became close friends. He was the scout master for his local church. The week he and his wife were to be baptized his minister gathered up all the boys and took them to his house. They begged him to not join the Mormon Church until after they had completed the scouting program. He agreed to wait. He told us that he felt he was making a great personal sacrifice for the sake of those boys. The next time we visited him he asked us to not come back until he contacted us, because his decision was causing tension between him and his wife. We prayed fervently that he would have the strength to do what was right. A few weeks later we saw him on a train. He greeted us with a forced smile. He told us that he had quit his scouts, and that he and his wife were now doing very well——but we should wait a while longer—— then he would invite us to come back to visit them again. His face was haggard and his words were full of hurt. The tension he did not express belied his words he spoke. I never heard from him after that.

There is an eternal principle here: Neither we nor God can force anyone to embrace and live the joy that is the gospel. With that eternal principle comes a question that echoes throughout the scriptures and often torments our personal lives. Mormon tells the story well, and in doing so, pulls the question into the very core of the issue:

10 Nevertheless Alma labored much in the spirit, wrestling with God in mighty prayer, that he would pour out his Spirit upon the people who were in the city; that he would also grant that he might baptize them unto repentance.

Alma was President of the Church. He “labored much in the spirit”, and wrestled with God in “mighty prayer.” There was nothing casual about his prayers, nor about his intent. So the question is: If he were a prophet, and if he were praying according to the instructions he received from the Spirit, why didn’’t God answer his prayers and “pour out his Spirit upon the people who where in the city.” The answer is: there is no evidence that God did not do precisely what Alma prayed that he would do. The only evidence is that the people did not hear because they refused to listen.

In this life, our spirits are caged within our physical bodies and within the body’’s physical environment——and, apart from death, there is only one way that one’’s soul can reach out beyond the limits of that cage. Within its confines, each of us is entirely alone. In that aloneness, there is no criteria but one’’s Self by which one can judge right from wrong. Using that criterion, one hears what one’’s culture teaches and weighs it against one’’s own perception of one’’s own self interest. That lack of vision makes the cage an incredibly lonely, sterile place. But even though its bars appear strong and impenetrable, they are as thin as paper and can be as transparent as glass. All one has to do to expand one’’s soul far beyond the limits imposed by this physical world is to love the Lord and to love his children. The love is the seed that is planted in one’’s heart that grows to become a tree of life. But because it must flow from deep within one’’s soul, no external pressure——neither by prayer nor by angels——can force its blessings upon another human being.

Consequently, people like Alma must endure an unique kind of sorrow that springs from a different kind of loneliness. Righteous love never imposes itself upon another, yet no righteous soul can be full except within an eternal embrace. When that embrace is rejected, a part of one’’s Self goes missing and cannot be retrieved by force or imposition. I suppose that was true of God, when Enoch asked, “How is it that thou canst weep?”

Alma 8:7 – LeGrand Baker — Cosmic Myth as a Chaismas

I had one of those “ah-ha — why didn’t think of that before” moments not long ago. It was this: The cosmic myth is always in the pattern of a chaismas. In its simplest form it looks like this from the Hymn of the Pearl

The hero prepares to leave home.
        he takes off his coat and toga
                he receives his blessing and assignment
                        he locates the pearl
                                he struggles under great difficulty
                                        he recognizes who he really is
                                 he receives a renewal of the blessing
                        he takes the pearl
                learns he has fulfilled assignment
        he regains his sacred clothing
he returns home.

That version looks better because by making the struggle and the renewal of the blessing concurrent, it is a more accurate representation of reality. But it still has the success happening someplace other than at the focal point. I was thinking of that when I went to church today. Travis Martin was teaching the Gospel Doctrine class. While making a not-too-labored allusion to the cosmic myth he observed that the time in the wilderness was the most important part of the story because that was the time when the Children of Israel had to sort out who they were and what their relationship was with God. His comments helped me realize that the pattern was correct after all.

Modern scholars who recognized in this pattern in ancient literature envisioned the form as an open triangle However it seems to me that it would more accurately depict the ancient’s sense of sacral geometry if we pulled the two ends together so that rather than being a bottomless triangle it became a circle – the eternal round. That appeals to me because then both the cosmic myth and the chaismas could be seen as the triumph of the human soul in an expression of geometric perfection.

Alma 7:22 – LeGrand Baker – awake, arise, and walk, as covenant words

I went home teaching yesterday to a man and his wife who have been my neighbors and friends for more than 20 years. Her 90-year-old father died last week. She told us the circumstances of his death, and made an observation that I have been thinking about ever since. I would like to share it with you.

She said she had been with her father most of the day, and when he was resting well, she slipped out to get a little rest and something to eat. She returned in about an hour to find that he had died. She said, “When I looked at him I hardly recognized him. He didn’t even look like himself.” Then she made this observation that I cannot stop thinking about: “I hardly recognized him because his spirit had left his body. Isn’t it interesting? We look at each other and think we see only the physical person, but we also see the spirit within that body. Isn’t it amazing how much of the spirit we can see, and how unlike that person the body appears to be when the spirit is no longer there.”

It’s like President McKay said, “Every man and every person who lives in this world wields an influence, whether for good or for evil. It is not what he says alone; it is not alone what he does. It is what he is. Every man, every person radiates what he or she really is. Every person is a recipient of radiation.” (David O. McKay,“Radiation of the Individual,” The Instructor, October, 1964, p. 373-374)

When the spirit is gone, the body is not what it was before.

