by John P. Pratt
23 May 2021, Pentecost (Firstfruits, PH), Wild Ox (S), Sire (US), King (P), Esther (UH)
©2021 by John P. Pratt. All rights reserved.
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1. Contradictions? 2. Kingdoms of Heaven 2.1 Telestial 2.2 Terrestrial 2.3 Celestial 3. LDS Practice 4. Sacramental Covenant 5. Conclusion Notes |
Exactly when does one become a Christian? When can one write in their diary that they became a Christian that day?
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A related question is just what is the relationship between (1) being "saved" in the Christian sense, (2) becoming Christian, and (3) joining the Church of Christ. Some may feel that all three of these phrases are simply different words meaning the same thing, whereas others might distinguish between them.[3]
This article attempts to answer the first question about exactly when a person becomes a "Christian" in the light of modern revelation, especially from the LDS Doctrine and Covenants.
Some scriptures in the Bible sound confused or contradictory on this point of accepting the teachings of Jesus and becoming a Christian. The apostle Paul stated:
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. — Romans 10:9-11 (emphasis added).
And yet when Paul found a group who had been baptized, and it was then discovered that they had been baptized by questionable authority, Paul baptized them again and gave them the gift of the Holy Ghost:
And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. — Acts 19:1-6.
Was Paul confused? Or are we confused? Is confessing enough or is baptism required? A wise man said, "Not to understand a man's purpose does not make him confused!"[4]
Perhaps it is explained by the concept that if one believes in Jesus, then he will do as Jesus taught and be baptized. Consider this case where Paul teaches both concepts:
And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. — Acts 16:30-33 (emphasis added).
In other words, the solution to the contradiction may be that if one accepts Jesus, that he will also follow His teachings and be baptized. But that solution may not be satisfying, nor even correct. There are many Christians who did not even confess Jesus with their lips, but merely accepted Him in their hearts, and walked down to the front of a congregation to witness this publicly. They consider that date to be when they became Christian, perhaps never having been baptized. And the lives of many of those people immediately changed, allowing them even to display the gifts of the Spirit, such as healing! That is a powerful witness that repenting, and accepting Christ is indeed all that is needed!
Even the Lord Himself might sound confused on this point in latter-day revelation! Consider the following to declaration by the Lord in 1828, before the restored Church of Christ was founded in 1830:
Behold, this is my doctrine — whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church. Whosoever declareth more or less than this, the same is not of me, but is against me; therefore he is not of my church. — D&C 10:67-68 (emphasis added).
That word from the Lord clearly states at if one repents and comes to Christ, then he is, at that very moment, included as member of His church! If anyone adds any other requirement, then he is not of Christ, but against Christ! So does that include even adding the requirement of baptism?
Yet on the other hand, one of the first things that Jesus declared when He appeared to the Nephites was this:
And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them. And whoso shall declare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a sandy foundation, and the gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them. — 3 Nephi 11:38-40 (emphasis added).
The Lord is very careful with His words. So is baptism required or not? Can these two scriptures be resolved, which are basically parallel examples to what Paul taught?
This article attempts to resolve these apparent contradictions, where different sects of Christianity have chosen different scriptures for their method of determining Church membership. To understand this, let us consider what has been learned in modern revelation about the meaning of "heaven".
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Jesus taught the simple concept the a person is either choosing good or evil, and unless he is fighting against God, he is considered to be with God (Mark 9:40 , 1 Nephi 14:10). He referred to those who choose good as being represented by sheep, to be found on His right hand when He comes in glory, and those who choose evil as goats to be found on His left hand (Mat 25:33).
The Church of Christ as restored to Joseph Smith was given to know that actually "heaven" has three degrees or levels: telestial (least glory), terrestrial (middle), and celestial (most glory). A simple way to think of the three levels is that the celestial are those who accepted Jesus and chose to follow God's commandments valiantly during life, the terrestrial includes those who rejected Jesus in life, but accepted Him afterwards, and the telestial is for those who totally rejected God and Jesus, but at least followed their conscience and promptings of the Holy Spirit. Those who rejected even the Holy Ghost are the only ones who do not go to some level of heaven, but instead are cast into the lake of fire prepared for the devil and his angels. They are called the sons of Perdition. Everyone will go to the place where they will be happiest (D&C 88:33) because it is uncomfortable to associate with those either above you or below you in spirituality. Let's review that revelation, because the requirements for each differ substantially.
