The Baptism of Fire

[This post grew like Jack's beanstalk: more than expected.  I apologize for its length.  Pace yourself?  Stretch first?  Wear comfortable shoes?  Anyway, I decided not to split it up into multiple posts because I wanted to keep the threads together in one place.  Love to you all, and may the Lord's grace abound as you read it. Tim]

Campfire Stories

Lately I've come across a lot of discussions online about the baptism of fire (yes, online, since this topic doesn't come up at Church).

There are people who seem obsessed with it.  They're encouraging others to "get it" ― as if it were as simple as heading down to the local gas station and filling up our tank with God's fiery fuel.  Listening to them speak, I'd expect the baptism of fire to be the most important thing in the world.

Look, I generally don't get involved in other people's doctrinal foci (heaven knows I've got enough of them myself to deal with).  But I have found little wisdom in what is being said online, so here I am, entering the fray like a fool.

I have not written about the baptism of fire before.  The reason is simple: I don't think much needs to be said on the subject.  Why?  Because, frankly, the baptism of fire is something that happens of its own accord ― like puberty.

Just think of the Lamanites who were baptized with fire and "knew it not" (3 Nephi 9:20).  Likewise, many of us received the baptism of fire and didn't even realize it ― until one day someone remarks, "Your voice is different.  Is that stubble on your chin?"  

As a rule of thumb, I always try to keep an open mind when it comes to the workings of the Lord: He works through a diversity of operations.  There is no "one right way" or single recipe for how He does things.  Yes, He operates through patterns and promises; and yes, there is a straight and narrow path: but it's not an assembly line.  We are all different; the path is divinely tailored for each individual's needs and capacity.

In other words, the universal "standard" is merely to walk with God; He'll handle the details and travel arrangements.  Anyone walking with God is on the straight and narrow path, period (regardless of what the scenery looks like, or what religion they belong to).

Take, for example, the novelty of Adam's baptism.  He was caught away by the Spirit and laid in the water.  See, who are we to judge another's baptism?

   And thus Adam was baptized,
   and the Spirit of God
   descended upon him,
   and thus he was born of the Spirit,
   and became quickened
   in the inner man.

   And Adam heard a voice
   out of heaven, saying:
   Thou art baptized with fire,
   and with the Holy Ghost.
   This is the record of the Father,
   and the Son, from henceforth
   and forever.

(Moses 6:65-66)

Those two verses teach us everything we need to know about the baptism of fire.  I hope we'll see in this post that, indeed, the record of the Father is true.

​  And it is in you.

In Plain Sight

The baptism of fire is a basic part of the gospel plan.  It is not a particularly deep doctrine; those who would like us to believe it is mysterious, and to believe we are special if we have received it, are just preaching vanity.

The Lord Himself included the baptism of fire in His definition of the gospel:

   And THIS is my gospel―
   repentance
   and baptism by water, and then
   cometh the baptism of fire
   and the Holy Ghost,
   even the Comforter,
   which showeth all things, and
   teacheth the peaceable things
   of the kingdom.

(D&C 39:6)

So this belongs in the Doctrine of Christ.  All of the heavy-hitters who have preached the gospel of Jesus Christ have written about the baptism of fire in some capacity; for example:

John the Baptist:

   I indeed baptize you with water
   unto repentance, but he
   shall baptize you
   with the Holy Ghost,
   and with fire.

(Matt. 3:11)

I think it is noteworthy that the baptism of fire is specifically part of the Lord's ministry.  I believe He takes a "hands-on" approach.

Nephi:

   The voice of the Son unto me,
   saying: After ye have repented
   of your sins, and witnessed
   unto the Father that ye
   are willing to keep
   my commandments,
   by the baptism of water,
   and have received
   the baptism of fire
   and of the Holy Ghost. . . .

(2 Nephi 31:14)

Joseph Smith:

"The baptism of water with the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost attending it ― all three are necessary and inseparably connected.  There is one God, one Father, one Jesus, one hope of our calling, one baptism; that is, all three baptisms make one." (Joseph Smith, April 7, 1844, Nauvoo; DHC 6:316-7)

Thus we see this isn't some esoteric, fringe doctrine; there are no masonic rites associated with it.  Chances are, if you are reading this, you have received your baptism of fire.  Congratulations!  Now let's get back to work.