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Alma 7:22 – LeGrand Baker – awake, arise, and walk, as covenant words

Alma 7:22
And now my beloved brethren, I have said these things unto you that I might awaken you to a sense of your duty to God, that ye may walk blameless before him, that ye may walk after the holy order of God, after which ye have been received.(Alma 7:22)

Verse 22 shows that not only Alma, but also the people in his audience are very sophisticated in their understanding of the temple rites and the temple language. Here he unites three concepts in a way that they are not often used together elsewhere in the scriptures. The words are awake and walk.

Once again, please remember that there is no dictionary of sacral code words, so everything I write here is only my personal opinion. I am arriving at my definitions based on a combination of what the Hebrew or Greek words mean and also on the way the English translation of those wards is used in the scriptures.

I would like to examine the uses of awake, arise, and walk, and then return to our verse and observe how Alma uses awake and walk.

Paul uses the words the same way: “arise” brings one to a newness of life; “awake” suggests becoming mentally or spiritually alert after sleep—aware of the light.

14 Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. (Ephesians 5:14. Scriptures that use “arise” to represent the resurrection are Malachi 4:2 & D&C 43:18) The word awake is often associated with the word arise. In some scriptures:

“Awake” suggests an invigoration, an alertness, an aliveness of spirit.

“Arise” suggests an the animation of the physical body—of becoming a new person.

It is sometimes associated with the resurrection. But more frequently in the scriptures word arise was used in conjunction with covenant making, and is used to suggest that one becomes a new person after one has made a new covenant.

Walk suggests ascending the mountain i.e. the temple (receiving the ordinances and making the covenants.) It also suggests living one’s life in accordance with the covenants, laws, and statutes of God.

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One stands to make a covenant, so the word “arise” often denotes making a covenant and later keeping that covenant.

Speaking of the Prophet Joseph, Isaiah said

7 Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nations abhorreth, to servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful [in keeping his covenants]. (1 Nephi 21:7, see Isaiah 49:7)

While it is possible this is a reference to earthly kings, it is far more likely that it is a reference to sacral kings who rise to make and keep their covenants.

One of the best examples of standing to make a covenant is found in a story told in both Kings and Chronicles. King Josiah had ordered a remodeling of the temple. Those working on the project discovered a scroll, and took it to the king.

1 And the king sent, and they gathered unto him all the elders of Judah and of Jerusalem.
2 And the king went up into the house of the Lord, and all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with him, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the people, both small and great: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house of the Lord.
3 And the king stood by a pillar, and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all their heart and all their soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people stood to the covenant.(2 Kings 23:1-3, see 2 Chronicles 34:29-33)

At first glance, Alma’s encounter with the angel does not remind one of a covenant, yet, it follows the covenant formula: Alma was commanded to rise, and the conditions of the covenant were given: If he continues to act that way, he will go to hell.

8 But behold, the voice said unto me: Arise. And I arose and stood up, and beheld the angel.
9 And he said unto me: If thou wilt of thyself be destroyed, seek no more to destroy the church of God. (Alma 36:8-9)

The Saviour at the temple at Bountiful used the same formula:

14 Arise and come forth unto me, that ye may thrust your hands into my side, and also that ye may feel the prints of the nails in my hands and in my feet, that ye may know that I am the God of Israel, and the God of the whole earth, and have been slain for the sins of the world. (3 Nephi 11:14)

He used the same covenant formula when he discussed baptism in this dispensation:

10  But, behold, the days of thy deliverance are come, if thou wilt hearken to my voice, which saith unto thee: Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on my name, and you shall receive my Spirit, and a blessing so great as you never have known. (D&C 39:10)

The Saviour used the same formula when he instituted the sacrament among the Nephites.

1 And it came to pass that he commanded the multitude that they should cease to pray, and also his disciples. And he commanded them that they should not cease to pray in their hearts.
2 And he commanded them that they should arise and stand up upon their feet. And they arose up and stood upon their feet.
3 And it came to pass that he brake bread again and blessed it, and gave to the disciples to eat.
4 And when they had eaten he commanded them that they should break bread, and give unto the multitude.
5 And when they had given unto the multitude he also gave them wine to drink, and commanded them that they should give unto the multitude.
6 Now, there had been no bread, neither wine, brought by the disciples, neither by the multitude;
7 But he truly gave unto them bread to eat, and also wine to drink.
8 And he said unto them: He that eateth this bread eateth of my body to his soul; and he that drinketh of this wine drinketh of my blood to his soul; and his soul shall never hunger nor thirst, but shall be filled.(3 Nephi 20:1-8)

The covenant is in the last verse.

In a revelation given through Joseph Smith at Kirtland, Ohio, in December, 1835, the Lord tied the word “arise” directly to keeping one’s covenants.

3 And arise up and be more careful henceforth in observing your vows, which you have made and do make, and you shall be blessed with exceeding great blessings. (D&C 108:3)

In a revelation given in Far West, Missouri, the Lord employed the full range of the words:

2 Let them awake, and arise, and come forth, and not tarry, for I, the Lord, command it.(D&C 117:2)

Later, he used the a similar sequence of ideas in the covenant formula:

103 And again, verily I say unto you, if my servant Sidney will serve me and be counselor unto my servant Joseph, let him arise and come up and stand in the office of his calling, and humble himself before me. (D&C 124:103)

In another revelation given through Joseph Smith at Far West, the Lord uses “arise” but in place of “awake” he says, “and shine forth”

5 Verily I say unto you all: Arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations (D&C115:5)

To “shine forth” is not substantially different from Isaiah’s to “sing” in the following early example of the use of the combination of “awake” and “arise.” Taken out of context it is about the resurrection, but in context it is part of the words of a song that declares, “Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us” (v. 12) Everything in the song it speaks of a spiritual awakening, so one is left unsure whether this is a prophecy of the resurrection or a symbolic representation of the newness of life one experiences after one repents. In either case, “arise” represents a newness of life, and “awake” is the quickening of the soul. In the phrase “awake and sing, “sing” is the defining word.

