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Is Being Born Again a Christian Doctrine

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What Does It Hateful to Be "Born Over again?"

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Post contributed by BMC Team

February 7, 2019

KnoWhy #501

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Nonetheless Image from "The Baptism of Jesus" via LDS Media Library

"And the Lord said unto me: Curiosity not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be born again; yea, born of God, inverse from their lecherous and fallen state, to a country of righteousness, being redeemed of God, condign his sons and daughters."

Mosiah 27:25

The Know

The demand for Christ's followers to be "born once again," as famously described in John 3:3, is one of the about well-known New Attestation doctrines.one It captures mankind's universal demand for spiritual transformation and offers hope that such transformation can come to all who seek it. Yet this doctrine has too become a matter of contend and controversy among some Christian believers. Thankfully, the Book of Mormon discusses beingness "born again" or "built-in of God" on a number of occasions. These relevant passages, when correlated with other scriptures and Latter-day revelations, offer vividly engaging examples and spiritually impressive explanations that analyze and deepen whatsoever reader's understanding of what it means to exist "built-in once again."two

One fascinating example comes from the story of Alma the Younger. Afterward being rebuked by an angel, Alma cruel into a weak and helpless condition where he could no longer speak and his limbs lost their forcefulness. When Alma awoke from this state, he alleged,

I have repented of my sins, and have been redeemed of the Lord; behold I am born of the Spirit. And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, must be built-in over again; yea, born of God, changed from their carnal and fallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming his sons and daughters; And thus they become new creatures; and unless they exercise this, they tin in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. (Mosiah 27:24–26)3

Conversion of Alma the Younger by Gary L. Kapp. Image via LDS Media Library.

Conversion of Alma the Younger past Gary 50. Kapp. Image via LDS Media Library.

Alma's linguistic communication hearkens back to King Benjamin's famous speech where he declared to his people,

And now, because of the covenant which ye have made ye shall be chosen the children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters; for behold, this day he hath spiritually begotten you; for ye say that your hearts are changed through religion on his name; therefore, ye are born of him and take become his sons and his daughters. … I would that ye should accept upon you the name of Christ, all yous that have entered into the covenant with God that ye should be obedient unto the end of your lives. (Mosiah 5:7–8)4

Finally, when Alma was preaching to the people of Zarahemla, he asked them a number pointed questions concerning spiritual rebirth. Alma's own harrowing experience with being spiritually reborn makes these questions especially insightful:

And at present behold, I enquire of yous, my brethren of the church building, accept ye spiritually been born of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Accept ye experienced this mighty change in your hearts? Practise ye practice faith in the redemption of him who created you lot? … I say unto you, can ye look upwardly to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? (Alma 5:14–xv, 19)5

Among the many important points that tin can be taken from these Book of Mormon passages are the following:

  1. Beingness born again is universally required of all of God's children (Mosiah 27:25; cf. Alma five:49).
  2. Being built-in again is needed to inherit the Kingdom of God (Mosiah 27:26; cf. Alma five:51).
  3. Being born over again signifies "faith in the redemption of him who created yous" (Alma v:15).
  4. Being built-in again signifies that sincere repentance has taken place (Mosiah 27:24; cf. Alma 5:49–51).
  5. Those who are born again enter into a covenant with God to "be obedient unto the end of [their] lives" (Mosiah 5:8).
  6. Those who are born once again take upon themselves the "name of Christ" (Mosiah 5:eight).
  7. Those who are born once again become the "children of Christ, his sons, and his daughters," and are "spiritually begotten" of Him (Mosiah v:vii).half dozen
  8. The hearts of those who are born again are "changed through faith on [Christ'due south] name" (Mosiah 5:7; Alma 5:12–14).
  9. Those who are born once more receive Christ'due south "image in [their] countenances" (Alma 5:14).7
  10. Those who are born once again accept "a pure eye and clean hands" (Alma 5:19).

John Baptizing Jesus by Harry Anderson. Image via LDS Media Library.

John Baptizing Jesus past Harry Anderson. Image via LDS Media Library.

The Why

While the higher up passages don't stand for all that the Book of Mormon has to say almost being built-in again, they give a adept representation of its teachings on the subject. What should be articulate is that, rather than being a singular event or occurrence, beingness born again is a process of spiritual rebirth and refinement.8 It begins with a sacred covenant or delivery to change our lives, which is formally entered into at baptism,9 and so it requires lasting faith, repentance, and spiritual purity on our role—in both actions and intent.10 In order to facilitate the procedure of spiritual refinement, the souvenir of the Holy Ghost is conferred (by the laying on of hands) upon all those who are baptized (encounter Moroni 2; 3 Nephi 19:twenty–22).