Don't Shy Away From the Mysteries

Even if we consider the baptism of a fire to be one of the "mysteries of godliness," it is certainly not a well-kept secret.  ​The Savior promised:

   I will reveal all mysteries,
   yea, all the hidden mysteries
   of my kingdom from days of old.
   Yea, even the wonders
   of eternity shall they know.

(D&C 76:7-8)

The early part of this dispensation was marked by childlike curiosity, an innocent desire to peek into heaven and see what the Lord was up to.  James One-Five was our motto.

   And if thou wilt inquire,
   thou shalt know mysteries
   which are great and marvelous;
   therefore thou shalt exercise
   thy gift, that thou mayest
   find out mysteries,
   that thou mayest bring many
   to the knowledge of the truth.

(D&C 6:11)

One of the neglected spiritual gifts is to know and "find out mysteries."  That is a pretty cool gift, in my opinion, and would come in handy as we navigate the mists of mortality.

But I have observed that it is one thing to know the mysteries of God, and quite another to be able to teach them plainly.  Few possess the plainness of Nephi, sadly.

Most of what I have heard on the subject of the baptism of fire has not been very helpful; in fact, much of it has been dreadful (which is unsurprising, considering the internet is not a great source for finding out God's mysteries) (but admit it: we've all tried!).

Lucky for us, at the last day we will all be judged out of the books ― not the blogs ― that have been written.  So feel free to sift through my words and keep whatever you deem worthy, and cast the rest to the wind.

Perhaps someday when we're all in heaven, waiting for the calluses on our fingertips to heal from playing the harp in our Rock Band (named for Him who is our Rock, of course), we can attempt to systematize this material into a lesson for the angel's Sunday School.

Until then this will have to do as my contribution to the subject.  I daresay this post will either delight you or bore you to tears.

   Here we go.

One Plus One Equals Three?

It will help if we understand the concept that 1+1=3.

For example, if we have the color blue and yellow, how many colors do we have?  Two?  Well, yes, technically.

But because we have the potential to combine the two colors in order to create a third color (green), we actually have THREE colors.

This is the principle of emergence.  Emergence occurs in all complex systems.  When we blend two distinct things, we create a third thing.  This new thing bears the properties of the originating two ― but (here's the important part) it also exhibits characteristics that are uniquely its own.  This is what makes the third thing "emergent" rather than just "resultant."

As another illustration, take day and night.  There is a time when it is neither day nor night, but both.  We call it twilight ("TWI" = two; "LIGHT" = light).

For now, just remember that when there are two things, we have the potential for three (or more).

This principle is going to be very important as we proceed; it was taught in the Lectures on Faith in a way that has caused a lot of confusion.

In the Fifth Lecture, the early leaders wrote that the Son possesses "the same mind with the Father, which mind is the Holy Spirit" (5:2).

Since I promised plainness, let me say it (even though it may sound odd): the Holy Spirit is the emergent (not resultant) entity that arises from the union of the Father and the Son. 1+1=3.  The Godhead is far more than we dreamt; and because it is a mystery, we've been taught a lot of nonsense about the Holy Ghost that is best forgotten. 

Now, the surprising thing is that this same pattern we see among the Father and the Son is replicated in each person created in Their image ― which is another mystery that has attracted a lot of foolishness as people teach that means to be created in humanoid form. (Apologies to those in heaven.)  Oh well.

Once the groundwork is laid, I believe it will be obvious that we all possess the attributes of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  In this way we were created "in the image of God" ― not because we're bipedal mammals with high intelligence and male/female sex organs.

   But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Mind and Intelligence

For several years I have tried to teach something about the nature of intelligence.  "The glory of God is intelligence, or in other words, light and truth" (D&C 93:36).  I haven't done a very good job at explaining what intelligence is (it would be stating the obvious to point out I am not the most qualified for the task.  I only entered the ring because attendance was low and I didn't want the circus animals to get lonely).

Some equate "intelligence" with our spirits (or mind); others with a kind of prenatal spiritual matter that was unindividuated and unconscious, and then shaped into spirit bodies through a premortal process.  (If you're keeping score, Joseph Smith believed the former; he never taught spirit-body-birth, or spiritual procreation, which was a decidedly-Brigham doctrine.)

If we turn to the scriptures, we find the doctrine of "intelligence" to be a unique feature of LDS theology.  The irony is that "intelligence" is the key to understanding the doctrine of the Godhood that has baffled Christianity from the beginning (looking at you, Nicene).

