Living Works

1999-12-7 11:53:00

Part IV

Before we get to the core of the atonement, let us talk a minute about the sacraments of the church such as baptism, laying on of hands, the bread and wine or Eucharist.

Both the Bible and the Mormon scriptures make it sound like you must be physically baptized to enter the kingdom of heaven, but is this the case? Exactly what does a physical baptism accomplish and why do you suppose it was instituted by the prophets?

The standard answer is that God commanded the ordinance so we should just obey it and not question. But such an unthinking injunction is not good enough for the seeker of the coming age. The person of Light in this day and age wants to know why he is expected to do a thing. If the ordinance has no effect then perhaps we do not want to waste our time.

Concerning baptism Joseph Smith received an interesting revelation:

D&C 22:1 Behold, I say unto you that all old covenants have I caused to be done away in this thing; and this is a new and an everlasting covenant, even that which was from the beginning.
D&C 22:2 Wherefore, although a man should be baptized an hundred times it availeth him nothing, for you cannot enter in at the strait gate by the law of Moses, neither by your dead works.
D&C 22:3 For it is because of your dead works that I have caused this last covenant and this church to be built up unto me, even as in the days of old.
D&C 22:4 Wherefore, enter ye in at the gate, as I have commanded, and seek not to counsel your God. Amen.

Read this and ask the question: Why was Joseph given the mission to restore a church very similar to the early Christian church with all of its ordinances including baptism? The answer: "For it is because of your dead works that I have caused this last covenant and this church to be built up unto me, even as in the days of old." Because the people's minds were centered on "dead works", the church and ordinances were reestablished.

Interestingly, I have never met a Mormon who was taught this in church. Most of them believe that they have living works and the highest and the best that God has to offer.

Now the question is this: What would Joseph have been commanded to establish if the people's minds were centered on "living works?" What is the difference between a dead and living work?

The physical act of baptism is a dead work. Taking a person and placing him under the water and bringing him out of it, by itself, does nothing, even if you have all the authority of the hosts of heaven.

What then is the living work behind baptism? The living work is the meaning behind the symbol and if a person understands this, he could obtain all the benefits of baptism without baptism.

The scriptures basically tell us that we need to be baptized to be saved. If baptism itself is a dead work, then what is it really telling us to do to become saved or delivered? The basic meaning of baptism as many have been taught in church is to have our sins washed away, but if physical baptism is a dead work then what really washes our sins away? We have learned that the real meaning of sin is error, or "missing the mark", therefore the washing away of sin is the removal of error. But what is the error or errors that need to be removed?

The basic error that baptism helps to remove is this. All except those who have the name of God in their foreheads (Rev 14:1) look for authority from a God without. Now when that God without speaks and we accept, a great error is created. It is not long before we imperfectly follow the God without and as soon as we disobey, even in the slightest, guilt is created.

Now there are two ways to remove this guilt.

The first is to satisfy the demands of an angry "God out there." But the trouble with this method is that it is not long before you break more commandments and guilt returns. The Catholic confession is a good method of alleviating this returned guilt, but this is a temporary measure and you are again dependent on a voice for God out there rather than the Spirit within.

What is the second and permanent way to remove the guilt? The second way is to remove yourself from the voice of the outer God, or the "beast" as we taught earlier, and subject yourself to the one authority, the Spirit of God within.

This was the difference between the foolish and wise virgins in the parable. The five wise had oil in their lamps, or the Spirit of God in their hearts and this light of the Spirit lead them to the Christ. The five foolish had no oil and had to go buy some from the authorities, but the oil from the authorities without did not light the way and they "missed the mark" or sinned and were not able to find the Christ.

Thus we see that the true meaning of baptism is to remove the error of guilt, permanently, which guilt is caused by an error in thinking. True salvation is the removal of guilt. The scripture could have said: "Remove the cause of guilt, center yourself on the Spirit within and you will be saved."

Because the true salvation through baptism is the salvation or deliverance from guilt, does this mean that the physical act should not be done? No. It does not. The ordinance of baptism was instituted because it does indeed serve a useful purpose as do all symbols. Many angelic lives that differ from human evolution, as well as higher aspects of ourselves, communicate with symbols. Also the Masters largely communicate with symbols.

The act of physical baptism sends a communication to higher spiritual lives that you are attempting to enter into a higher spiritual life. This symbolic communication therefore sends a message to refined lives who can help you remove guilt and center yourself on living the life of Christ.

Let us pick two other ordinances. After baptism, the early apostles laid hands on the persons and they were then supposed to receive the Holy Ghost. Now the dead work was the laying on of hands. What was the living work or meaning? Christ also instituted the act of sacrament or Eucharist by eating bread and drinking wine to take upon themselves the body and blood of Christ. What is the living meaning behind this?