19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. (Isaiah 26:19)

Lehi uses these representations of spiritual invigoration and physical resurrection to invite his sons to come out of their state of apostate darkness.

14 Awake! and arise from the dust [as in receiving a newness of life], and hear the words of a trembling parent, whose limbs ye must soon lay down in the cold and silent grave, from whence no traveler can return; a few more days and I go the way of all the earth. (2 Nephi 1:14)

Moroni uses Lehi’s words in somewhat the same way. This verse is found in a series of verses designed to evoke one’s recollection of the drama associated with the cosmic myth.

31 And awake, and arise from the dust, O Jerusalem; yea, and put on thy beautiful garments, O daughter of Zion; and strengthen thy stakes and enlarge thy borders forever, that thou mayest no more be confounded, that the covenants of the Eternal Father which he hath made unto thee, O house of Israel, may be fulfilled. (Moroni 10:31)

Both of the above are drawn from Isaiah 51 & 52 where Isaiah contrasts “thou hast laid thy body as the ground” with “awake…aries…put on thy beautiful garments.”

Isaiah’s words are:

23 But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over. (Isaiah 51;23)

1 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.
2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.(Isaiah 52:1-2, see 2 Nephi 8:23-25)

When the Lord quoted those same words in the Doctrine and Covenants he tied them to covenant making and covenant keeping.

14 For Zion must increase in beauty, and in holiness; her borders must be enlarged; her stakes must be strengthened; yea, verily I say unto you, Zion must arise and put on her beautiful garments.
15 Therefore, I give unto you this commandment, that ye bind yourselves by this covenant, and it shall be done according to the laws of the Lord. (D&C 82:14-15)

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“Walk” is often used to denote keeping one’s covenants.

There are two Hebrew words (Strong 1980, 3212) that are translated “walk” in the Old Testament scriptures I have quoted below, but they both have the same meaning: to go, walk, come, leave, die, live, manner of life (fig). In all of these instances the meaning suggested by their contexts is also the same: “manner of life.” In these contexts, “walk” means to receive the ordinances and covenants, or to live according to the ordinances and covenants one has received.

Here are some examples:

15 And he [Jacob] blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day.
16 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. (Genesis 48:13-16)

Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no. (Exodus 16:4)

17 And Moses’ father in law said unto him,…
20 And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do.(Exodus 18:17, 20)

In Leviticus, which is the handbook for the Aaronic Priesthood, to “walk” means to live according to one’s covenants.

1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the Lord your God.
3 After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye walk in their ordinances.
4 Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the Lord your God.
5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the Lord. (Leviticus 18:1-5)

and

2 Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.
3 If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;
4 Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. (Leviticus 26:1-4)

In his great farewell speech to the Israelites, Moses reviewed the Ten Commandments, then concluded with this covenant.

32 Ye shall observe to do therefore as the Lord your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.
33 Ye shall walk in all the ways which the Lord your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess. (Deuteronomy 5:4-33)

Throughout this great sermon, Moses reiterates the covenant. He uses “walk in his ways” to indicates one must keep one’s covenants.

6 Therefore thou shalt keep the commandments of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to fear him.
7 For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; (Deuteronomy 8:4-7)

Moses taught the Israelites what it meant to “walk in all his ways.” The Saviour later paraphrased this, and called it the first and great commandment.

12 And now, Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
13 To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? (Deuteronomy 10:12-13)

There is no instance in the five books of Moses where the word “walk” is used with any meaning other than to perform the ordinances of the temple, to keep God’s commandments, or to keep one’s covenants. But in Joshua, the word “walk” has a new connotation. The first thing one does to create sacred space is to measure and define its boundaries. “Walk” is sometimes used to denote measuring by stepping off, or pacing. An example is in the beginning of the story of Job, where Satan tries to claim this earth as his own by “going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.” (Job 1:7-8) Similarly, before Joshua brought the children of Israel into the promised land, he first sent in spies with these instructions:

And the men arose, and went away: and Joshua charged them that went to describe the land, saying, Go and walk through the land, and describe it, and come again to me, that I may here cast lots for you before the Lord in Shiloh. (Joshua 18:8. Also in Psalms 48 to walk is to designate sacred space.)

The notion of covenant making and covenant keeping is not lost in this use of “walk,” for when one designates sacred space (in this instance Joshua is going to divide it among the tribes by casting lots), there is an implicit covenant that one will keep God’s commands so the space will remain sacred. Joshua made that covenant explicit when he later instructed three of the tribes:

But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. (Joshua 22:5)

Near the end of king David’s reign, he made his son Solomon his successor to the throne.