Our latter-day scriptures teach that "intelligence" was "not created or made, neither indeed can be" (D&C 93:29).  That statement, if true, is astounding in its implications ― because it would entail the fact that you and I were not created or made.  If that is so, we are uncreated, eternal beings seeking to be "added upon." 

Added upon with what, exactly?  With greater glory.

This is what we learn in the Book of Abraham.  The Lord devised a plan whereby "they who keep their first estate shall be added upon" (Abraham 3:26).  Whereas those who followed Lucifer and kept not their first estate "shall not have glory in the same kingdom" as those who received physical bodies.

Interestingly, the cycle continues in the same way after the second estate: "they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads" (Abraham 3:26).

If your eyes have glazed over, let's start over.  What is the "light of truth" (D&C 93:29), precisely?  Just to be clear:

   Intelligence = the light OF truth (D&C 93:29).

   Intelligence/Glory = light AND truth (D&C 93:36)

The Lord indicated "if there are two spirits, one shall be more intelligent than the other" (Abraham 3:18).  This has always perplexed me, this notion that intelligences are unequal, when God's work is specifically to make us equal, as "one."

But how?  How does God stand in the midst of inferior intelligences and bring them up to His level?  The way God makes uncreated intelligences of various levels "equal" is to add glory upon them.

   And the glory of the celestial
   is one, even as the
   glory of the sun is one.

(D&C 76:96)

For now, just remember that glory is shared among divine beings.

   And the glory which thou
   gavest me I have given them;
   that they may be one,
   even as we are one.

(John 17:22)

There was a lot of ink spilled 100 years ago on this topic, thanks to B.H. Roberts (we don't delve into metaphysics much at Church anymore); they argued over whether "intelligence" is the same as the plural "intelligences" we find in Abraham.

   Now the Lord had shown
   unto me, Abraham,
   the intelligences
   that were organized
   before the world was;
   and among all these
   there were many 
   of the noble and great ones.

(Abraham 3:22)

​Notice it says that the intelligences were "organized."  If you accept the proposition that we were uncreated intelligence in the beginning, then being "organized" would not speak to our spirit bodies or nature, but to being organized into community.

Organized, I presume, into families.

The Elements: Batteries Not Included

I am moving quickly and this is a very cursory treatment of the subject, but I presume you are familiar with the issues.  Joseph taught:

"God had materials to organize the world out of chaos; chaotic matter, which is element, and in which dwells all the glory.

"Element had an existence from the time he had. The pure principles of element, are principles that can never be destroyed. They may be organized and re-organized; but not destroyed."

(Joseph Smith, Discourse, 7 April 1844, as published in Times and Seasons, p. 615, The Joseph Smith Papers.)

Watch now, we're going to make some leaps.  The way spirits obtain glory is to fuse themselves (meld themselves) with elemental matter.  The way God gives us glory is to engender our spirits with elemental matter through a series of births and rebirths.  When such a union becomes permanent (in the resurrection, for example) our joy becomes full at last.

Joseph: "God [found] himself in the midst of spirits and glory."

See two distinct things, there?  (1) Spirits and (2) glory (which we know is housed in elemental matter).  We have two things!  So we begin looking for an emergent Third.

For our purposes here, let's just say the universe is composed of two fundamental things: (1) spirit matter and (2) elemental matter.

   There is no such thing
   as immaterial matter.
   All spirit is matter,
   but it is more fine or pure,
   and can only be discerned
   by purer eyes;
   We cannot see it,
   but when our bodies
   are purified
   we shall see it is all matter.

(D&C 131:8)

Now that we know what the universe is made of, we can begin to comprehend the forces by which spirit and elements interact.  Faith is the bridge between them.

Faith is the force that binds spirit and element, by which intelligence (glory) increases when the two become infused.  Both uncreated intelligence and eternal elemental matter are endless; what is NOT endless, however, is their ability to stay joined, or to be "one."

The power of life (of eternal life, specifically) is the ability to seal together, inseparably, spirit and element ― but there's a catch.  The joining cannot be compelled; it must be without coercion, compulsion, or force of any kind.

This is the tricky part: the union of spirit and element must be enticed, not forced.  Their joining must be willing, arising without compulsory means.  Faith brings them together; charity keeps them joined.

Jesus's spirit is in all things, including us (D&C 88:41).  Jesus's spirit (His intelligence) is so great that it spreads throughout all of the elemental matter in our universe, including our physical bodies that have been formed from the dust of this earth's elemental substance (His footstool).  

