In the text read at Nicaea the Lord says to the circle, “Amen! When grace comes I want to pipe and you all dance.”
But in a circle where they are already singing, the dancing is only to be expected in view of old Jewish customs— and this episode takes place in the upper room at the Last Supper, the Passover. Why should that playful game be introduced on that most solemn of occasions? In Matthew 11:7 [Matt. 6:2], Jesus is speaking about John the Baptist’s followers and begins, “concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see?” This is a challenge to the desert sectaries. They were out there, as the Manual of Discipline so clearly tells us,34 to “prepare the way” (see Matthew 11:10 [Matt. 6:2]). He speaks of John’s great mission as the herald of a dispensation, an “Elias, which was for to come” (Matthew 11:14 [Matt. 6:3]), and then addresses the initiates: “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (v. 15), describing the present generation as those rejecting John’s message (v. 12)—they would accept neither John nor the Lord (vs. 18–19): they refused to dance to their playing, nor would they mourn with them for the sins of the world (vs. 16–17). The knowledge is properly guarded—”he that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (v. 15), a hint to the initiated that it is meant only for them. In the Acts of John, the Lord says, “Grace is dancing. I would pipe: Dance all of you. I would mourn: mourn all of you!” The connection with Matthew is undeniable, and again the limitation of the real meaning to the inner circle: “He that does not move in the circle knows not what is happening. Amen.” An important clue is the likening to little children in Matthew 11:16 [Matt. 6:4]. The Kasr al-Qazz fragment says, “We made a circle and surrounded him and he said, ‘I am in your midst in the manner of these little children,’ he added, ‘Gather to me, O holy members of my body, and when I recite the hymn, you say Amen.'”
In both the Acts of John and the Apocryphon of John, Jesus appears at the same time as a grown man and a little child; and in a famous infancy account when he and John embrace as small children, they fuse into one.36 Is it a mere coincidence that he repeatedly speaks of the little children and the dancing when declaring unity with John?
John the Baptist Testifies of Christ in the Wilderness
The forerunner cries in the wilderness, knowing himself the voice the prophets foretold, and preaches a baptism of repentance: warning of the axe laid to the root and the fire to come, yet pointing always past himself to the mightier One whose way he prepares.
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1And in those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand, 3for this is he that was I am he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord and make his paths straight.
4And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair and a leather girdle about his loins, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan. 6And were many were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins. 7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Why is it that you receive not the preaching of him whom God has sent? If you receive not this in your hearts, you receive not me. And if you receive not me, you receive not him of whom I am sent to bear record; and for your sins, you have no cloak. Bring forth therefore8Repent therefore and bring forth fruits meet for repentance. 9And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father We are the children of Abraham, and we only have power to bring seed unto our father Abraham; for I say unto you that God is able, of these stones, to raise up children unto Abraham. 10And now also, the ax is laid unto the root of the trees; therefore, every tree which brings not forth good fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the fire.
11I indeed baptize you with water upon your repentance, but he that cometh after me and when he of whom I bear record comes — who is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear, or whose place I am not able to fill — he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire as I said, I indeed baptize you before he comes, that, when he comes, he may baptize you with the holy ghost and fire. 12And it is he of whom I shall bear record, whose winnowing fork shall be in his hand; and he will thoroughly purge his floor and gather his wheat into the storehouse, but in the fullness of his own time he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Thus came John, preaching and baptizing in the river of Jordan, bearing record that he who was coming after him had power to baptize with the holy ghost and fire.
1The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2As it is written in the prophets: Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who shall prepare your way before you; 3the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 4John did baptize in the wilderness and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. 5And there went out unto him all the land of Judea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all many were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6And John was clothed with camel’s hair and with a girdle of skin about his loins. And he did eat locusts and wild honey, 7and preached, saying, There comes one mightier than I after me, the latchets of whose shoes I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8I indeed have baptized you with water; but he shall not only baptize you with water, but with fire and the holy ghost.
1Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar — Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, 2Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests — now in this same year, the word of God came unto John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness. 3And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins 4as it is written in the book of the prophet Isaiah.