1 Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,
2 I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;
3 And keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:
4 That the Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel. (1 Kings 2:1-4)

God appeared to Solomon at the beginning of his reign and promised him both wealth and wisdom. This is part of that account:

5 In Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.
6 And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day…
13 And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.
14 And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.
15 And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants. (1 Kings 3:5-15)

Solomon’s building the Temple was the necessary to his keeping that covenant:

9 So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar.
10 And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.
11 And the word of the Lord came to Solomon, saying,
12 Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father:
13 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.
14 So Solomon built the house, and finished it.(1 Kings 6:9-14)

Before delivering the dedicatory prayer of the Temple, Solomon thanked the Lord for keeping his covenants with David:

22 And Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven:
23 And he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart:
24 Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day.
25 Therefore now, Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me.
26 And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father. (1 Kings 8:22-26)

Then Solomon dedicated the Temple:

54 And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the Lord, he arose from before the altar of the Lord, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven.
55 And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying,
56 Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.
57 The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us:
58 That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers.
59 And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the Lord, be nigh unto the Lord our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require:
60 That all the people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else.
61 Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day. (1 Kings 8: 54-61)

The Psalms where the words of the ancient Israelite temple ceremony. One of the most beautiful, and certainly the most famous, is the 23rd Psalm, which reviews the entire ceremony. If one reads the word “walk” to mean keeping one’s covenants notwithstanding the pressures of this world, the entire psalm takes on a new level of meaning. This psalm, like other examples of the cosmic myth, is divided like a three act play.

The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
[Then comes act 2—the lonely, dreary part]
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:
thou anointest my head with oil;
my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:
and [act 3] I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. (Psalms 23:1-6)

Another of my favorites is Psalm 82. This is the charge given to the members of the Council in Heaven by Elohim. The Hebrew word translated “judgeth” means the same as the English “judge.” It means to condemn, exonerate, or to choose—as in judging an apple pie contest. The phrase that they “walk in darkness” means the people know neither the ordinances nor the covenants. There are three voices in this psalm. the first is that of the narrator or chorus (as in a Greek play), the second is Elohim who gives instructions to the members of the Council, and the third is that of the members of the Council who make a covenant that they will follow God’s instructions. Here also, standing is an important part of their covenant making.

[The narrator says]

God standeth in the congregation of the mighty;
he judgeth [chooses] among the gods.

[Elohim, the Father of the Gods, then gives these instructions to the members of the Council in Heaven who are preparing to come to the earth. The word “persons” in verse 2 means faces, as in appearances, or facade. God is telling the members of the Council that when they go to their second estate, they must not judge people by their appearances.]

How long will ye judge unjustly,
and accept the persons [faces] of the wicked?
Defend the poor and fatherless:
do justice to the afflicted and needy.
Deliver the poor and needy:
rid them out of the hand of the wicked.
They know not, neither will they understand;
they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.
I have said, Ye are gods;
and all of you are children of the most High.
But ye shall die like men,
and fall like one of the princes. [that is, fall in battle, like Abinadi]
[The Council then covenants that they will do their part so God can accomplish his purposes.]
Arise, O God [the word is elohim, meaning the gods], judge the earth:
for thou shalt inherit all nations. (Psalms 82:1-8)

One can insert Psalm 82 into Abraham 3: 23 without breaking the cadence of the story:

And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth [chooses] among the gods…… [He gives instructions, then the members of the Council covenant that they will do their part so God can accomplish his purposes. They say:] Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations. And God saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.

Here are a few lines from other psalms.

Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth:
unite my heart to fear thy name. (Psalms 86:11)

Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk,
O Lord, in the light of thy countenance. (Psalms 89:15)

I will sing of mercy and judgment:
unto thee, O Lord, will I sing.
I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way.
O when wilt thou come unto me?
I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. (Psalms 101:1-2)

In the Holy of Holies of Solomon’s Temple, there stood the great throne of God. One either side were two cherubim whose eagle wings overarched the throne. At the end of the coronation ceremony, after he was anointed, the king sat upon this throne to show that he was a legitimate son and heir of God and could serve as God’s representative on the earth. Isaiah refers to those ordinances when he writes:

31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

The Lord placed those words in a covenant setting when he said to the Prophet Joseph:

18 And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow to their bones;
19 And shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures;
20 And shall run and not be weary, and shall walk and not faint.
21 And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the destroying angel shall pass by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen. (D&C 89:18-21)

Nephi used the symbolism of “walk” and “path” to mean keeping one’s covenants. Here is just one example.

8 I have charity for the Jew—I say Jew, because I mean them from whence I came.
9 I also have charity for the Gentiles. But behold, for none of these can I hope except they shall be reconciled unto Christ, and enter into the narrow gate, and walk in the strait path which leads to life, and continue in the path until the end of the day of probation. (2 Nephi 33:8-9)

Mormon used “walk” in the same way it is used in the Old Testament.

5 And king Benjamin lived three years and he died.
6 And it came to pass that king Mosiah did walk in the ways of the Lord, and did observe his judgments and his statutes, and did keep his commandments in all things whatsoever he commanded him. (Mosiah 6:5-6)

Here is Mormon’s description of king Noah’s apostasy:

1 And now it came to pass that Zeniff conferred the kingdom upon Noah, one of his sons; therefore Noah began to reign in his stead; and he did not walk in the ways of his father.
2 For behold, he did not keep the commandments of God, but he did walk after the desires of his own heart. And he had many wives and concubines. And he did cause his people to commit sin, and do that which was abominable in the sight of the Lord. Yea, and they did commit whoredoms and all manner of wickedness. (Mosiah 11:1-2)

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Returning to Alma 7:22

“Awake” is a command to be spiritually animated, to be alert and aware, to sing.

