June 15, '97 continued

2) the Starburst Sister Winters gave me...

GOSPEL DOCTRINE CLASS NOTES:

Richard Cowan on Baptism by Immersion for the Remission of Sins

He's been blind for his whole life! Paying tribute to his earthly father who emulates his Heavenly Father... who loves us SO much!

Brother Cowan got a PhD from Stanford University and has taught at BYU for 36 years where he received several awards for teaching.

We will run into a lot of different beliefs with the people we'll be teaching. Luckily the Standard Works figure out for us all of the necessary ordinances.

The New Testament was written mainly to Church members so there was not a great need to go over stuff that was already known. But the Book of Mormon (see title page) was written for the convincing of the Jew and the Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God... therefore we can expect to see more about it and indeed we do.

Doctrine and Covenants also has a lot of insight as can be expected (See D&C 20:37; Mosiah 18:8-10; sacrament prayers are also in D&C 20)

Why is it okay to use water symbolically instead of wine? Because it is a super symbol of purity and cleanliness and it's still symbolic of blood because when Christ was crucified, water came from the wound in his side -- and water is just as essential for life as blood.

The mode of baptism is made clear in the Doctrine and Covenants because it was revealed after a great apostasy when details were necessary.

Different wording between Doctrine and Covenants and Book of Mormon because those in 3 Nephi actually were personally ordained by Jesus Christ.

Is Baptism necessary? Let's find answers in the Bible... John 3 where Nicodemus asked what is necessary for eternal life and Christ says "to be born again -- by water and by the Spirit." Matthew 28:19
Acts 2:37-38
Acts 16:30-31

Age of baptism: Moroni 8:8-12
D&C 68:25
Listing parental duties -- one is to help the child desire to get baptized.

Baptism in Greek actually means immersion (but not permanently!)

Matthew 3:16 SYMBOLIC
Romans 6:4
Acts 22:16
Why was Jesus baptized? To fulfill all righteousness. 2 Nephi 31:7 -- OBEDIENCE! EXAMPLE!