And these are the words, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord and make his paths straight; for behold and see, he shall come, as it is written in the book of the prophets, to take away the sins of the world, and to bring salvation unto the heathen nations; to gather together those who are lost, who are of the sheepfold of Israel, yea, even her dispersed and afflicted; and also to prepare the way and make possible the preaching of the gospel unto the Gentiles, and to be a light unto all who sit in darkness, unto the furthest parts of the earth; to bring to pass the resurrection from the dead, and to ascend up on high to dwell on the right hand of the Father until the fullness of time, and the law and the testimony shall be sealed, and the keys of the kingdom shall be delivered up again unto the Father; to administer justice unto all, to come down in judgment upon all, and to convince all the ungodly of their ungodly deeds which they have committed. And all this in the day that he shall come, for it is a day of power. Yea, 5every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth, 6and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
7Then said he John to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, crying against them with a loud voice, saying, O generation of vipers, who has warned you to flee from the wrath to come! 8Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father Abraham is our father, we have kept the commandments of God and none can inherit the promises but the children of Abraham; for I say unto you that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. 9And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees. Every tree therefore which brings not forth good fruit shall be hewn down and cast into the fire.
10And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? 11He answers and says unto them, He that has two coats, let him impart to him who has none. And he that has food, let him do likewise. 12Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? 13And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed unto you. For it is well known unto you, Theophilus, that after the manner of the Jews and according to the custom of their law in receiving money in the treasury, that out of the abundance which was received was appointed unto the poor, every man his portion. And after this manner did the publicans also; wherefore, John said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. 14And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.
15And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he was the Christ or not, 16John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water, but there comes one mightier than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to untie. He shall baptize you with the holy ghost and with fire, 17whose winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor and will gather the wheat into his storehouse, but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable. 18And many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people. 19But Herod the tetrarch — being reproved of him for Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done — 20added yet this above all: that he shut up John in prison.
6There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7The same came into the world for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, to bear record of the gospel through the Son unto all, that through him men might believe. 8He was not that Light, but came to bear witness of that Light.
The Forerunner, the Kingdom, and the Spirit of Elias
The Priesthood of Aaron, Restored by John
D&C 13 (CCE JS History 14:1) · May 15, 1829 · scriptures.info ↗John’s ministry did not end at the Jordan. As a resurrected messenger he returned on May 15, 1829, to confer his own priesthood on Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery, naming it exactly as he had borne it in the wilderness: the keys of the ministering of angels, the gospel of repentance, and baptism for the remission of sins.
Upon you, my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins. And this shall never be taken again from the earth until the sons of Levi do offer again an offering unto the Lord in righteousness.
John the Forerunner
Preaching at Bishop Vinson Knight’s house early in 1841, Joseph Smith read the third chapter of Malachi, dwelt on the Levitical priesthood, and showed John to be a Levite: “Lawful heir to the Levitical Priesthood,” holding the keys of entrance into the kingdom, so that even Jesus came to him for baptism. The reading is Martha Jane Knowlton Coray’s notebook as she wrote it; the McIntire Minute Book preserves a briefer second witness of the same sermon.
Discourse, circa 21 March 1841, Nauvoo · Howard and Martha Coray Notebook, pp. 23–29 (The Words of Joseph Smith, pp. 65–67) · Joseph Smith Papers ↗Joseph Smith read the 3 chap Malachi dwelt with emphasis upon the Levitical priesthood and the promise concerning them Took up Jhon [John] shewed him to be a Levite and proceeded The voice of one crying in the wilderness prepare ye the way of the Lord and make his paths strait Now it was written that the priests lips should keep know[l]edge, and to them should the people seek for understanding and above al[l] the law binds them and us to receive the word of the Lord at the hands of the Levites therefore Jhon being Lawful heir to the Levitical Priesthood the people were bound to receive his testimony. Hence the saying the Kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force
after Jhon had been testifying of Jesus for some time Jesus came unto him for baptism Jhon felt that the honor of baptizing his master was too great a thing grater than he could claim and said I have need to be baptized of thee and comest thou to me Jesus repl[i]ed thus it behooveth us to fulfill all righteousness thus signifying to Jhon the claim of the Aronic priesthood which holds the keys of enterance into the Kingdom.