Most of humanity will apparently find themselves in the Telestial Kingdom. The requirement to enter this part of heaven are minimal indeed. It includes atheists, liars, adulterers, and whoremongers (D&C 76:103). It includes those who rejected the Savior (D&C 76:101). The souls[5] of such individuals will suffer in hell under the influence of the devil until the Final Judgment at the end of the Millennium (D&C 76:84-85; 106), but then they inherit a kingdom of glory which surpasses all understanding (D&C 76:89).
Only those who truly desire to follow Satan become sons of Perdition. These people will be happier with Satan than being in any kingdom of heaven, where they just would not fit in! The sons of Perdition are the only ones who in the end are cast out with the devil and his angels, not to be redeemed in the due time of the Lord (D&C 76:36,38).
As for what it means to be "saved", this revelation explains two different meanings: those "saved" from their soul suffering in hell until the Final Judgment (the usual Christian meaning) need to qualify for higher kingdom than telestial, but the Lord eventually saves all from the devil except for the sons of Perdition (D&C 76:44).
Perhaps the main characteristic of those in the Telestial Kingdom of heaven is the attachment to worldly, physical pleasures, such as being rich and living an easy life of fulfilling lusts. There is no requirement to believe in God whatsoever, even though eventually every knee will bow to acknowledge Him (D&C 76:110). One sin to avoid in order to qualify coming here is that of murder by shedding innocent blood. Murder was not included in the lists of sins allowed to qualify for this kingdom of glory.
The Holy Ghost governs this kingdom through angelic ministers from the Terrestrial Kingdom (D&C 76:86). Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ do not dwell in this kingdom, as it is designed for those who rejected them. Very many Pagans and atheists, as well as Christians in name only, will end up in this kingdom, especially those who sought lusts of the flesh.
Jesus Christ reigns in the Terrestrial Kingdom (D&C 76:77), the middle kingdom of glory. It is said to be as much brighter than the telestial as the moon is above a star (D&C 76:81). That is about a million time brighter! When most Christians are asked to describe the heaven which they desire, besides wanting a beautiful, peaceful place, near loved ones, they also hope to sit at the feet of Jesus. That is a description of the Terrestrial Kingdom.
This is the kingdom for those who died without law, for those who did not accept the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it; for honorable people of the earth who were blinded by the craftiness of men; and for those who were not valiant in the testimony of Jesus (D&C 76:72-75, 79).
This is apparently the Kingdom designed for the church of Christ, in the sense of being for those who either answered an altar call to accept Him, or who declared it with their lips with sincerity after having accepted Jesus in their hearts. In other words, this the "church of Christ" which does not require baptism by one with the authority of the Aaronic Priesthood to enter. This is apparently the kingdom the Lord referred to as "whosoever repenteth and cometh unto me, the same is my church." (D&C 10:68).
Heavenly Father presides in the Celestial Kingdom (D&C 76:62). It is said to be as much brighter than the terrestrial as the sun is above the moon (D&C 76:70-71). That is about a million time brighter! Thus, when Jesus speaks of the "Kingdom of God" or the "Kingdom of my Father", He is speaking of the Celestial Kingdom.
This is the kingdom for which one of the first requirements to qualify to enter is to be baptized in the manner commanded (D&C 76:51). A standard LDS teaching is that baptism is the "door to the Celestial Kingdom." This is the point that the LDS Church makes so strongly, but it has not been understood that the requirement is above and beyond what is required to join the church of Christ. That has been the confusion. An authorized baptism is required to join the Kingdom of God. That may seem like an insignificant distinction, but look at all of the wide variations among Christian congregations on this point.
There are many more requirements to be worthy of the Celestial Kingdom, such as being valiant in the testimony of Jesus and overcoming all tests by faith (D&C 76:53, 60).