“Arise” suggests a newness of life. As when one makes a new covenant, one receives a new name, and thereby becomes a new person. ,

“Walk” suggests the same idea as path and way. It is the steps (ordinances and covenants by which one climbs the “mountain” (temple). Then, after one comes out of the temple, “walk” is the word that connotes one’s living according to those ordinances and covenants. “Walk” may also denote measuring in order to define sacred space.

And that brings us full circle to the words of Alma to the people of Gideon:

9 But behold, the Spirit hath said this much unto me, saying: Cry unto this people, saying—Repent ye, and prepare the way of the Lord, and walk in his paths, which are straight; for behold, the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and the Son of God cometh upon the face of the earth…..
19 For I perceive that ye are in the paths of righteousness; I perceive that ye are in the path which leads to the kingdom of God; yea, I perceive that ye are making his paths straight.
20 I perceive that it has been made known unto you, by the testimony of his word, that he cannot walk in crooked paths; neither doth he vary from that which he hath said; neither hath he a shadow of turning from the right to the left, or from that which is right to that which is wrong; therefore, his course is one eternal round.
21 And he doth not dwell in unholy temples; neither can filthiness or anything which is unclean be received into the kingdom of God; therefore I say unto you the time shall come, yea, and it shall be at the last day, that he who is filthy shall remain in his filthiness.
22 And now my beloved brethren, I have said these things unto you that I might awaken you to a sense of your duty to God, that ye may walk blameless before him, that ye may walk after the holy order of God, after which ye have been received. (Alma 7:9, 19-22)

To emphasize the significance of Alma’s words, let me structure verse 22 a little differently:

And now my beloved brethren, I have said these things unto you
that I might awaken you to a sense of your duty to God,
that ye may walk blameless before him,
that ye may walk after the holy order of God, after which ye have been received. (Alma 7:9, 22)

In verse 22, where Alma combined the meanings of the words “awaken,” “walk,” and “walk” he was calling on a remarkable precedent. It seems to me that the phrase, “that ye may walk blameless before him,” is a reference to keeping their covenants. The Lord gave a similar commandment to Zion’s Camp:

And this shall be our covenant—that we will walk in all the ordinances of the Lord. (D&C 136:1-6)

I suspect that in the next phrase, “that ye may walk after the holy order of God, after which ye have been received”, “walk” has a somewhat different meaning: it is about ongoing priesthood responsibility. The precedent for this use of walk is found when the Lord gave the Holy Land to Abraham for a home for his family—forever. Within the promise is the instruction that Abraham should “walk through the land” to designate it as sacred space. It is a key to the meaning of the Abrahamic Covenant.

14 And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes [i.e. become alert, as in awake], and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
15 For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.
16 And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.
17 Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.
18 Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord.(Genesis 13:14-18)

Alma’s words, “that I might awaken you to a sense of your duty to God … that ye may walk after the holy order of God, after which ye have been received,” suggests to me that he was calling their attention to the same charge that the Lord had given to Abraham: “ Lift up now thine eyes… Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it” to make it sacred space.

If Alma were calling on the Lord’s words to Abraham as the precedent for his appeal to the people of Gideon, the command would have been this: “that ye may walk after the holy order of God, after which ye have been received”—that you may make your homes and your community sacred space.

 Alma 7:14-16 — LeGrand Baker — the many uses of re-baptism

Alma 7:14-16
14      Now I say unto you that ye must repent, and be born again; for the Spirit saith if ye are not born again ye cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven; therefore come and be baptized unto repentance, that ye may be washed from your sins, that ye may have faith on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, who is mighty to save and to cleanse from all unrighteousness.
15      Yea, I say unto you come and fear not, and lay aside every sin, which easily doth beset you, which doth bind you down to destruction, yea, come and go forth, and show unto your God that ye are willing to repent of your sins and enter into a covenant with him to keep his commandments, and witness it unto him this day by going into the waters of baptism.
16      And whosoever doeth this, and keepeth the commandments of God from thenceforth, the same will remember that I say unto him, yea, he will remember that I have said unto him, he shall have eternal life, according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, which testifieth in me.

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This is one of the most powerful statements in the scriptures about the necessity and efficacy of baptism, yet it presents some intriguing questions. In addressing those questions it testifies of the consistency of the Lord’s methods of repairing a wayward church and, more especially, of the need for a living prophet and of the continual necessity that the Saints always follow that living prophet. The reason is that circumstances change, and while the principles of the gospel are an eternal constant, the cultures in which the gospel is taught and practiced are not the same. Consequently, in our living Church, practices have changed as the needs of the Saints and the external cultural norms have changed. This is not only true in this dispensation, but it was also true in earlier dispensations. Our passage in Alma 7 seems to be an evidence of that.

Everything about Alma’s sermon connotes that he was speaking to a temple-worshiping, temple-worthy group of priesthood holders. His repeatedly calling them “my beloved brethren” insists upon that, as does his appraisal of their spirituality in verses 8-19.

For as I said unto you from the beginning, that I had much desire that ye were not in the state of dilemma like your brethren, even so I have found that my desires have been gratified. For I perceive that ye are in the paths of righteousness; I perceive that ye are in the path which leads to the kingdom of God; yea, I perceive that ye are making his paths straight. (Alma 7:18-19)

Those are words one would speak to a congregation of people who have made and are keeping temple covenants. Yet it is in that context that he urges them to be baptized.