Then the three signs which were given were conclusive The dove which sat upon his shoulder was a sure testimony that he was of God Brethren be not deceived nor doubtful of this fact a spirit of a good man or an angel from heaven who has not a body will never undertake to shake hands with you for he knows you cannot peceive his touch and never will extend his hand but any spirit or body that is attended by a dove you may know to be a pure spirit thus you may is [in] some measure detect the spirits who may come unto you
Jhon was great in that he baptized Jesus an[d] for this cause Jesus saith “Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than Jhon the baptist— But again he says from the days of Jhon the Batist [John the Baptist] till the Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence and the violent taketh it by force Jesus as I said could not enter except by the administration of Jhon. Although Jhon was not a restorer but a forerunner It was not the Lawful priests who rejected jesus but the self made priests Those who were preests lawfully received the Saviour in his station which was given him by the Law
All the Authority that we have is from Jhon The Law is not changed nor the ordinances The keys of ushering into the Kingdom were given to Peter James & Jhon.
Malachi 4th chap And he shall purify the sons of Levi &c yes brethren the Lord will purify the sons of Levi good or bad for it is through them that blessings flow to Israel and as Israel once was baptized in the cloud and in the sea so shall God as a refiners fire and a fullers soap purify the sons of Levi and purge them as Gold and as silver & then and not till then shall the offering of Judah & Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord as in days of old and as in former years
And he shall witness against all iniquity as saith Malachi and shall sorely chastize those who are gone astray, but still he saith I am God I change not therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed return thou unto me and I will return unto thee. The Lord will begin by revealing the House of Israel among the gentiles and those who have gone from the ordinances of God shall return unto the keeping of all the law and observing his judgement and statutes to do them Then shall the Law of the Lord go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord to the priests and through them from Jerusalem
And I prophecy that the day will come when you will say Oh that we had given heed but look now upon our public works the stone school house for instance the Simoon [simoom] of the Desert has passed over it the people will not hearken nor hear And bondage Death and destruction are close at our heels The Kingdom will not be broken up but we shall be scattered and driven gathered again & then dispersed reestablished & driven abroad and so on until the Ancient of days shall sit and the Kingom and power thereof shall be given to the saints and they shall possess it forever and ever which may God hasten for Christs sake Amen
The Kingdom of God in the Days of John
In a discourse near the temple in Nauvoo, Joseph Smith taught that the kingdom of God has been on the earth wherever God has had an authorized servant, and that John was no mere herald: he held the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood and the authority to baptize, so the kingdom of God was already in his hands before Jesus began to teach.
Discourse, 22 January 1843, Nauvoo · History, 1838–1856, vol. D-1, addenda, pp. 4–6 · Joseph Smith Papers ↗Also recorded in the History entry for January 22, 1843 (vol. D-1, p. 1457), which points to the addenda; the published History of Joseph Smith.
Some say the kingdom of God was not set up on the earth until the day of Pentecost, and that John did not preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, but I say in the name of the Lord, that the kingdom of God was set up on the earth from the days of Adam to the present time, whenever there has been a righteous man on earth unto whom God revealed his word and gave power and authority to administer in his name. And where there is a priest of God, a minister who has power and authority from God to administer in the ordinances of the Gospel, and officiate in the Priesthood of God, there is the kingdom of God; and in consequence of rejecting the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Prophets whom God hath sent, the judgments of God have rested upon people, cities and nations in various ages of the world, which was the case with the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were destroyed for rejecting the Prophets.
Now I will give my testimony. I care not for man, I speak boldly, and faithfully, and with authority. How is it with the kingdom of God? Where did the kingdom of God begin? Where there is no kingdom of God there is no salvation. What constitutes the kingdom of God? Where there is a prophet, a priest, or a righteous man, unto whom God gives his oracles, there is the kingdom of God; and where the oracles of God are not, there the kingdom of God is not.
