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In the Latter Day Saint movement, baptism is recognized as the first of several ordinances (rituals) of the gospel. [1]
Much of the Latter Day Saint theology of baptism was established during the early Latter Day Saint movement founded by Joseph Smith. Baptism must be by immersion and is for the remission of sins (meaning that through baptism, past sins are forgiven), and occurs after one has shown faith and repentance. Latter Day Saint baptism does not purport to remit any sins other than personal ones, as adherents do not believe in original sin. Baptisms also occur only after an "age of accountability" which is defined as the age of eight years. [2] The theology thus rejects infant baptism. [3] According to the account in Joseph Smith–History 1:68, [4] the first Latter Day Saint baptisms occurred on May 15, 1829, when Smith and Oliver Cowdery baptized each other in the Susquehanna River near Harmony, Pennsylvania shortly after receiving the Aaronic priesthood from John the Baptist.
In addition, Latter Day Saint theology requires baptism only be performed by a priesthood holder. [5] The minimum required priesthood level to perform a baptism in Mormonism is nominally priest. Within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement, this is a worthy male member who is at least 15 years old, [6] and the rite is further overseen by a bishop. Because the churches of the Latter Day Saint movement operate under a lay priesthood, children raised in a Latter Day Saint family are usually baptized by a father or close male friend or family member.
Latter Day Saints view baptism as symbolic of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, [7] and also symbolic of the baptized individual separating from the "natural" or sinful aspects of humanity and becoming spiritually reborn as a disciple of Jesus.
Membership into a Latter Day Saint church is granted only by baptism. Latter Day Saint churches do not recognize the baptisms of other faiths as they believe baptisms must be performed under the church's unique priesthood authority. Therefore, any converts are baptized at their conversion.
Baptism (and any subsequent callings in the church) are preceded by a baptismal interview. [8]
Section 20 of the Doctrine and Covenants first documented the instructions for Latter Day Saint baptism.
"The person who is called of God and has authority from Jesus Christ to baptize, shall go down into the water with the person who has presented himself or herself for baptism, and shall say, calling him or her by name: Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. Then shall he immerse him or her in the water, and come forth again out of the water." [9]
People being baptized or performing the baptism typically wear a "one-piece suit" with "short sleeves, and is lined to the knee." Baptisms are usually performed in a baptismal font, but any body of water in which the person may be completely immersed is acceptable. The person administering the baptism must recite the prayer exactly, and immerse every part, limb, hair and clothing of the person being baptized. If there are any mistakes, or if any part of the person being baptized is not fully immersed, the baptism is repeated until it is performed correctly. In addition to the baptizer, two church members witness the baptism to ensure that it is performed properly. [10] [11] [12]
Following baptism, Latter Day Saints receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands of a Melchizedek priesthood holder. [13]
The LDS Church practices baptism for the dead "vicariously" or "by proxy" in temples for anyone who did not receive these ordinances while living. [14]
Rebaptism is also practiced in the Latter Day Saint movement, currently by the LDS Church and the Community of Christ, primarily as a means of readmittance into the respective church.
In late 1839, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (by an 1838 revelation) [15] [16] was relocated to Nauvoo, Illinois. Many who were already baptized members of the church, were rebaptised either to show a renewal of their commitment to the movement or as part of a healing ordinance. [17]
The LDS Church does not recognize baptisms performed by any other denomination. All converts to the church must be baptized under the direction of local church leaders. In this sense, the church practices rebaptism.
In addition, while scripture makes it clear that baptism is necessary for salvation, early church leaders noticed that there is no scriptural prohibition against being baptized more than once. Members would often be rebaptized before serving missions or when marrying, to show determination to follow the gospel during their mission or marriage.