I share this to point out that our glory is limited only by the amount of God's glory we can comprehend; the greater amount of God's glory we are able to absorb into our elemental form, the greater our intelligence.  Some day our spirit shall encompass planets and stars as easily as it does this mortal coil, 6 feet tall and a few hundred pounds.

Read the following verses in this context:

   The sun giveth his light by day,
   and the moon giveth her light
   by night, and the stars also
   give their light, as they roll
   upon their wings in their glory,
   in the midst of the power of God.

   Unto what shall I liken these
   kingdoms, that ye may
   understand?

   Behold, all these are kingdoms,
   and any man who hath seen
   any or the least of these
   hath seen God moving
   in his majesty and power.

(D&C 88:45-47)

In case we thought the Lord was being hyperbolic, He emphasizes the fact we have seen Him:

   I say unto you,
   he hath seen him (!)
   nevertheless, he who came
   unto his own
   was not comprehended.

(D&C 88:48)

Standing in God's Presence Without Being Consumed to a Crisp

There's a very good reason we are not in God's presence and have a veil between us.  It is because we would be consumed and die in His presence.  By "die" I mean our spirits would be jolted out of our physical bodies, causing our bodies to die (though our bodies cannot be destroyed, true; they can, however, decay and decompose and return to their constituent elemental parts).  

​But why would we die before God's brightness?  Think of lightning striking your house, surging electricity through your home's wiring circuits.  (This is why we have our computers plugged in to surge protectors.) 

By crude analogy, a similar thing happens to our spirits in His presence if we are unsanctified.  If God were to pour His glory into us it would burst the brittle wine-bag of our flesh, since our spirits would be unable to hold their grip on our bodies under such spiritual force.  It would fry our spiritual switchboard.  We would flee these flimsy bodies and beg the mountains to cover us, seeking shelter from His glory.  (The solution?  Have God come down as a man without His glory.  We call it "the condescension of God.")

When we're resurrected, our bodies will not be made of different elements (still the same atoms and elements out there), just as Jesus proved when He showed his body of flesh and bone to His disciples.  In other words, don't expect to be a better person in the resurrection just because we've got a new body.  For Alma taught the same spirit which possesses our body here will possess our body there.  And in the resurrection we get the best-possible body that our spirits are able to handle.

In other words, in the resurrection we'll be given a body with the maximal amount of glory our spirits are able to remain connected to without flipping the breaker circuit.

This explains the confusion over whether there's progression between kingdoms; how I wish we'd stop thinking of kingdoms geographically, as places.  The kingdom we inhabit (or "dominion") is nothing more or less than the body we can govern; hence, here in the telestial kingdom, our bodies possess a degree of glory (but not the fulness) commensurate with our spiritual development.

In Christ's case, His kingdom (dominion) spans the known universe; in my case, I can barely make my body get out of bed in the morning without a jolt of bacon grease and orange juice.

If all of this was confusing (sorry), please read the following verse, but replace the word "dominion" with "bodies":

   Then shall thy confidence
   wax strong in the presence
   of God

Our confidence derives from the fact we aren't consumed in the brightness of His glory like a box of Cornflakes doused in kerosene.  Why are we able to endure His presence?  Because our spirits can retain their connection to our bodies in the presence of One whose glory far exceeds our own.

   and the doctrine
   of the priesthood
   shall distil upon thy soul
   as the dews from heaven

Remember what our "soul" is?  "The spirit AND body [so spirit and element] are the soul of man" (D&C 88:15).  This is fascinating, I think, to see that the priesthood of God has a physiological as well as spiritual dimension.

   The Holy Ghost shall be
   thy constant companion,
   and thy scepter
   an unchanging scepter
   of righteousness
   and truth; and
   thy dominion . . .

Okay, we made it to "dominion."

   shall be an everlasting
   dominion, and without
   compulsory means
   it shall flow unto thee
   forever and ever.

(D&C 121:45-46)

So even if we lay down our physical bodies, under the doctrine of the priesthood (not the version we are taught at Church), we shall be able to take up again our bodies "forever and ever."

"But Tim!" someone says, "I thought we were going to learn about the baptism of fire.  What does this have to do with that?"

   Glad you asked!

Brains of the Operation

We each possess a neural network in our physical brains that contains something called "the associative processing system" (sounds like something we'd find in a 1990s Microsoft motherboard, right?).