A good example of a clear distinction made by Jesus between his congregation (church) of followers and the Kingdom of God, was when he stated in the Sermon on the Mount:
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. — Mat. 7:21
Who would be saying unto Him, "Lord, Lord"? Would it not be His followers, Christians, who call Him both Lord and Savior? It would not be others who would be expecting to be in the kingdom of heaven. So Jesus is clearly saying that not all members of his Church, that is, Christians, shall enter into the Kingdom of his Father, but only that part of his followers who actually keep the commandments and do the will of the Father. Thus, many Christians will be at most in the middle kingdom. Only those who do the will of the Father shall be in the higher kingdom, where the Father presides. Moreover, Jesus went on to say that some who did miracles in His name were actually doing evil! Those are commanded to depart from Him (Mat. 7:22-23), which would put them at best in the Telestial (lowest) Kingdom of heaven where Jesus shall not dwell.
This example shows how some of the sayings of Jesus which have been difficult to understand become much more clear with understanding the different levels of heaven. In fact, this example apparently indirectly refers to all three levels.
The various branches of the restoration by Joseph Smith have a good understanding of at least some of these issues. The question of the minimum age for baptism is clarified by revelation to be eight years of age,[6] provided that the youth is accountable by then for his own actions:
And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents. For this shall be a law unto the inhabitants of Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized. And their children shall be baptized for the remission of their sins when eight years old, and receive the laying on of the hands. — D&C 68:25-27.
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When John the Baptist was baptizing in the River Jordan, no one was joining a church. They were participating in an outward ordinance representing repenting of sins, by symbolizing the "death" of the natural man, and being reborn unto God. They were also witnessing their acceptance of the authority of John as a true servant of God.
Similarly, when Jesus was baptized he was both setting an example of how to enter the Kingdom of His Father, as well as acknowledging the authority of John as holding the keys of a dispensation of the gospel, by preaching of the coming of Christ.
So the technical LDS answer, often overlooked by most Mormons, is that one joins the Church when one is confirmed to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, and given the gift of the Holy Ghost. It is my understanding that the institutional Church of Christ began on the day of Pentecost when the multitude received the Holy Ghost and spoke in tongues. Three thousand new followers were baptized on that day (Acts 2:41).
It is with this understanding of joining the Church of Jesus Christ at confirmation that the confusion begins. The Biblical meaning of "church" is "congregation". When D&C 10, quoted above with a definition of members of the church of Christ, was given in 1828, the institution of the Church of Christ had not yet been founded. That occurred on Tue 6 Apr 1830. So clearly that revelation spoke of the general congregation of all Christians. Baptism was indeed required to join the formal institution of the Church of Jesus Christ founded by Joseph Smith, so that led to the confusion of the church of all Christians, with the church of some latter-day saints, which had the same name.
But wait! What about the Christian requirement that one must truly repent and come unto Christ? Or perhaps confesses publicly that they accept Jesus as their Savior? How many LDS 8 year-olds are baptized because they were found to be "worthy" by the bishop because they attend meetings with their family. What if they do not truly believe that Jesus is their Savior or have any idea what that means? In other words, even with fulfilling the higher requirement of baptism, they may not have fulfilled the fundamental requirement of coming unto Jesus!
Another important point is that the candidate for either baptism or confirmation makes no declaration at the time of either ordinance. The words of the baptism ordinance are merely that the person is being baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. The person does not make any covenant with God nor formal acceptance of Jesus, so in that sense, some of these baptisms and confirmations may not qualify to to meet even the minimum of standard of becoming a Christian. In other words, according to the above conclusion that one becomes a "Christian" on the day they truly accept Christ may not refer to any day in the life of a Mormon. Surely all of us have known people who were baptized as children of age eight, who left the Church as a teenager for the rest of their lives. Many of them say they were baptized only to please their parents or be with their friends. If so, then they may never really have been a "Christian" any more than an infant who was baptized, but who never accepted Christ when older.
If that conclusion is correct, then what went wrong? Where did Mormons miss the true meaning of joining the church of Christ? The true Aaronic Priesthood has been restored through Joseph Smith, and yet something has apparently gotten off track. Let's look at what might have happened to cause unmeaningful baptisms.