The story is that Alma had laid aside his political duties in order to focus his attention on the affairs of the church. What we are seeing here is a reformation within the church, led by its prophet, where people were asked to use the ordinance of baptism as a token of a covenant that they now assert their renewed commitment to living the gospel. Now, to avoid being called a heretic for writing this, I wish to do the following:

A. To show examples of re-baptism as an evidence of re-commitment in this dispensation, and then to show when and why the practice of re-baptism was discontinued in this dispensation.

B. To show other evidences of the practice of re-baptism in the Book of Mormon .

C. To conclude by observing that without a living prophet to direct the affairs of the church, even people who have an understanding of the gospel would have neither the wisdom nor the authority to pass their understanding on to their next generation.

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A. To show examples of re-baptism as an evidence of re-commitment in this dispensation, and then show when and why the practice of re-baptism was discontinued in this dispensation. To do that, I think it is best to simply allow others who have more authority to speak for me.

The first example of re-baptism in this dispensation was on April 6, 1830, the day the Church was organized. The Prophet Joseph and others who had already been baptized for the remission of sins were baptized as members of the church. Since that time, both necessary purposes of baptism are accomplished by a single ordinance, just as confirmation as members of the church and giving the gift of the Holy Ghost are also done in the same ordinance.

Names of the six members of the Church as they were organized April 6, 1830— Oliver Cowdery, Joseph Smith, Jun., Hyrum Smith, Peter Whitmer, Jun., Samuel H. Smith, David Whitmer. Some of these had been previously baptized; but were all baptized on the day of organization. { 1 }

President Joseph Fielding Smith wrote:

After the arrival of the Pioneers in the Salt Lake Valley, and subsequently for a considerable period, all those who entered the valley were baptized anew at the request of President Brigham Young who, with the Council of the Twelve, set the example to the people who were gathering from all parts of the world. { 2 }

The Encyclopedia of Mormonism gives a succinct explanation of re-baptism in this dispensation.

Re-baptism is rare among Latter-day Saints in modern times. Historically, however, many members were rebaptized as an act of rededication. This was first practiced in Nauvoo and was continued in the Utah Territory. Re-baptism served as a ritual of recommitment but was not viewed as essential to salvation. Members often sought re-baptism when called to assist in colonization or to participate in one of the united orders. On some occasions, the Saints were rebaptized as they prepared for marriage or entrance into the temple. Early members also rebaptized some of the sick among them as an act of healing. Because of misuse by some Church members, all such practices of re-baptism were discontinued in 1897. {3}

Elder James E. Talmage explained why the practice was discontinued.

Repeated baptisms of the same person are not sanctioned in the Church. It is an error to assume that baptism offers a means of gaining forgiveness of sins however oft repeated. Such a belief tends rather to excuse than to prevent sin, inasmuch as the hurtful effects may seem to be easily averted. { 4 }

Elder Melvin J. Ballard explained why it is no longer necessary

If there is a feeling in our hearts that we are sorry for what we have done; if there is a feeling in our souls that we would like to be forgiven, then the method to obtain forgiveness is not through re-baptism, it is not to make confession to man, but it is to repent of our sins, to go to those against whom we have sinned or transgressed and obtain their forgiveness, and then repair to the sacrament table where, if we have sincerely repented and put ourselves in proper condition, we shall be forgiven, and spiritual healing will come to our souls. It will really enter into our being. You have felt it. I am a witness that there is a spirit attending the administration of the sacrament that warms the soul from head to foot; you feel the wounds of the spirit being healed, and the load is lifted. Comfort and happiness come to the soul that is worthy and truly desirous of partaking of this spiritual food. Why do we not all come? Why do we not come regularly to the sacrament service and partake of these emblems and perform this highest worship we can give to our Father in the name of his beloved Son? It is because we do not appreciate it. It is because we do not feel the necessity for this blessing. Or it is because, perhaps, we feel ourselves unworthy to partake of these emblems. { 5 }

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B. To show other evidences in the Book of Mormon of the practice of re-baptism.

In the above instances of re-baptism in our present dispensation, the re-baptism was not for the remission of sins—only the person’s initial baptism was for that. Their subsequent baptisms were tokens of their re-commitment to live the principles and covenants of the gospel, and to support the Saints and the Kingdom of God. There are several evidences of re-baptism in the Book of Mormon and some are much stronger than the one in Alma 7. One is in Third Nephi. Rodney Turner observed:

Following their rebaptism in water, the Nephite twelve were, in like manner, “filled with the Holy Ghost and with fire. { 6 }

This is the rationale that supports his conclusion:

Baptism appears to have been a common practice among the Nephites before the Saviour came. An example is that those who were converted by Samuel the Lamanite were baptized by Nephi Heleman’s son. (Helaman 163-4) Later, Nephi’s son, Nephi, also baptized persons who had repented for the remission of their sins. (3 Nephi 7: 24-26) However, when the Saviour came, he called that same Nephi from the congregation, “and the Lord said unto him: I give unto you power that ye shall baptize this people when I am again ascended into heaven. (see 3 Nephi 1:18-28) Still later, we learn “that Nephi went down into the water and was baptized. And he came up out of the water and began to baptize. And he baptized all those whom Jesus had chosen.” (see 3 Nephi 19: 9-13)

One cannot tell whether this re-baptism was a reaffirmation that those baptized would keep their covenants, or if it was an act of joining the new church the Saviour had established with the twelve disciples at its head, just as those who had already been baptized were rebaptized on April 6, 1830. My opinion is that it was the latter.

