No 'non-essentials' in gospel
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"Baptism is essential," said President Spencer W. Kimball. "Jesus traveled to the River Jordan to be baptized by immersion by His cousin John, called the Baptist. By participating in this symbolic ordinance,
He demonstrated to all that baptism is the door into this church. From heaven, His Father acknowledged the important occasion, saying, `This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.' (Matt. 3:17.) (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p. 110.)In a meeting on June 30, 1878, President Wilford Woodruff said: "The religious world talks about non-essentials. There are no such things existing in the gospel of the Lord Jesus. He requires us to obey the same laws that He Himself obeyed, and which He taught in His day. Why did He go to Jordan to be baptized of John? To fulfill all righteousness. It was a righteous law, it belonged to Him, and His example is in force to all the world. No man can enter into the kingdom of God except He is born of the water and of the Spirit. Men may be judged and their bodies lie in the grave until the last resurrection, to come forth and receive of a celestial glory. But no man will receive of the celestial glory except it be through the ordinances of the House of God." (The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff, pp. 20-21.)
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Additional Information
Additional Information
- Articles on this page may be used in conjunction with the Gospel Doctrine course of study. -Information compiled by Gerry Avant
-Sources: Joseph Smith, History of the Church, Vol. 5; The Discourses of Wilford Woodruff; James E. Talmage, Jesus the Christ; Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, Vol. 1; The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball; and Bruce R. McConkie, A New Witness for the Articles of Faith