After the death of Joseph Smith in 1844, rebaptism became a more important ordinance in the LDS Church, as led by Brigham Young. Young led his group to the Great Basin in what is now Utah, and most of his followers were rebaptized soon after arriving as a sign that they would rededicate their lives to Christ. During the "Mormon Reformation" of 1856–57, rebaptism became an extremely important ordinance, signifying that the church member confessed their sins and would live a life of a Latter-day Saint. [18] Church members were rebaptized prior to new covenants and ordinances, such as ordination to a new office of the priesthood, receiving temple ordinances, getting married, or entering plural marriage. In an 1881 letter from apostle Joseph F. Smith, he states, "Will you please notify the Bishops in your stake that all persons whose first baptisms have not taken place within a very recent period must be re-baptized before they receive their recommends to pass through the House of the Lord." [19]
In addition to acting as a sign of repentance and recommitment, rebaptism was also seen as a healing ordinance frequently practiced in the temple as such until around 1922 when the church's First Presidency issued a letter stating that "baptizing for health is no part of temple work, and therefore to permit it to become a practice would be an innovation, detrimental to temple work, and a departure as well from the practice instituted of the Lord for the care and healing of the sick." [20]
Rebaptism remains a practice in the LDS Church today but is practiced only when a member whose membership was previously withdrawn (formerly called excommunication) or resigned rejoins the church. In such cases, the wording of the ordinance is identical to that of the first baptismal ordinance.
Among the Latter Day Saints who remained in the Midwest, rebaptism generally has been practiced only when an excommunicate rejoins the church. When Joseph Smith III and his mother, Emma Hale Smith Bidamon, joined with the "New Organization" of the church in 1860, their original baptisms were considered sufficient. The organization, now known as the Community of Christ, occasionally cited its avoidance of rebaptism as proof that it is the true continuation of the original Latter Day Saint church.
Mormonism is the theology and religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of the Latter Day Saint movement, although there has been a recent push from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to distance themselves from this label. A historian, Sydney E. Ahlstrom, wrote in 1982 that, depending on the context, the term Mormonism could refer to “a sect, a mystery cult, a new religion, a church, a people, a nation, or an American subculture; indeed, at different times and places it is all of these."
In the Latter Day Saint movement, priesthood is the power and authority of God given to man, including the authority to perform ordinances and to act as a leader in the church. A group of priesthood holders is referred to as a quorum.
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the term ordinance is used to refer to sacred rites and ceremonies that have spiritual and symbolic meanings and act as a means of conveying divine grace. Ordinances are physical acts which signify or symbolize an underlying spiritual act; for some ordinances, the spiritual act is the finalization of a covenant between the ordinance recipient and God.
The Aaronic priesthood is the lesser of the two orders of priesthood recognized in the Latter Day Saint movement. The others are the Melchizedek priesthood and the rarely recognized Patriarchal priesthood. Unlike the Melchizedek priesthood, which is modeled after the authority of Jesus and the Twelve Apostles, or the Patriarchal priesthood, which is modeled after the authority of Abraham, the Aaronic priesthood is modeled after the priesthood of Aaron the Levite, the first high priest of the Hebrews, and his descendants. The Aaronic priesthood is thought to be a lesser or preparatory priesthood and an "appendage" of the more powerful Melchizedek priesthood.
The Latter Day Saint movement is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Joseph Smith in the late 1820s.
The Latter Day Saint movement is a religious movement within Christianity that arose during the Second Great Awakening in the early 19th century and that led to the set of doctrines, practices, and cultures called Mormonism, and to the existence of numerous Latter Day Saint churches. Its history is characterized by intense controversy and persecution in reaction to some of the movement's doctrines and practices and their relationship to mainstream Christianity. The purpose of this article is to give an overview of the different groups, beliefs, and denominations that began with the influence of Joseph Smith.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has several unique teachings about Judaism and the House of Israel. The largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement, the LDS Church, teaches the belief that the Jewish people are God's chosen people and it also teaches the belief that its members share a common and literal Israelite ancestry with the Jewish people.