In response to our sincere and persistent efforts to exercise organized religion and repent, our hearts will be spiritually transformed through the power of Christ so that "nosotros have no more disposition to practice evil, merely to exercise proficient continually" (Mosiah v:ii). As S. Michael Wilcox has noted, "Whenever the Book of Mormon speaks of being born again, the center is the center of the altered state."11 This internal transformation then acts as a precursor to a more eternal and permanent external transformation of our physical bodies, which will be facilitated through the power of Christ'south resurrection.12

This dual process of transformation, kickoff spiritual and so physical,13 is aptly represented by the ordinance of baptism, which in various ways symbolizes nascence, expiry, and resurrection.xiv While baptism is indeed an event, the process of spiritual rebirth which information technology symbolically initiates is a lifelong endeavor.15 Although individuals may sometimes experience dramatic and rapid spiritual transformations, like the Apostle Paul and Alma the Younger did, they still must "exist obedient unto the end of [their] lives" (Mosiah five:8). Otherwise, the positive spiritual transformation which they experienced will be reversed. Equally Mormon warned, they volition "go more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known [or experienced] these things" (Alma 24:30).16

Boy Being Baptized via LDS Media Library.

Boy Being Baptized via LDS Media Library.

With these principles in mind, readers may wonder where they stand personally in this procedure of spiritual rebirth. Elderberry Bruce R. McConkie taught that the answer can exist institute in the Book of Mormon:

Read the 5th chapter of Alma for the recitation of the tests that tell a person whether he has been born again and how he knows. You know if you have been born again, or you know the degree to which you accept been born again; it is the measure to which you keep the commandments and feed the Lord's sheep and strengthen your brethren. In other words, information technology is the measure of your involvement in the things of the Spirit, in the things of the Church.17

While what we exercise outwardly is certainly important, the Book of Mormon demonstrates that what nosotros become inwardly is of even greater significance.18 Eventually, as we truly come unto Christ, the inward transformation that nosotros then desire will be permanently "engraven" upon us (Alma 5:19). We will "get new creatures" in Christ (Mosiah 27:26), who will "seal [u.s.a.] his" through the space ability of His Atonement and resurrection (Mosiah 5:xv). Better than whatever other book of scripture, the Book of Mormon outlines this process of deep spiritual transformation, providing readers a articulate path toward eternal life.

This KnoWhy was made possible by the generous support of The Welch Family Trust.

Further Reading

D. Todd Christofferson, "Born Again," Ensign, May 2008, online at lds.org.

Jerome Yard. Perkins, "Alma the Younger: A Disciple'southward Quest to Become," in Living the Volume of Mormon: Abiding by Its Precepts, ed. Gaye Strathearn and Charles Swift (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2007), 151–162.

Brent L. Height, "Spiritual Rebirth: Have Ye Been Born of God?" in The Volume of Mormon and the Message of The Four Gospels, ed. Ray L. Huntington and Terry B. Brawl (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2001), 201–217.

James E. Faust, "Born Again," Ensign, May 2001, online at lds.org.

Southward. Michael Wilcox, "Spiritual Rebirth," in Mosiah, Salvation Only Through Christ, Book of Mormon Symposium Series, Volume v, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate, Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1991), 247–260.

