Do Mormons believe baptism is required? I always thought being “born of the water,” as described in John 3:5, referred to being physically born, not to being baptized.
One Response to “Do Mormons believe baptism is required? I always thought bei…”
Manuel Miranda
2008-01-01 18:19:20
Mormons believe the Bible, which states that baptism by one with the proper authority is an essential step in the path to salvation (John 3:5). So important is baptism that even Jesus Christ, who was perfect, chose to be baptized to set an example for all of us.
Some argue that "born of the water" refers to the process of being physically born. A careful reading of John 3:5 shows this view is clearly nonsensical. To paraphrase, in verse 3, Christ says that a man must be born again. In verse 4, Nicodemus asks, "So do I need to crawl back into my mother's womb? I'm old, you know." In verse 5, Christ says, "You have to be born of the water and of the spirit." If the view that "born of the water" means physical birth, then in verse 6 Nicodemus would have responded, "So you're saying that even though I'm a grown adult, I should crawl back in to my mother's womb? Or are you saying I already satisfied that requirement when I was born so many years ago? If the latter is the case, what's your point? We're all born of a mother. Why are you telling me being born is a 'requirement' for salvation? That's like saying you have to 'breath' to obtain salvation. That's no requirement at all!" The fact that Nicodemus did not respond in this way suggests that Jesus was referring to something other than mortal birth. Besides, we refer to a woman's "water breaking" in English, but "water" is not used to describe the same event in the Greek of the New Testament.
Nicodemus was a devout and knowledgeable Jew. He was certainly familiar with the Jewish practice of baptism that existed in Christ's day. Even to this day, many converts to Judaism undergo a "baptism," called a "mikveh." Nicodemus clearly knew what Christ was talking about. Christ was referring to baptism.
The Bible is full of scriptures that emphasize the importance of baptism. See Matt. 28:19, Luke 7:30, Acts 2:38, Acts 10:48, Acts 22:16, Titus 3:5, and 1 Pet. 3:21.
Edit: I neglected to mention one of the most straight-forward scriptures regarding baptism. Mark 16:16 states: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."
Some argue that "born of the water" refers to the process of being physically born. A careful reading of John 3:5 shows this view is clearly nonsensical. To paraphrase, in verse 3, Christ says that a man must be born again. In verse 4, Nicodemus asks, "So do I need to crawl back into my mother's womb? I'm old, you know." In verse 5, Christ says, "You have to be born of the water and of the spirit." If the view that "born of the water" means physical birth, then in verse 6 Nicodemus would have responded, "So you're saying that even though I'm a grown adult, I should crawl back in to my mother's womb? Or are you saying I already satisfied that requirement when I was born so many years ago? If the latter is the case, what's your point? We're all born of a mother. Why are you telling me being born is a 'requirement' for salvation? That's like saying you have to 'breath' to obtain salvation. That's no requirement at all!" The fact that Nicodemus did not respond in this way suggests that Jesus was referring to something other than mortal birth. Besides, we refer to a woman's "water breaking" in English, but "water" is not used to describe the same event in the Greek of the New Testament.
Nicodemus was a devout and knowledgeable Jew. He was certainly familiar with the Jewish practice of baptism that existed in Christ's day. Even to this day, many converts to Judaism undergo a "baptism," called a "mikveh." Nicodemus clearly knew what Christ was talking about. Christ was referring to baptism.
The Bible is full of scriptures that emphasize the importance of baptism. See Matt. 28:19, Luke 7:30, Acts 2:38, Acts 10:48, Acts 22:16, Titus 3:5, and 1 Pet. 3:21.
Edit: I neglected to mention one of the most straight-forward scriptures regarding baptism. Mark 16:16 states: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."