In the Latter Day Saint movement, confirmation, is an ordinance essential for salvation. It involves the laying on of hands and is performed after baptism. Through confirmation, the initiate becomes an official member of the church and receives the gift of the Holy Ghost. Baptism and confirmation are administered to persons at least eight years old. The ordinance corresponds to the confirmation rite in many other Christian faiths. Confirmations were first performed on April 6, 1830, at the organizational meeting of the Church of Christ.
The Restoration Church of Jesus Christ (RCJC), based in Salt Lake City, Utah, was a church in the Latter Day Saint movement that catered primarily to the spiritual needs of LGBT Latter Day Saints. It was founded in 1985 and was dissolved 25 years later in 2010.
Symbolism in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the process whereby objects or actions have been invested with an inner meaning expressing church ideas. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its membership have adopted a number of symbols that differ from those typically used in Christianity.
In the Latter Day Saint movement, a covenant is a promise made between God and a person or a group of people. God sets the conditions of the covenant, and as the conditions are met, he blesses the person who entered into and kept the covenant. If the covenant is violated, blessings are withheld and in some cases a penalty or punishment is inflicted.
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the priesthood is the power and authority to act in the name of God for the salvation of humankind. Male members of the church who meet standards of worthy behavior and church participation are generally ordained to specific offices within the priesthood.
Rebaptism in Christianity is the baptism of a person who has previously been baptized, usually in association with a denomination that does not recognize the validity of the previous baptism. When a denomination rebaptizes members of another denomination, it is a sign of significant differences in theology. Churches that practice exclusive believer's baptism, including Baptists and Churches of Christ, rebaptize those who were baptized as infants because they do not consider infant baptism to be valid.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints focuses its doctrine and teaching on Jesus Christ; that he was the Son of God, born of Mary, lived a perfect life, performed miracles, bled from every pore in the Garden of Gethsemane, died on the cross, rose on the third day, appeared again to his disciples, and now resides, authoritatively, on the right hand side of God. In brief, some beliefs are in common with Catholics, Orthodox and Protestant traditions. However, teachings of the LDS Church differ significantly in other ways and encompass a broad set of doctrines, so that the above-mentioned denominations usually place the LDS Church outside the bounds of orthodox Christian teaching as summarized in the Nicene Creed.
Baptism for the dead, vicarious baptism or proxy baptism today commonly refers to the religious practice of baptizing a person on behalf of one who is dead—a living person receiving the rite on behalf of a deceased person.
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a temple is a building dedicated to be a House of the Lord. Temples are considered by church members to be the most sacred structures on earth.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and a topical guide to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Exaltation is a belief in Mormonism that after death some people will reach the highest level of salvation in the celestial kingdom and eternally live in God's presence, continue as families, become gods, create worlds, and make spirit children over whom they will govern. In the largest Mormon denomination, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, top leaders have taught God wants exaltation for all humankind and that humans are "gods in embryo". A verse in the LDS Church's canonized scripture states that those who are exalted will become gods, and a 1925 statement from the church's highest governing body said that "All men and women are in the similitude of the universal Father and Mother ... [and are] capable, by experience through ages and aeons, of evolving into a God."
Remnant fellowships are a loosely organized branch of the Latter Day Saint movement formed by individuals who accept alleged divine revelations received by Denver Snuffer Jr.. The Remnant Fellowships generally feel called to personal and social renewal preparatory to Christ's eventual second coming. According to movement beliefs, participants anticipate a coming time when remnants remain within the full restored covenant with Jesus Christ: an allusion to a belief that "The Bible, Book of Mormon, and modern revelation through the Prophet Joseph Smith, prophesy that the gospel of Jesus Christ would shift from the Gentile stewards of the gospel back to Israel in the last days." The movement places a renewed focus on individual communion with God, gifts of the spirit, tangible expressions of faith, and the eventual establishment of Zion. While the movement has no official name, the term "Snufferite" has been used to denote followers. Other designations include covenant of Christ movement and Denver Snuffer movement. Participants sometimes reference each other as "covenant Brother," "covenant Sister".
