Baptism

3 Nephi 11:28-30

28 And according as I have commanded you thus shall ye baptize. And there shall be no disputations among you, as there have hitherto been; neither shall there be disputations among you concerning the points of my doctrine, as there have hitherto been.

29 For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another.

30 Behold, this is not my doctrine, to stir up the hearts of men with anger, one against another; but this is my doctrine, that such things should be done away.

Teachings OF PRESIDENTS OF THE CHURCH: LORENZO SNOW, Chapter 2

"Some deem it wrong to number baptism among the essential principles ordained of God, to be attended to in obtaining remission of sins. In reply, we say that the Saviour and apostles have done so before us; therefore, we feel obligated to follow their example. … Baptism … doth now remove our souls from sins and pollutions, through faith on the great atonement. …

"It is plainly manifest that external works must be attended to, as well as faith and repentance, in order to receive Gospel privileges."

...

"It says of John [the Baptist] that he baptized at Aenon, because there was much water [see John 3:23]; then if sprinkling had been the mode, we can hardly suppose he would have gone to Aenon, because there was much water at that place, for a very little water, indeed, would have sprinkled all Judea, which he could have obtained without having performed a journey to Aenon. We are told, also, that he baptized in Jordan, and that after the ordinance was administered to our Saviour, he came up out of the water, expressly signifying that he had been down into the water, in order that the ordinance might be administered in a proper manner [seeMatthew 3:16]. Again; it speaks of the Eunuch, that he went down into the water with Philip, and then came up out of the water [see Acts 8:26–38]; now it must be acknowledged by every one who makes any pretensions to reason and consistency that had sprinkling a little water on the forehead answered the purpose, then those persons never would have gone into the water to have received the ordinance. Paul, in writing to the saints, gives us a plain testimony in favour of immersion. … That apostle states there that the saints had been buried with Christ by baptism [see Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12].

"It is plainly evident they could not have been buried by baptism without having been entirely overwhelmed or covered in water. An object cannot be said to be buried when any portion of it remains uncovered; so, also, a man is not buried in water by baptism unless his whole person is put into the watery element. This explanation of the apostle upon the mode of baptism very beautifully corresponds with that given by our Saviour, Except ye be born of water, etc. To be born of a thing signifies being placed in that thing; and emerging, or coming forth from it, to be born of water, must also signify being placed in the womb of waters and being brought forth again."

Acts 2:38
 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Teachings of Presidents of the Church:Lorenzo Snow, Chapter 2
“It says of John [the Baptist] that he baptized at Aenon, because there was much water [see John 3:23]; then if sprinkling had been the mode, we can hardly suppose he would have gone to Aenon, because there was much water at that place, for a very little water, indeed, would have sprinkled all Judea, which he could have obtained without having performed a journey to Aenon. We are told, also, that he baptized in Jordan, and that after the ordinance was administered to our Saviour, he came up out of the water, expressly signifying that he had been down into the water, in order that the ordinance might be administered in a proper manner [see Matthew 3:16]. Again; it speaks of the Eunuch, that he went down into the water with Philip, and then came up out of the water [see Acts 8:26–38]; now it must be acknowledged by every one who makes any pretensions to reason and consistency that had sprinkling a little water on the forehead answered the purpose, then those persons never would have gone into the water to have received the ordinance. Paul, in writing to the saints, gives us a plain testimony in favour of immersion. … That apostle states there that the saints had been buried with Christ by baptism [see Romans 6:4;Colossians 2:12].
It is plainly evident they could not have been buried by baptism without having been entirely overwhelmed or covered in water. An object cannot be said to be buried when any portion of it remains uncovered; so, also, a man is not buried in water by baptism unless his whole person is put into the watery element. This explanation of the apostle upon the mode of baptism very beautifully corresponds with that given by our Saviour, Except ye be born of water, etc. To be born of a thing signifies being placed in that thing; and emerging, or coming forth from it, to be born of water, must also signify being placed in the womb of waters and being brought forth again.”

Mormon 3:2
 2 And it came to pass that the Lord did say unto me: Cry unto this people—Repent ye, and come unto me, and be ye baptized, and build up again my church, and ye shall be spared.  


Matthew 3:13-15

13 ¶ Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be ^abaptized of him.

14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?

15 And Jesus answering said unto him, ^aSuffer it to be so now: for thus it ^bbecometh us to ^cfulfil all ^drighteousness. Then he suffered him.

If it was necessary for Jesus to be baptized to fulfill all righteousness, then why would it not be necessary for us? What was the purpose if not to show us the way?


Mark 16:16
16 He that ^abelieveth and is ^bbaptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be ^cdamned.


It says he that believes AND is baptized shall be saved. Two points. One, you must do something as well as believe to be saved. Two, one of those things is baptism.


John 3:5
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be ^aborn of ^bwater and of the ^cSpirit, he cannot ^denter into the kingdom of God.


One can not enter into the kingdom unless they do something, which is be baptized.


Matthew 7:13-14

13 ¶ Enter ye in at the ^astrait ^bgate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to ^cdestruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

14 Because ^astrait is the ^bgate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto ^clife, and few there be that find it.

The way is narrow. Yet we have so many churches having their own doctrines.


Luke 7:29-30

28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is ^aleast in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

29 And all the people that heard him, and the ^apublicans, justified God, being baptized with the ^bbaptism of John.

30 But the Pharisees and lawyers ^arejected the counsel of God ^bagainst themselves, being not ^cbaptized of him.

The counsel of God was to be baptized with the baptism of John the baptist. John baptized with water and by immersion.


Mosiah 18:8-10
 8 And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;
 9 Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—
 10 Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments, that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you?

Tad R Callister, Of the Presidency of the Seventy, The Book of Mormon—a Book from God, General Conference October 2011

"There exist various modes of baptisms in the world today even though the Bible tells us the manner in which the Savior, our great Exemplar, was baptized: '[He] went up straightway out of the water' (Matthew 3:16). Could He have come up out of the water unless He first went down into the water? Lest there be any discord on this subject, the Book of Mormon dispels it with this straightforward statement of doctrine as to the proper manner of baptism: 'And then shall ye immerse them in the water' (3 Nephi 11:26)."