One proposed answer to where the LDS Church may have gone wrong concerning this discussion is found in the D&C itself. When is the day on which a person manifests by an outward priesthood ordinance that they are covenanting with God to accept Jesus Christ by taking upon themselves His name, and that they will always remember Jesus, and that they will obey the commandments of Jesus? That's right! The covenant is made when they first partake of the sacrament! Those are the three promises they make when partaking of the sacrament. They are contained in the prayer on the bread (D&C 20:77). The sacrament is not a "renewal" of the baptismal covenant, as is often taught, because no covenant is made at the time of baptism. It is when the covenant is first made and continues to be renewed! And as discussed above, baptism and sacrament are actually about joining the Kingdom of God, the Celestial Kingdom, a step above merely being a Christian, which could have happened earlier, including before a child was 8 years old.
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It is here proposed, that it has been a huge mistake to allow unbaptized children to partake of the sacrament! That has caused the sacrament to have no meaning to them. One visiting youngster returned home from visiting an LDS Church, stating that "light refreshments" were served. A child who has grown up taking the sacrament will never remember the first time they partook, nor have any idea that they were supposed to be making a covenant at that time!
The scriptures are clear that the sacrament is intended only for baptized members of the Church! Consider the following:
The duty of the members after they are received by baptism — The elders or priests are to have a sufficient time to expound all things concerning the church of Christ to their understanding, previous to their partaking of the sacrament and being confirmed by the laying on of the hands of the elders, so that all things may be done in order. — D&C 20:68 (emphasis added).
Note the importance of first partaking of the sacrament after baptism, and after having been taught what will be expected of them as members of the Church, and before confirmation!
Thus, while Mormons have chided Christians who perform the holy sacrament of baptism on infants, they have made the same error in giving the holy sacrament of the Lord's Supper to infants! That has destroyed any sense of importance of the sacrament to their newly baptized children.
Just think how wonderful it would be if all during their youth, children had been watching their parents and older siblings partake of the sacrament, but they being told they would have to wait until they were baptized for that privilege! It would become a "rite of passage", like a sixteen-year-old getting a driver's license! It could be a truly memorable event.[7]
Thus, it is here proposed that the day on which any person becomes a member of the church of Jesus Christ is the day, after they have repented, on which they accept in their heart Jesus as their personal Savior. That could be manifested by responding to an altar call to accept Christ as their Savior, or it could be when a public testimony was given, at any age, of having accepted Jesus, or being baptized in a river, or perhaps on the day when a properly taught child knowingly makes a covenant with God upon partaking the sacrament for the first time.
This article begins by noting some of the wide variation of understandings among different Christian sects concerning just when a person becomes a Christian: some say a person joins the church of Christ immediately upon repentance and accepting Jesus as their Savior, others insist that baptism is required. Then various scriptures are reviewed which indicate where this confusion originates, because even in the Bible both views are presented.
A proposed resolution of this apparent conflict is then presented based on both a careful reading of the texts, as well as an understanding of "heaven" as explained in modern revelation. The precise wording shows that the conflicting scriptures are speaking of two different concepts. It is proposed that the church (congregation) of Christ indeed comprises all of those who have repented and accepted Jesus as their Savior, including, for example, those who respond to an altar call to accept Him and become a Christian. It is on that date they can indeed say they were "saved" and became a Christian.
On the other hand, the scriptures which speak of the necessity of baptism refer not to becoming a follower of Jesus or joining his congregation, but instead to taking a step to be accepted into the Kingdom of God, which is not the same as the church of Jesus.
Modern revelation given to the Prophet Joseph Smith teaches that there are three degrees or level of heaven. It is in the middle kingdom where Jesus presides. Those who envision heaven to be a peaceful place where they can sit at the feet of Jesus, will be thrilled to be in the middle kingdom. Most members of the church of Christ would be very comfortable in that heaven, to be with Jesus. The highest kingdom, in contrast, is where God, that is, Heavenly Father, presides. Baptism is a requirement to qualify for the Kingdom of God.
Thus, it was not Paul, nor Jesus, who were confused on these points, but rather a lack of understanding of the difference between church of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God!