The Father's Words

December is a busy time of year and this post may be all that I get around to writing. The thoughts simmer in my heart but taking them out and organizing them on paper is an extra step. I also think we need to honor the prophets who wrote down the spiritual insights they had with God. It would make more sense to just benefit personally from a spiritual experience and not bother with sharing the experience with others. The act of recording these experiences was a major sacrifice especially if the mode of writing was more of an engravers art. That being said, I want to share with you a prophet’s words where he directly quotes God the Father. There are very few times where the Father speaks. The most memorable might be, “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him.” (Matt 17:5, variation in 2 Pet 1:17)

In 2 Ne 31:11, The Father said, “Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son.” This quote gives two mandates. We should repent (emphasized by repeating it) and we should be baptized. This quote is directly followed by a quote of Jesus’ words.

2 Ne 31:12, “And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do.” The Son of God gives two mandates and a promise. We should be baptized, and follow Jesus by doing what he did. The promise is that the Father will honor those that take this literal step towards Christ by giving them a divine presence through the Holy Ghost.

In true chiasmus form, an ancient Hebrew literary technique, the prophet repeats in reverse order the pattern of Divine communication. First the Son is quoted and second the Father. The apex of this chiasmus is the prophetic summary of how these mandates are to be implemented.

The Son of God is quoted as saying, “After ye have repented of your sins, and witnessed unto the Father that ye are willing to keep my commandments, by the baptism of water, and have received the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost, and can speak with a new tongue, yea, even with the tongue of angels, and after this should deny me, it would have been better for you that ye had not known me.” (2 Ne 31:14)

The Father is then quoted as saying, “Yea, the words of my Beloved are true and faithful. He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.” (2 Ne 31:15)

And what is at the apex of all of these direct quotes? “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.” (2 Ne 31:13)

I see in these words, a recognition of one of the fallacies of getting baptized without having fully confronted one’s sins. It is easy to say “yes” to God but it is harder to say “no” to the Devil. In reality, we can not follow both and so our “yes” is a step that requires our gradual letting go of the lusts of the flesh however they manifest. The baptism of fire is the burning away of those desires that hold us back from the Glory that God wants to infuse in us. It is gradual. If we pull back, then we limit Him from entering our temple. The Father of us all, affirms that the process described by the Son is accurate and that we must endure the baptism of fire all the way to the end in order to be saved. 

I testify that this is true. The process of salvation begins with baptism in water in the name of the Son of God by someone who is authorized to perform this ordinance through priesthood power. I am certain that baptism is the easy first step in a journey of sanctification facilitated by the Holy Ghost. The Father and the Son guide us through the Holy Ghost to let go of our carnal or natural desires. They show us that the power of this world is nothing compared to their power. They lead us to let go of our grip on addictive substances which cannot remove the pain we are experiencing here. The Son offers his balm of Gilead in comforting our pain of body and soul. The tongue of angels is granted to those who desire to share their light with the world. God is the beginning of our faith and the finisher of our salvation. He makes us whole, complete and infuses us with perfect love. Anything less than that is of the Devil.