As touching the gospel and baptism that John preached, I would say that John came preaching the gospel for the remission of sins; he had his authority from God, and the oracles of God were with him, and the kingdom of God for a season seemed to rest with John alone. The Lord promised Zacharias that he should have a son, which was a descendant of Aaron, and the Lord promised that the priesthood should continue with Aaron and his seed throughout their generations. "Let no man take this honor upon himself, except he be called of God as was Aaron," and Aaron received his call by revelation.
An angel of God also appeared unto Zacharias while in the Temple, that he should have a son whose name should be John, and he should be filled with the Holy Ghost. Zacharias was a priest of God, and officiating in the Temple, and John was a priest after his father, and held the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood, and was called of God to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God. The Jews, as a nation having departed from the law of God and the gospel of the Lord, prepared the way for transferring it to the gentiles.
But, says one, the kingdom of God could not be set up in the days of John, for John said the kingdom was at hand; but I would ask if it could be any nearer to them than to be in the hands of John. The people need not wait for the days of Pentecost to find the kingdom of God, for John had it with him, and he came forth from the wilderness crying out, "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is nigh at hand," as much as to say, "Out here I have got the kingdom of God, and you can get it, and I am coming after you, and if you don’t receive it you will be damned;" and the scriptures represent that all Jerusalem went out unto John’s baptism. Here was a legal administrator, and those that were baptized were subjects for a king, and also the laws and oracles of God were there, therefore the kingdom of God was there; for no man could have better authority to administer than John, and our Savior submitted to that authority himself by being baptized by John; therefore the kingdom of God was set up on the earth even in the days of John.
There is a difference between the kingdom of God and the fruits and blessings that flow from that kingdom; because there were more miracles, gifts, visions, healings, tongues, &c., in the days of Jesus Christ and his apostles, and on the day of Pentecost, than under John’s administration, it does not prove by any means that John had not the kingdom of God, any more than it would that a woman had not a milk pan because she had not a pan of milk; for while the pan might be compared to the kingdom, the milk might be compared to the blessings of the kingdom.
John was a priest after the order of Aaron, and had the keys of that priesthood, and came forth preaching repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, but at the same time cries out, "There cometh one after me more mighty than I, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose," and Christ came according to the words of John, and he was greater than John, because he held the keys of the Melchisedec Priesthood and kingdom of God, and had before revealed the priesthood to Moses; yet Christ was baptized by John to fulfil all righteousness.
And Jesus in his teachings says, "Upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." What rock? Revelation. Again he says, "Except ye are born of the water and of the spirit, ye cannot enter into the kingdom of God;" and though the heavens and earth should pass away, my words shall not pass away. If a man is born of the water and the Spirit, he can get into the kingdom of God.
It is evident the kingdom of God was on the earth, and John prepared subjects for the kingdom by preaching the gospel to them and baptizing them, and he prepared the way before the Savior, or came as a forerunner and prepared subjects for the preaching of Christ; and Christ preached through Jerusalem on the same ground where John had preached, and when the Apostles were raised up, they worked in Jerusalem, and Jesus commanded them to tarry there until they were endowed with power from on high. Had they not work to do in Jerusalem? They did work and prepared a people for the Pentecost. The kingdom of God was with them before the day of Pentecost as well as afterwards, and it was also with John, and he preached the same gospel and baptism that Jesus and the Apostles preached after him.
Whenever men can find out the will of God and find an administrator legally authorized from God, there is the kingdom of God; but where these are not, the kingdom of God is not. All the ordinances, systems, and administrations on the earth are of no use to the children of men, unless they are ordained and authorized of God; for nothing will save a man but a legal administrator, for none others will be acknowledged either by God or angels.
I know what I say, I understand my mission and business. God Almighty is my shield, and what can man do if God is my friend? I shall not be sacrificed until my time comes; then I shall be offered freely. All flesh is as grass, and a governor is no better than other men; when he dies he is but a bag of dust. I thank God for preserving me from my enemies; I have no enemies but for the Truth’s sake. I have no desire but to do all men good; I feel to pray for all men; we don’t ask any people to throw away any good they have got, we only ask them to come and get more. What if all the world should embrace this gospel? They would then see eye to eye, and the blessings of God would be poured out upon the people, which is the desire of my whole soul.
