Baptism and Jesus

[_BartBurk]

Mormons often make the assumption that Baptists do that Jesus was baptized by immersion. I was wondering if that assumption was warranted and found this article:

http://www.imarc.cc/baptize/waswift.html

Swift is coming from a Protestant perspective. The author basically makes the case that Old Testament washings which would have been the basis of John's baptisms were done by pouring and sprinkling rather than total immersion. Of course early Mormonis, influenced by the Campbellites and Sidney Rigdon, might have just assumed that Jesus' baptism had to be by immersion. Maybe it was, but it is interesting to read the counter argument which I had never really seen from a Protestant.

[_Tobin]

Mormons would be generally uninterested. Modern revelation states

D&C 20:72–74

72 Baptism is to be administered in the following manner unto all those who repent—

73 The person who is called of God and has authority from Jesus Christ to baptize, shall go down into the water with the person who has presented himself or herself for baptism, and shall say, calling him or her by name: Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

74 Then shall he immerse him or her in the water, and come forth again out of the water.

However, if you pose the question, "Are LDS priesthood holders called of God and do they really have authority from Jesus Christ to do such a thing?". You might make a good point. I have serious reservations about that.

[_Quasimodo]

In the distant past, before any man could enter a Jewish temple, he was required to immerse himself in a mikveh. A pool of holy water near the entrance of a temple that would ritually cleanse him. No 'unclean' man could enter the temple.

That is the origin of baptism.

Here's a very nice photo of one. Down one side, get a dunk and come up the other.

[_BartBurk]

In the distant past, before any man could enter a Jewish temple, he was required to immerse himself in a mikveh. A pool of holy water near the entrance of a temple that would ritually cleanse him. No 'unclean' man could enter the temple.

That is the origin of baptism.

That throws Swift's theory out the window!

[_Albion]

" 'A' Jewish temple"? Unlike today when Mormons have temples that multiply like wire coat hangers in a closet, there was only one temple.

[_madeleine]

A mikveh is not the only method of purification by water. It is just one.

Ezekiel 36:25

I will sprinkle clean water over you to make you clean; from all your impurities and from all your idols I will cleanse you.

[_Quasimodo]

" 'A' Jewish temple"? Unlike today when Mormons have temples that multiply like wire coat hangers in a closet, there was only one temple.

I should have said "places of worship". There were many of those. Googling, I did see that there were a couple of other temples and a series of three in the same spot in Jerusalem. To put it in modern terms, one needed a good bath before going to church.

[_BartBurk]

A mikveh is not the only method of purification by water. It is just one.

Ezekiel 36:25

I will sprinkle clean water over you to make you clean; from all your impurities and from all your idols I will cleanse you.

What strikes me about the mikveh is that it seems to be done over and over and over again (Dave Clark Five), but baptism is done only once. So the purpose of the mikveh and the purpose of Christian baptism don't really seem to have much to do with each other. Perhaps comparing them doesn't really make much sense.

[_Quasimodo]

What strikes me about the mikveh is that it seems to be done over and over and over again (Dave Clark Five), but baptism is done only once. So the purpose of the mikveh and the purpose of Christian baptism don't really seem to have much to do with each other. Perhaps comparing them doesn't really make much sense.

A moment of silence for the 'Dave Clark Five'. Rick Huxley has died at 72 (seventy two?! I'm feeling very old).

Here's a quote from one of the very many websites discussing the history of baptism:

Originally Baptism was a purification ritual adapted from the Jewish faith and performed by the priests at the temple to make someone who was deemed as unclean back into being clean and presentable in the eyes of God. This could be from touching an unclean person, the dealing with the dead or diseased, being with a woman during menstruation, or any number of other things that the Torah had determined as ‘unclean’. The ritual had the person being cleansed bringing the appropriate offering, such as doves, lambs, or sometimes simply just grains, to the priest and having the priest say the appropriate words to God before ‘washing’ the unclean person in the waters, oils, and/or perfumes at the temple. This procedure was symbolic of the uncleanliness going from the person to the water, therefore allowing the person being baptized to enter the Temple for worship on Saturday as the holy day.

Both Jesus and John the Baptist were Jewish. It makes very good sense to me.

[_zeezrom]

Let's not forget about the baptism of Osiris.