This processing system is the way our brain navigates and understands what is happening in real-time ― now, at this exact moment ― using previously-stored life experiences (and you know, emotional baggage).  Consider the fact that our spirits need some means of physical expression and perception; that's the whole point: intelligence increases (glories upon glories) as our spirits are able to tame the elemental creation, establishing a greater dominion.

But there’s an interesting wrinke: our associative processing system is mostly non-conscious.  It is working behind-the-scenes, constantly feeding data to our prefrontal cortex.  This all happens faster-than-thought; we aren't aware of the trillions of operations occurring in our brains each minute.

Yes, you read that correctly: trillions.  An estimated six trillion operations per minute is the speed with which our brains function.  Isn't that remarkable?  Neuroscience really is a marvel; how glorious is the temple of our God!  Picture the minds of His children connecting in a sort of spiritual, neural network across time and cosmos, becoming one: past, present and future.  This is the Holy Spirit.  This is the Record of Heaven.

Anyway, I explain this to give some context to the following statement: "Scientists estimate 90% of our thinking, feeling, judging and acting is driven by our non-conscious automatic processes."
 
This statement raises profound implications.  How are we "judged according to [our] works" (Alma 41:3) when those works are performed primarily in a non-volitional state?

Are we only judged for willful conduct?  How would we even begin to draw a line around what is "willful" when so much of what we "think" and "do" is the consequence of unconscious, biological factors?  (If you have trouble believing our personality is largely a function of our biology, just look at mind-altering drugs and antipsychotics.)

Why is this significant?  Well, it has massive implications for "sin," for starters.  What is sin?  This all strikes at the heart of the question: Who are we?  What makes us the way we are, and do the things we do?  Are we able to change our fundamental nature?

  And if so, how?

Free Agents

Agency is closely associated with intelligence (not talking about our IQ, but our eternal nature, which becomes "divine" when we receive the Holy Ghost).

The law of divine agency used to be emphasized a lot more in the Church than it is today ― back when we talked about "next to the bestowal of life itself, the right to direct that life is God's greatest gift to man" (David O. McKay, Conference Report, Apr. 1950, p. 32). 

Agency is the power to act, versus the opposite, to be acted upon.

Now imagine what it means to be "acted upon" by ourselves.  This is the meaning of the scriptural terms "flesh" or "natural man."  And my favorite, to be "carnally-minded" (2 Nephi 9:39).

Our spirits desire to direct our physical bodies, but often they have trouble getting through all the chemical reactions and electrical charges in our braincells, wrangling the hormones and physical impulses.  There's a lot of physical "noise pollution" that makes hearing the voice of the Mind (yes, in the Lectures on Faith they actually capitalize it like in a sci-fi novel), or Spirit of God, difficult.

But here's my overarching point: the work of the Spirit is simply to entice our internal physical hardwiring to become more susceptible to the light of truth.

It's not easy; our neural networks have been shaped and reinforced for many years; we've laid a lot of tracks that have become deep wagon-wheel ruts in our brains ― so blazing new trails requires help.  We are stuck.  In a way, we are captives of our own bodies.

This gives new insight into Amulek's chilling statement (riffing on Jacob's monsters, death and hell), when we see our predicament is physical as well as spiritual:

   All mankind
   must unavoidably perish;
   yea, all are hardened;
   yea, all are fallen
   and are lost,
   and must perish
   except it be
   through the atonement.

(Alma 34:9)

Enter: Christ.  Yes, that's right: Jesus provides divine intervention for all of us.  "But Tim," someone says, "Not in my case.  I've never seen a vision, or been visited by an angel ― much less seen the Lord.  And besides, I'm Buddhist."  Doesn't matter!

But I am not kidding.  God's program was genius.  As part of our hardwiring, we each enter into this world and receive bodies of elemental matter that are connected to God, being infused with the light of Christ as part of His dominion.   Whatever our culture ― whether we're born in China three thousand years ago or live today in the Jell-O Belt of the Wasatch mountains ― the test is identical: will we "heed" the inner light, or Spirit, that is in us?

Do you see, now, why Lucifer and his fallen angels COULD NOT have received physical bodies?  It was not a punishment so much as it was a consequence of their desire to have nothing to do with Christ, since the bodies of all those who enter into this world are drenched in Him and His light.

​One of the upshots of this is that little children "are redeemed from the foundation of the world through Mine Only Begotten" (D&C 29:47).