Three Reasons John Was the Greatest Prophet
A week later, again at the temple, Joseph Smith returned to the question of John’s greatness and answered it with three reasons (none of them his miracles): John prepared the way, John baptized the Son of God, and John alone held the keys of power on the earth. (The sign of the dove that he names here is treated under the Baptism.)
Discourse, 29 January 1843, Nauvoo · History, 1838–1856, vol. D-1, 1458 · Joseph Smith Papers ↗Also recorded in Willard Richards’s report prepared for publication; the Times and Seasons extract (May 15, 1843); a draft letter to the editor, March 24, 1843; the History draft (Jan–Mar 1843); the published History of Joseph Smith.
His miracles could not have constituted his greatness. First, he was entrusted with a divine mission of preparing the way before the face of the Lord. Who ever had such a trust committed to him, before or since? No man. Secondly, he was entrusted with the important mission, and it was required at his hands, to baptize the Son of Man. Who ever had the honor of doing that? Who ever had so great a privilege and glory? Who ever led the Son of God into the waters of baptism, and had the privilege of beholding the Holy Ghost descend in the form of a dove?
Thirdly, John, at that time, was the only legal administrator in the affairs of the kingdom there was then on the earth, and holding the keys of power. The Jews had to obey his instructions, or be damned by their own law; and Christ himself fulfilled all righteousness in becoming obedient to the law which he had given to Moses on the mount, and thereby magnified it, and made it honorable, instead of destroying it. The son of Zacharias wrested the keys, the kingdom, the power, the glory from the Jews, by the holy anointing and decree of heaven, and these three reasons constitute him the greatest prophet born of a woman.
The Only Legal Administrator
Half a year later, preaching from Luke 16:16 and Matthew 11:12, Joseph Smith traced the Aaronic Priesthood as a hereditary line from Aaron down to Zacharias and his son, so that John, holding the keys, was the only legal administrator then on the earth, the one lawful authority to whom even Jesus could come for baptism. The reading is James Burgess’s notebook, the fullest record of this part of the sermon; Willard Richards’s and Franklin D. Richards’s notes are under Scribal accounts.
Discourse, 23 July 1843, Nauvoo · James Burgess, Notebook, pp. 12–14 (cf. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 318–19) · Joseph Smith Papers ↗Luke 16 chap 16 verse. The Laws and the Prophets were untill John since then the Kingdom of Heaven is preached and all men press into it.— We will go back to Mount Scinia [Sinai] where Jesus gave the Law to Moses Exodus 30 chap 30 verse also the last chap 15 verse. The preisthood was given to Aron and his posterity throughout all generations we can trace the leanage [lineage] down to Zachariah he being the only Lawfull administrator in his day and the Jews knew it well for they always acknowledged the preisthood. and Zachariah having no children, knew that the promise of God must fail, consequently he went into the Temple to wrestle with God according to the order of the preisthood to obtain a promise of a son, and when the Angel told him that his promise was granted he because of unbelief was struck dumb.
And when the set time was come John came forth and when he took up his preisthood, he came bounding out of the wilderness saying repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, he having received the holy anointing was the only lawful administrator and the jews all knew it— for the law and the prophets was untill John since then the kingdom of heaven is preached and all men press into it! Why! Why because John was the only lawful administrator and they the Jews well knew it. consequently the only alternative was for them to yeild obedience to mandates of this wild man of the woods, namely John or be damned For all Jerusalam and all Judea came out to be babtised of John, sadusees, pharasees, Essenees &c For untill John was the law and the prophets, since then the kingdom of heaven is preached and all men press into it.
The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by forse. Now I will translate a little, the kingdom of heaven hath power and authourity and by that they take or enter legally and lawfully the kingdom of heaven
The Spirit of Elias
In March 1844, a little over three months before his death, Joseph Smith distinguished the spirit of Elias (a forerunner, preparing the way) from the spirit of Elijah (the sealing power) and the spirit of Messiah. The forerunner he named was John the Baptist: sent to prepare, careful not to transcend his bounds.