Four hundred years later, Moroni was clearly describing a re-baptism. The telling thing about this passage is its second sentence: he wrote: “Behold, elders, priests, and teachers were baptized; and they were not baptized save they brought forth fruit meet that they were worthy of it.” There, the people who are being baptized are”elders, priests, and teachers.” That is, they are people who had already received the priesthood. Since persons who have not been baptized cannot be ordained to the priesthood, it is understood that these priesthood holders must already have been baptized once before, and that the baptism Moroni was writing about was a token of re-commitment.

1   And now I speak concerning baptism. Behold, elders, priests, and teachers were baptized; and they were not baptized save they brought forth fruit meet that they were worthy of it.
2   Neither did they receive any unto baptism save they came forth with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, and witnessed unto the church that they truly repented of all their sins.
3   And none were received unto baptism save they took upon them the name of Christ, having a determination to serve him to the end.
4   And after they had been received unto baptism, and were wrought upon and cleansed by the power of the Holy Ghost, they were numbered among the people of the church of Christ; and their names were taken, that they might be remembered and nourished by the good word of God, to keep them in the right way, to keep them continually watchful unto prayer, relying alone upon the merits of Christ, who was the author and the finisher of their faith. (Moroni 6:1-4)

It appears to me that the baptism at the Waters of Mormon was the same sort of thing. King Noah’s apostasy had not been around long enough corrupt everybody. It was still in its first generation when Abinadi taught Alma. It seems likely that many of their contemporaries would have been baptized by proper authority for the remission of sins, before Noah tried to enforce his own new standards and rules. After escaping an attempted assassination, Alma had been given authority to organize a new church, had taught others what Abinadi had taught, and those who were ready to become members of Alma’s church were gathered at the Waters of Mormon to be baptized into that church.

What Alma was doing was not just extraordinary, it was downright revolutionary. We know virtually nothing about the organization of the Church in Old Testament times. The only reference to a church in pre-exilic Israel is where Nephi says of Zoram, “And he, supposing that I spake of the brethren of the church, and that I was truly that Laban whom I had slain, wherefore he did follow me.” The writers of Kings and Chronicles tell us almost nothing about the organization of the people whom they call “the prophets,” though it is apparent from the stories of Elijah and Elisha that there was some sort of organization. Jewish synagogues did not come into existence until during or soon after the Babylon captivity. Most scholars believe that before the Babylonian captivity, the formal organization of religion was under the direction of the king. That is, that the ruler held the joint office of king and priest—he was the person responsible for both the physical and spiritual well-being of his people. But during king Noah’s reign, this new ruler who was supposed to be the spiritual leader of his community had become blatantly and brazenly apostate.

If treason is, by definition, actively defying one’s king, and trying to set up an opposing kingdom in his place, then every true prophet might be called treasonous, because every true prophet represents a challenge to the kingdoms of this world. Noah did not send an army to the Waters of Mormon because he didn’t agree with Alma’s preaching. He sent them because Alma asserted that Noah had abdicated his royal religious prerogatives by his own apostasy. That, in the eyes of Noah, was treason, and the penalty for treason is death. As Benjamin Franklin observed to those who voted for independence: “Gentlemen, if we do not hang together, we shall surely hang separately.” That was equally true of Alma and those who were gathered with him at the Waters of Mormon.

Noah’s apostasy was of his own making. That is, it was still in its first generation when Abinadi challenged the king’s authority. So it is likely that many people in the kingdom (perhaps even young Alma himself) had already been baptized for the remission of their sins by someone with proper authority. Alma was youthful prince (Mormon makes a point of that when he introduced him by telling us that he was royalty: “he also being a descendant of Nephi.”) What the young man did was assert his own rights to the royal religious leadership; and, under authority given him by God, organize a church that was independent from the control of the apostate king. It appears to me (still my opinion) that the account of the events at the Waters of Mormon is about the formal organization of Alma’s church, and (as in the story of the organization of the church in 1830) that the baptisms performed there were a token of covenants that related to membership in that church. This seems all the more likely since the doctrine of remission of sins was neither a part of Alma’s sermon, nor was it mentioned in the unique and explicit words of the baptismal prayer. Alma asked his friends:

8   Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;
9   Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life. (Mosiah 18: 8-9)

He then explained the covenant associated with the baptism:

10   Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you? (v. 10)

The words of the baptismal prayer were:

13  Helam, I baptize thee, having authority from the Almighty God, as a testimony that ye have entered into a covenant to serve him until you are dead as to the mortal body; and may the Spirit of the Lord be poured out upon you; and may he grant unto you eternal life, through the redemption of Christ, whom he has prepared from the foundation of the world. (v. 13)

It is my opinion that these baptisms at the Waters of Mormon were also re-baptisms, not for the remission of sins, but for entrance into the Church of Christ that Alma had been authorized to establish.

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C. To conclude by observing that without a living prophet to direct the affairs of the church, even people who have a knowledge of the gospel would have neither the wisdom nor the authority to pass it on to the next generation.