But Satan saunters up to us (who have reached the age of accountability) and seeks to "taketh away light and truth" (D&C 93:39).  
How does the devil siphon away our light?  "Through disobedience" (D&C 93:39).  But disobedience to what?  Our parents?  No.  Our leaders?  No.  Our light of Christ?  Yes!

   Happy is he
   that condemneth
   not himself
   in that thing
   which he alloweth.

(Romans 14:22)

At the end of the day, "sin" is to do what we know, deep down, to be wrong.  Not because we were told so, but because the Spirit in us knows-so.  Thus we see the subjective nature of sin; what is sinful for one person may not be for another, and vice-versa.  This explains Paul's curious saying:

   All things are lawful
   for me, but all things
   are not expedient:
   all things are lawful
   for me, but all things
   edify not.

(1 Cor. 10:23)

There's small lower-case "sin" and then there's the Sin Against the Holy Ghost.  When we remember 'the Holy Ghost' is referring to us (more on this in a moment), it shows there comes a point of disobedience at which even God cannot reconcile our spirit to His.  Jesus Himself, our loving Lord, taught something so awful it makes me shudder whenever I read it:

   He that shall blaspheme
   against the Holy Ghost
   hath never forgiveness,
   but is in danger
   of eternal damnation.

(Mark 3:29)

The Mind-Body Problem

Picture an old telephone operator’s switchboard, with wires going every-which-way.  Our current physical wiring dictates, to a large measure, how we see the world and how we live in it.

Nobody wants to cruise through life on "autopilot."  Nobody wants to believe their personalities and decisions are a product of synapses and cells and hormone clusters.

So we have to ask: is it possible to retrain our associative processing system to become more Christlike?

The principle of faith is situated squarely in the Mind-Body Problem (and I suspect may hold the key to its solution).

If you're not familiar with the Mind-Body Problem, just know for now it is something nobody has been able to solve: that is, the relationship between our mind (consciousness) and our physical body.

Not even our best scientists and philosophers can figure out how our "mind" (spirit) functions in tandem with our brains.

The apostle Paul hinted at the problem when he said his "flesh" made him do things he did not want to do (see Romans 7:18-24).

Paul went so far as to describe the relationship between his body and inward mind as "war" (Rom. 7:23).

"Warring" members is a strong verb to use.  Was Paul saying that our spirits and bodies are enemies?  Are we at war with ourselves?  What is the resolution to the enmity between the natural man and the Spirit of God?

​​Paul taught the way we reconcile ourselves with ourselves (yes, you read that correctly), and to God, is through the Holy Ghost "renewing" our minds.
 
   Be ye transformed
   by the renewing of your mind,
   that ye may prove
   what is that good,
   and acceptable,
   and perfect,
   will of God.
 
(Romans 12:2)

This verse contains several pearls of great price.  First, the answer is, yes, it IS possible to be "transformed."  The way we transform our sinful nature into a Christlike one is through (here's the clincher) "the renewing of our mind."

Only a mind that is "renewed" is able to discern, apparently, what is "good" and "acceptable" to God.  Why is that?  Because a renewed mind is connected to God's Mind; and so you know you're not operating based on a case of indigestion or devilish deception.

So this is certainly important!  You're probably wondering, "Okay, sounds good.  How do we renew our minds?"

We'll go to Ephesians to see Paul's explanation, where he shows us what he means to "be renewed in the spirit of your mind":

   Put off your old self,
   which is being corrupted
   by its deceitful desires;
   to be made new
   in the attitude
   of your minds;

   and to put on the new self,
   created to be like God
   in true righteousness
   and holiness.

(Eph. 4:22-23, NIV)

That's all well-and-good, Paul, but we want practical, step-by-step instructions on how to become "new."

Okay, I aim to please.  Let me tell a story to see if it can become clearer.  (And yes, I haven't forgotten that this is all leading to the baptism of fire.)​

Johnny and Suzy: A Case Study in Opposites

As we've seen, the way we figure out God's will is through the "renewing our minds" by the Holy Spirit.  In other words, God's will is manifest as we allow our faith in Him to rewire our preconceived beliefs, notions, prejudices, temperament, and habits.  (Sounds like repentance, doesn't it?)  Good.
 
Pretend little Johnny grows up as a Seventh Day Adventist.  His parents were very strict about Sabbath worship.  A critical, essential part of his religious identity was worshipping on Saturday, not Sunday.
 