Discourse, 10 March 1844, Nauvoo · History, 1838–1856, vol. E-1, p. 1919 (cf. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 335–336) · Joseph Smith Papers ↗Also recorded in the Joseph Smith Journal manuscript (Book 4); the published History of Joseph Smith.
… the Spirit of Elias was a going before, to prepare the way for the greater, which was the case with John the Baptist, he came bawling through the wilderness “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight,” and they were informed if they could receive it, it was the Spirit of Elias, and John was very particular to tell the people “he was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of that light.” He told the people that his mission was to preach repentance and baptize with water; but it was he that should come after him, that should baptize with fire, and the Holy Ghost.
John’s mission was limited to preaching and baptizing; but what he did was legal, and when Jesus Christ came to any of John’s disciples, he baptized them with fire and the Holy Ghost. … What I want to impress upon your minds is, the difference of power in the different parts of the Priesthood, so that when any man comes among you saying “I have the spirit of Elias” you can know whether he be true or false, for any man that comes having the spirit and power of Elias, he will not transcend his bounds. John did not transcend his bounds, but faithfully performed that part belonging to his office, …
The Baptism of Fire and the Holy Ghost
Four weeks later, in the King Follett Discourse, Joseph Smith came back to John’s words in verse 11 (“he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire”), reading them to the congregation from a German Bible: water baptism without the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost is of no use, and John himself said so. Switch to “Scribal accounts” to read the four reporters’ notes; William Clayton wrote only that Joseph concluded by speaking on baptism.
Discourse, 7 April 1844 (the King Follett Discourse), Nauvoo · as published in the Times and Seasons, 15 August 1844, p. 617 (cf. Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 360) · Joseph Smith Papers ↗The baptism of water without the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost attending it is of no use: they are necessary. He must be born of water and the spirit in order to get into the kingdom of God. In the German, the text bears me out the same as the revelations which I have given for the last fourteen years. I have the testimony to put in their teeth; my testimony has been true all the time. You will find it in the declaration of John the Baptist, (reads from the German), John says I baptize you with water, but when Jesus comes, who has the power, he shall administer the baptism of fire, and the Holy Ghost. Great God! where is now all the sectarian world! and if this testimony is true, they are all damned as clearly as anathema can do it. I know the text is true. I call upon all you Germans, who know that it is true, to say aye, (loud shouts of aye.) Alexander Campbell, how are you going to save them with water alone? for John said his baptism was nothing without the baptism of Jesus Christ. There is one God, one Father, one Jesus, one hope of our calling, one baptism— all these three baptisms only make one.
The Forerunner Everywhere
Nibley set John among the desert communities who lived, like the men of the Dead Sea Scrolls, to “prepare the way.” John held only the lesser priesthood, yet his witness ran ahead of the Lord at every turn: pointing to the higher priesthood Christ would bring, and (so the early Christians held) going before him even into the world of the dead.
John the Baptist, who performed the ordinances with which he was entrusted, foretold in a special language that Christ would bring the ordinances of the higher priesthood after him, because John the Baptist had only the ordinances of the Aaronic, or lesser priesthood, the Pistis Sophia tells us.179 And in the Epistle of the Apostles: Indeed, it was the Lord who, during the forty days, finally revealed all the ordinances in full. To repeat, “Everyone goes to the place indicated by the ordinances he has received. Even a sinless person,” the Lord tells them, “cannot save others without these ordinances.” Let us not think this trivial because these things should be given to all who ask for them. If they are not worthy, the risk is theirs. For everyone should be given the highest ordinance he is capable of receiving at any time. No one is to be refused, for the risk is theirs, the ordinances are so important to have.
“The all important thing is that the ordinances must be received in this world,” says the Pistis Sophia, for we may never get another chance.181 “It is here that one must look upon the Living One; for if he does not, he will seek them in vain after death,” says the Gospel of Thomas.182 He reveals the gate to those who are willing to enter. Each of us will receive his reward. For us, God has provided a Savior and helper. You, James, will be the enlightener and redeemer of those who are mine. You will become a Savior to them, he tells James, and they will be thine also.
