This lesson comes with its own disclaimer. Nephi is giving his farewell address to both his people and to all those who, in the last days will read his words. He tells us to be sure to believe the doctrine of Christ. He then says that what he says will stand until Christ himself comes to teach the people, then we are to do whatever He says to do. So we’ll just say that the basic doctrine of Christ is described in this lesson.
Reading Assignment: 2 Nephi 31 – 33.
Additional reading: Moroni 7:13–17; Doctrine and Covenants 20:37, 71–74.
Basic doctrine of Christ
We are told all the time to teach the doctrine of Christ. Sounds nice, but that is a pretty vague term if you don’t know what it refers to. I once asked a body of stake leaders to explain what the doctrine of Christ was and their answers were all over the map. So let’s see how Nephi describes the doctrine of Christ.
In 2 Nephi 31, Nephi starts by explaining why Jesus was baptized, even though he was perfect and had “no need” for baptism, which is for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus was baptized to “fulfill all righteousness,” which means to obey all of the laws of God. Baptism isn’t a requirement placed on us by Jesus, but by our Father in Heaven. The baptismal covenant is between us and our Father in Heaven.
Jesus was baptized because every child of God is required to make the same covenant of baptism, the gateway ordinance back to the celestial kingdom. Here are three verses from 2 Nephi 31:
10 And he said unto the children of men: Follow thou me. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, can we follow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father?
11 And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son.
12 And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and do the things which ye have seen me do.
There are those who don’t believe in organized religion, yet Jesus gave us the priesthood in order to save us, and he did it through an organized religion. The covenants are only offered through the priesthood of God. Nephi is very clear in verse 10 when he says that we cannot keep the Father’s commandments unless we follow the example of his son, Jesus.
In verse 12 Jesus says to follow him and do the things He did. What did he do? He obeyed the commandment of the Father (verse 11) and was baptized and received the Holy Ghost. This means that the doctrine of Christ includes at least baptism and the receipt of the Holy Ghost.
This does not mean that we should run out and baptize just anyone. Nephi adds some stipulations to being baptized that act as a qualifier to tell us who should be baptized and who should not be baptized. Here is verse 13 of 2 Nephi 31.
13 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of your sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are willing to take upon you the name of Christ, by baptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.
The key to being ready to be baptized is the person’s reason for wanting to be baptized. Those who are ready for baptism into the Lord’s church are those who want to “follow the Son, with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent, repenting of [their] sins, witnessing unto the Father that [they] are willing to take upon [themselves] the name of Christ.” It is their willingness to do these things with their whole heart and soul that qualifies them for baptism.
The key phrases here are “with full purpose of heart” and “acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God.” This is a matter of honest intent. Nephi doesn’t say that the person being baptized has to be perfect, just be honest in their desire to follow Christ in all things and obey His commandments.
The new tongue makes a difference
The second half of the baptismal ordinance is the confirmation as a member of the Savior’s Church. With that confirmation we are given the gift of the Holy Ghost. Nephi says,
yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the tongue of angels, and shout praises unto the Holy One of Israel.
Nephi refers to this as being able to speak with a new tongue. What does it mean to speak with the tongue of angels? In 2 Nephi 32, Nephi explains the gift of the tongue of angels:
2 Do ye not remember that I said unto you that after ye had received the Holy Ghost ye could speak with the tongue of angels? And now, how could ye speak with the tongue of angels save it were by the Holy Ghost?
3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.
The Holy Ghost only speaks the words of Christ, which are also the words of the Father. So when the angels speak, that is, deliver messages from God, they are speaking by the power of the Holy Ghost who delivers all the words of Christ to the children of men. Is it wrong for us to presume that we can speak with this same power?
What is inspiration and revelation except being taught by the Holy Ghost? Any communication from the Holy Ghost is through the words of Christ, for the Holy Ghost is here to teach us truth. It is not presumptuous for us to think we can speak with the tongue of angels. Each and every time we speak, act, or write under the direction of the Holy Ghost it is basically the same as the behavior of that of any angel. They do the will of Christ and the Father. When we act under the direction of the Holy Ghost we also do the will of Christ and the Father.
This is the purpose of the gift of the Holy Ghost, to bring us into alignment with God, to understand His will then do it. Continued obedience to the promptings of the Holy Ghost allows for the forgiveness of sin, and the purification of our souls. Nephi goes on in chapter 32 to tell us that anything that invites or entices us to do good comes from God. Anything else comes from Satan. This way we can tell with perfect clarity good from evil. So much for all those shades of gray.
Final ingredient
The final ingredient in the mix is to endure to the end of our mortal probation. If we start on the path back to God by making covenants then abandon those covenants by breaking the commandments, we are no longer acting with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy before God. To receive the promised blessings of exaltation requires that when we die we do so in full compliance with the covenants we made. This is what proves that we have no intention of abandoning our commitment to follow Christ when things get hard or boring, rough or difficult.
Final Thoughts
The basic doctrine of Christ is that we honestly desire to follow Him by being baptized then receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. By receiving the Holy Ghost into our lives we allow ourselves to be taught the behaviors and attitudes of those who will feel comfortable living in the presence of God. By enduring in our commitments to be obedient to the end of our mortal lives we show that we can learn to walk by faith and will learn to recognize and will speak with the tongues of angels. In other words, we will learn to speak as prompted by the Spirit, and act as prompted by the Spirit, just as the angels do.
It is our unwavering determination to follow Christ and keep his commandments in all things that gives us that steadfastness required to be faithful to the end. It is our willingness to knock, to seek, and to ask that opens the gates of knowledge so the Holy Ghost can teach us the words of Christ. The words of Christ are all around us. They are in Conference talks, sacrament talks, lessons, the scriptures, and in the quiet hours of the night when we ponder on the principles and teachings of God. Baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost offers us such a full and thrilling life, and just by obeying the doctrine of Christ.
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