The Vitality of Mormonism: Brief Essays on Distinctive Doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsTalmage, James E. (James Edward)
Religion
The Vitality of Mormonism: Brief Essays on Distinctive Doctrines of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Talmage, James E. (James Edward)
Latter Day Saint churches; Latter Day Saints
"On this wise shall ye baptize; and there shall be no disputations
among you. Verily I say unto you, that whoso repenteth of his sins
through your words, and desireth to be baptized in my name, on this
wise shall ye baptize them: behold, ye shall go down and stand in the
water, and in my name shall ye baptize them. And now behold, these are
the words which ye shall say, calling them by name, 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. And then shall ye
immerse them in the water, and come forth again out of the water. . . .
And there shall be no disputations among you, as there hath hitherto
been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the
points of my doctrine, as there hath hitherto been. For verily, verily
I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but
is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up
the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another. . . . And
this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given
unto me. . . . And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same
shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.
And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned."
(Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 11).
Then by specific commission He empowered the Twelve Disciples to
administer the higher baptism of the Spirit, or the bestowal of the
Gift of the Holy Ghost.
The sacrament of bread and wine was instituted by the Lord for the
further blessing of those who, after due confession of faith and
repentance, had been baptized in His name. As to partaking of the
broken and consecrated bread He gave special commandment: "And this
shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I have shewn unto you. And
it shall be a testimony unto the Father, that ye do always remember me.
And if ye do always remember me, ye shall have my Spirit to be with
you."
In connection with the administration of the sacramental wine He said:
"Ye shall do it in remembrance of my blood, which I have shed for you,
that ye may witness unto the Father that ye do always remember me. And
if ye do always remember me, ye shall have my Spirit to be with you."
(18:7-11).
We read further: "And they who were baptized in the name of Jesus were
called the Church of Christ." (26:21).
Thus was the Church of Jesus Christ organized among the ancient
Americans. For nearly two centuries it flourished with such fruitage of
blessing as had never before been known. Then the weeds of dissension
attained so rank a growth as to well-nigh smother the tree of the
Lord's own planting. Man-made churches sprang up, and persecution, foul
sister to intolerance, became rampant.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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