If my analysis of the accounts of re-baptisms in the Book of Mormon is correct, then it seems to me that it invites two conclusions: first, the prophets in the Book of Mormon understood that baptism was necessary to salvation, and second, that they also understood that authorized baptism could be used to represent a number of different covenants—and that leads to a third, and very important conclusion: that even an ordinance as fundamental as baptism can be confusing. It has much symbolism (new birth, death, burial, resurrection, adoption, cleansing, remission of sins, to fulfill all righteousness), can also have many purposes (the remission of sins and formal acceptance of the blessings of the atonement, taking upon ourselves the name of the Saviour, entrance into the church, and the variety of other uses we have discussed here). Thus, precedent alone cannot teach one the meaning of baptism: therefore (and this is the whole point), although baptism for any purpose may be an essential part of the framework for salvation, it must be performed under the direction of one who holds the keys, by one who has the proper authority, and in the proper covenantal context. Given the complexity of its great spectrum of meanings and purposes, one must conclude that without the guiding hand of a living prophet, even the best intentioned people could make a muck of the whole concept of baptism without the controlling hand of a living prophet. The first of the Beatitudes in the Book of Mormon reads:

1  Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the words of these twelve whom I have chosen from among you to minister unto you, and to be your servants; and unto them I have given power that they may baptize you with water; and after that ye are baptized with water, behold, I will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost; therefore blessed are ye if ye shall believe in me and be baptized, after that ye have seen me and know that I am. (3 Nephi 1:1)

Baptism and every other principle and ordinance of the gospel moves on that single hinge: “Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed to the brethren.” Take that away and there is nothing left at all.

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ENDNOTES

{ 1 } Joseph Smith, History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7 vols., introduction and notes by B. H. Roberts (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1951), 1:76 footnote.

{ 2 } (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 3 vols., edited by Bruce R. McConkie (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954-1956), 2: 333.

{ 3 } (Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 1-4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow (New York: Macmillan, 1992, p. 1194.)

{ 4 } (James E. Talmage, Articles of Faith (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Co., 1981), 130.

{ 5 } Melvin J. Ballard, Improvement Era, 1919, Vol. Xxii. October, 1919 No. 12.

{ 6 } Rodney Turner, “The Three Nephite Churches of Christ” in Paul R. Cheesman, ed., The Book of Mormon: The Keystone Scripture (Provo: BYU Religious Studies Center, 1988. “Rebaptism” is italicized in the original.), 114.

 Alma 7:11-13 — LeGrand Baker — the value of experience

 Alma 7:11-13
11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.
12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.
13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

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One of the most powerful words in the English language is a conjunction we rarely use in our everyday speech the way it is used in the scriptures, and so we often pretty much ignore it when we read it that way. The conjunction is “that.” Please read the following carefully (I have removed “that”) as an example of its importance and of its structural use.

3 O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it;—- they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father,—- they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them, —- they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen. (Moroni 4:3.)

Now look at it this way, and observe the structure that is created by the repetition of the word “that”:

O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to

bless and sanctify this bread
to the souls of all those who partake of it;
that
they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and
witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father,
that
they are willing to
take upon them the name of thy Son, and
always remember him,
and keep his commandments which he hath given them,
that
they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.
(Moroni 4:3.)

 When we look at our verse 13 we discover the same kind of logical sequence: one idea building on the other.

Now the Spirit knoweth all things;

nevertheless
the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh
that
he might take upon him the sins of his people,
that
he might blot out their transgressions
according to the power of his deliverance;
and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

 Alma is saying that even though the Saviour “knoweth all things,” if he had not actually suffered in the flesh, he could not have taken upon him the sins of his people, and therefore he could not have caused their transgressions to cease to exist.

The implication seems to be that even the Creator God had to experience physical sorrow and physical pain in order to blot out our sorrow, our pain, and our sins.

If experience in this world is that important for him, then surely it is for us also. We can feel sorry for those who hurt, but we can only feel empathy for those who hurt in the same way we have already hurt.

Like so many of the prophets, Paul walks us through the sequence of faith (pistis=the tokens of the covenant), hope (living as though the covenants were already fulfilled), and charity (what we are when the law of consecration is what we do). But unlike the others, he adds a condition to “hope” that gives it a much broader meaning:

1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. (Romans 5:1-5)

 Christians sometimes tend to overlook Ecclesiastes because of its poetic imagery, but there is much wisdom there. Here, for example, is a discussion of experience that is spoken by one who understands, but who sees experience as producing futility rather than hope.

12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.

13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.
14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
15 That which is crooked cannot be made straight: and that which is wanting cannot be numbered.
16 I communed with mine own heart, saying, Lo, I am come to great estate, and have gotten more wisdom than all they that have been before me in Jerusalem: yea, my heart had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.
17 And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit.
18 For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow. (Ecclesiastes 1:12-18)

 He is correct in many ways. Wisdom brings grief and knowledge brings sorrow. All one has to do is read the prophets’ warnings to discover how true that is of them. In addition to that, human wisdom opens the windows of instability and foolishness, but it also screams out the question: “Is this all there is?” The answer is imbedded in experience.

One whose heart has not been torn in pieces by betrayed love, can not experience in his own soul the agony of such sorrow felt by others. One who has not experienced great physical pain can not even will himself to understand the pain of others. A person who has not felt the clutching grasp and weighty drag of temptation can never sense the agony of one who slipped and fell. Similarly, one who has not experience the comfortableness of requited love, cannot know the peace and fulfillment another person can bring to one’s own sense of self. Just as one who has not been in the presence of the Saviour cannot know the fullness of the joy of his love. It is through experience that we gain the power and the wisdom to bless and to be blessed. Experience is not only the key, it is the only key to wisdom — as the ancients defined wisdom — knowing, understanding, and loving as God knows, understands, and loves.

Thus the Saviour could explain to the Prophet Joseph:

7 Know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.

8 The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he? (D&C 122:7b-8)