Question: When do we receive the actual remission of sins?
Answer: Sins are remitted when we receive the Holy Ghost, not in the waters of baptism (McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith, p. 290.) It is the Holy Spirit of God that erases carnality and we become clean when we receive the fellowship and companionship of the Holy Ghost.
“And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God as was Aaron” (Hebrews 5:4).
How was Aaron called? By his brother Moses, the prophet, who then laid hands on his head and conferred the priesthood upon Aaron. Where did Moses get the authority? From Jethro, his father-in-law, a Semite, who held the Melchizedec priesthood (D&C 84:6-7).
And where do modern-day Christian ministers and leaders derive their priesthood authority? From schools, universities, and institutes. From a calling they feel deeply and sincerely. I do not question the sincerity of another’s belief, but God explained clearly the process of getting the priesthood, it must come from one who already has it.
Paul wrote to the Ephesians that there is “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesian 4:5). Either sprinkling a child is correct or immersion when 8 is correct, there is no in-between. These represent two different baptisms. Infant baptism isn’t new; it was practiced in the days of Abraham (JST-Genesis 17:4-8, 1), and in the days of Mormon and Moroni (Moroni 8).
The Lord is eloquent in His indignation. First He explains why little children don’t need baptism.
“And…little children need no repentance, neither baptism. Behold baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments unto the remission of sins.”
Baptism began with Adam, the first man. “He was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was…brought forth out of the water. And thus he was baptized.” (Moses 6:64-65)
This established the pattern. All of the apostles and prophets were baptized and all performed baptisms. Documented records of prophets being baptized include Enoch, Noah, Abraham, and Moses (Moses 6:47-68; 8:19-24; JST-Genesis 17:3-7; 1 Corinthians 10”1-4).
In Isaiah 48:1 we read the “house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel and [had] come forth out of the waters of Judah.” This refers to baptism (1 Nephi 20:1).
Baptism carries an interesting connotation when speaking to people who consider themselves Christian in the Protestant and Catholic fashion.
With few exceptions, the ordinance of baptism has been distorted so dramatically that the only two features of origin still remaining are the presence of the person being baptized and the substance of water. Other concepts such as power and authority, mode, meaning, age, metaphors, similes, and purpose are lost and forgotten.