  • 1. For other New Testament references to existence "born again" or "born of God," encounter 1 Peter ane:23; 1 John 3:9–10; i John 4:7; one John 5:1, 4.
  • 2. For a general handling of this topic, see Ed J. Pinegar, "Built-in of God," Encyclopedia of Mormonism, ed. Daniel H. Ludlow (New York, NY: Macmillan, 1992), 1:218–219.
  • 3. For further analysis of Alma'southward conversion, see Book of Mormon Central, "Why Was Alma Converted? (Alma 36:21)," KnoWhy 144 (July fifteen, 2016); South. Kent Chocolate-brown, "Alma'due south Conversion: Reminiscences in His Sermons," in Alma, The Testimony of the Give-and-take, Book of Mormon Symposium Series, Volume 6, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Immature University, 1992), 141–156; reprinted in S. Kent Brown,From Jerusalem to Zarahemla: Literary and Historical Studies of the Book of Mormon (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Eye, Brigham Young Academy, 1998), 113–127; John Westward. Welch, "3 Accounts of Alma's Conversion," inReexploring the Book of Mormon: A Decade of New Research, ed. John West. Welch (Salt Lake City and Provo, UT: Deseret Volume and FARMS, 1992), 150–153; John West. Welch and J. Gregory Welch,Charting the Book of Mormon: Visual Aids for Personal Report and Instruction (Provo, UT: FARMS, 199), charts 106–107; Jerome K. Perkins, "Alma the Younger: A Disciple'south Quest to Become," in Living the Volume of Mormon: Abiding past Its Precepts, ed. Gaye Strathearn and Charles Swift (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Immature Academy, 2007), 151–162.
  • four. Come across Book of Mormon Central, "Why Did King Benjamin Say That His People Would exist Sons and Daughters at God's Right Hand? (Mosiah 5:seven)," KnoWhy 307 (May 1, 2017); Matthew L. Bowen, "Becoming Sons and Daughters at God'southward Right Hand: Male monarch Benjamin'due south Rhetorical Wordplay on His Own Name,"Journal of the Book of Mormon and Other Restoration Scripture 21, no. ii (2012): two–13; Robert L. Millet, "The Ministry of the Father and the Son," in The Volume of Mormon: The Keystone Scripture, ed. Paul R. Cheesman, Southward. Kent Brownish, and Charles D. Tate, Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Heart, Brigham Young University, 1988), 57–60.
  • five. See Book of Mormon Key, "Why Did Alma Ask Church Members L Probing Questions? (Alma 5:14–15)," KnoWhy 112 (June 1, 2016).
  • 6. Conversely, those who remain in their sins and never undergo spiritual rebirth are the "the children of the kingdom of the devil" (Alma 5:25; cf. Mosiah 5:ten).
  • 7. Encounter Book of Mormon Central, "Why Did Alma Ask nigh Having God's Prototype Engraven upon One'due south Eyebrow? (Alma 5:19)," KnoWhy 295 (April iii, 2017).
  • 8. For commentary on the various Christian misunderstandings of the procedure of spiritual rebirth, encounter Robert L. Millet, "Joseph Smith Encounters Calvinism," BYU Studies Quarterly 50, no. four (2011): 23–24: "When men and women sincerely nail their sins to the cross of Christ, their identity is changed and their nature is transformed. And yet, as major Christian writers have pointed out recently, besides many professing Christians accept walked an alley, signed a menu, prayed a prayer, and still not forsaken worldliness. They talk the talk but do not walk the walk: they do not live essentially any differently than people of the world. And why is this? The consensus among many of these recent Christian writers is that so much emphasis has been placed upon salvation every bit a free gift, upon the grace of Deity and the alarm confronting legalistic obedience, that too niggling emphasis has been placed upon the discipleship associated with the Savior's invitation: 'If any human being will come up after me, permit him deny himself, and have upward his cross daily, and follow me' (Luke 9:23), or: 'If ye dearest me, keep my commandments' (John 14:xv). Salvation has been teased apart from discipleship. Conversion and rebirth have been separated from obedience. An unintended but inappropriate wall has been constructed between justification and sanctification."
  • 9. Brent Fifty. Top has described baptism as the "Gateway to Spiritual Rebirth." Brent Fifty. Height, "Spiritual Rebirth: Accept Ye Been Built-in of God?" in The Volume of Mormon and the Bulletin of The Four Gospels, ed. Ray 50. Huntington and Terry B. Ball (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2001), 202.
  • x. See Elderberry D. Todd Christofferson, "Born Again," Ensign, May 2008, online at lds.org: "You may ask, 'Why doesn't this mighty alter happen more apace with me?' You lot should remember that the remarkable examples of Male monarch Benjamin's people, Alma, and some others in scripture are just that—remarkable and non typical. For virtually of us, the changes are more gradual and occur over time. Being born over again, unlike our physical birth, is more a process than an upshot. And engaging in that process is the key purpose of mortality."
  • 11. Encounter S. Michael Wilcox, "Spiritual Rebirth," in Mosiah, Salvation Only Through Christ, Book of Mormon Symposium Serial, Volume 5, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate, Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1991), 251.
  • 12. Come across 3 Nephi 28:38; Doctrine and Covenants 76:70.
  • xiii. In a passage which explains this duality in all of God's creations, the Lord declared "equally the words take gone forth out of my oral fissure even and so shall they be fulfilled, that the starting time shall be terminal, and that the last shall be offset in all things whatsoever I take created by the word of my power, which is the ability of my Spirit" (Doctrine and Covenants 29:thirty).
  • 14. See Noel B. Reynolds, "Agreement Christian Baptism through the Book of Mormon," BYU Studies Quarterly 51, no. 2 (2012): 3–37.
  • 15. Meet Joseph Fielding McConkie and Robert Fifty. Millet, Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, Volume Two: Jacob through Mosiah (Common salt Lake City, UT: Bookcraft, 1988), 174.
  • 16. See likewise, Doctrine and Covenants 20:32).
  • 17. Bruce R. McConkie, "Be Ye Converted," address given at the BYU First Pale Quarterly Conference (xi Feb 1968), every bit cited in Larry E. Dahl, "The Doctrine of Christ: ii Nephi 31–32," in Second Nephi, The Doctrinal Structure, Volume of Mormon Symposium Series, Volume 3, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Charles D. Tate, Jr. (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Heart, Brigham Young University, 1989), 367.
  • 18. For case, Volume of Mormon prophets repeatedly recognized that becoming inwardly "alive in Christ" held greater value than merely complying with outward performances and ordinances (meet ii Nephi 25:25; cf. Mosiah xiii:27–32).

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