Whoever receives these ordinances, signs, and tokens will be added upon and have true increase forever and ever, says the Kephalaia. By means of these good signs and tokens, such shall enter into the light and shall become perfect men, and give honor and praise to the God of truth.
The ordinances are indeed but “types and images,” says the Gospel of Philip.183 One must not think that they are completion or fulfillment. For example, you cannot send up a rocket into space without types and images. Rockets are just as physical as anything, yet they are just drawings on a board, abstractions, marks on a graph, etc. The ordinances are indeed but “types and images,” says the Gospel of Philip, “but if you do not receive them here, you will lose them. They are the steps of salvation. The Lord required each of the apostles to go through them all.
The resemblance between Christ’s earthly and other-worldly missions leads one to conclude with Clement: “What then, does not the same economy prevail in hades, so that there, too, all the spirits might hear the gospel, repent and admit that their punishment, in the light of what they have learned, is just?” A much older fragment offers a parallel to this: “I have become all in all that I might [establish?] the economy of the Father. . . . I have become an angel among angels.” In both cases the Savior fulfills the Father’s “economy” in other worlds even as he had in this one.
The parallel between the Lord’s earthly and post-mortal missions is preserved even to the extent of having his coming in the spirit world heralded by John the Baptist. Origen says John “died before him, so that he might descend to the lower regions and announce [preach] his coming.” And again: “For everywhere the witness and forerunner of Jesus is John, being born before and dying shortly before the Son of God, so that not only to those of his generation but likewise to those who lived before Christ should liberation from death be preached, and that he might everywhere prepare a people trained to receive the Lord.” “John the Baptist died first,” wrote Hippolytus, “being dispatched by Herod, that he might prepare those in hades for the gospel; he became the forerunner there, announcing even as he did on this earth, that the Savior was about to come to ransom the spirits of the saints from the hand of death.” Even in the medieval Easter drama, the “Harrowing of Hell,” the arrival of Christ in hell is heralded by John the Baptist.
Excerpt from the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley; the quotations within are Origen, as cited by Nibley.
Preparing the Way of Yahweh
When John says he comes to “prepare the way of the LORD,” Barker notes he is quoting Isaiah’s “way of Yahweh”: his witness is that the One coming is the LORD himself.
John’s Jesus engaged the Jews on this very point of the second divinity when he was in Jerusalem for an unnamed feast. He distinguished between the Father and himself, and said that the Hebrew Scriptures referred not to the Father but to him. ‘[The Father’s] voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen’- an ironical allusion to the claim of Deuteronomy that the LORD was not seen when the commandments were given. ‘You search the scriptures... and it is they that bear witness to me’ (John 5.37 [John 5:6], 39). Similarly, Jesus said to the Jews in the temple: ‘Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he saw it and was glad’ (John 8.56 [John 6:16]); and they replied: ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?’. The first Christians understood the story in the same way as Jesus did: when the LORD appeared to Abraham at Mamre, this had been a pre-incarnation appearance of Jesus. Sozomenes, in fifth century Palestine, wrote this in his Church History: ‘It is recorded that [at Mamre] the Son of God appeared to Abraham with two angels... He who for the salvation of mankind was born of a Virgin, there manifested himself to a godly man.’ (History 2.4). This was why Constantine built a great basilica at Mamre. John himself explained that Isaiah had seen the pre-incarnate Jesus in his vision of the LORD enthroned in the temple amidst the seraphim: ‘Isaiah said this because he saw his glory and spoke of him’ (John 12.38-41 [John 8:4]). Isaiah said he had had seen the King, the LORD of Hosts’ (Isa.6.5 [Isa. 2:2]); John said he had seen the One who became incarnate in Jesus. John the Baptist too said he was preparing the way of the LORD, a quotation from Isaiah 40.3 [Isa. 14:1] which says the way of Yahweh. Jesus and his followers believed that he was the Son of God Most High, Yahweh, the LORD, a distinction that was lost after the work of the Deuteronomists. The early church proclaimed ‘Jesus is LORD’, and they meant ‘Jesus is Yahweh’.