Little Johnny grew up into a fine young man.  But his mind, still, is firmly hard-wired to embrace Saturday-as-the-Sabbath; in fact, his mind is quite judgmental towards those who believe it's okay to worship on Sunday.  He thinks those folks are sinning.

We see that his brain has been conditioned and reinforced to accept God's will is a fait accompli, unchangeable as the concrete "commandments" he grew up with.

You know, we're all a little like Johnny, carrying around brain-chemistry that has calcified the false notions and beliefs of our childhood and youth like plaque in our arteries.  Christ's blood has trouble pumping through such clogged veins.  As adults, we desperately to be "renewed" and refreshed!
 
One Sunday (yes, on Sunday, which is just another day of the week for him), while reading Romans Chapter 14, the Spirit of God brushes up against Johnny's mind as he sips a root-beer float at the local Soda Shoppe.  (I told you he's a good boy; he's studying his Bible during his lunch break!)

Driving by in a car on her way to Church is a young woman named Suzy.  She sees Johnny through the picture windows of the Soda Shoppe, sipping his root-beer, and feels a hint of judgment enter her mind, that Johnny is sinning and breaking the Sunday-Sabbath.
 
Back to Johnny.  With his Bible open, he reads the apostle Paul testify (in the New Living Translation, since that is what he was raised with) that:
 
   I know and am convinced
   on the authority
   of the Lord Jesus
   that no food,
   in and of itself,
   is wrong to eat.
 
   In the same way,
   some think one day
   is more holy than another day,
   while others think
   every day is alike.

   Those who worship
   the Lord on a special day
   do it to honor him.
   So let’s stop condemning
   each other.

   For the Kingdom of God
   is not a matter of what
   we eat or drink,
   but of living a life
   of goodness
   and peace
   and joy
   in the Holy Spirit.
 
(Romans 14:14, 3, 5-6, 13, 17, NLT)
 
Here is the crucial moment.  This is what matters: will Johnny allow his mind to be renewed and enticed by the Holy Spirit ― which is whispering that God's okay with him worshipping on any day he pleases (even if it will break his parents' hearts) ― or will he reject the intimations of the Holy Spirit and settle on his old ways?

   Here is the agency of man,
   and here is the condemnation
   of man; because that
   which was from the beginning
   is plainly manifest unto them,
   and they receive not the light.
   And every man whose spirit
   receiveth not the light
   is under condemnation.

(D&C 93:31-32)

Meanwhile, Suzy is in her young women's class at the LDS chapel, and they're studying Romans 14.  She reads the same text as Johnny.

Suzy raises her hand, "Sister Smith," she asks her leader, "Paul says here that no food or drink, in and of itself, is wrong.  So why can't I drink coffee?"

Sister Smith responds, "Suzy dear, we have living prophets to guide us."

Notice: in what direction did Sister Smith point Suzy?  Did she point her toward the light of Christ and voice of the Spirit (which we call "the word of God")?

And so Suzy, abstaining from coffee, thinks herself justified, while her mind remains unrenewed.

But the angels rejoice over Johnny, who goes home and tells his parents, "Mom and Dad, I love you.  Today the Spirit has taught me that God's will for me does not depend on keeping a holy day, but in keeping His holiness with me always."

While Suzy grew up and had many children, who overheard her many times chastise the "evil coffee drinkers."

Ask yourself: whose mind did expand (Alma 32:34)?

Enticement

For the record, I have never drank coffee (although I love its smell).  Why?  Why would I refrain from doing something in which I see no wrong?  The answer is simple; as Paul wrote:

   Let no man put
   a stumbling-block
   or an occasion to fall
   in his brother's way.

   For if thy brother be grieved
   with thy meat,
   how walkest thou
   charitably?

(Romans 14:13, 15)

So long as I belong to a faith community that eschews coffee, I will "walk charitably" and seek to give no offense.

I feel the same way about tithing.  All of you know how I feel about tithing (don't get me started!).  I have written extensively on the subject on this blog.

But I still pay tithing with a clear conscience to the Church.  And I have absolutely no qualms towards those of you who choose to not pay tithing.

If you're wondering how I am able to pay tithing and sleep at night, when I know the way the Church treats tithing grieves the Lord deeply, I'll tell you the reason.

For several years I wrestled with what to do, personally, with tithing.  I counseled with my wife about it (since my decision also affects her).  I have never been the sort to play the authority-card, or the God-told-me-so-card.  I think the Lord wants us to be easily entreated, so I met repeatedly with my bishop and Stake President trying to help them understand the law of tithing from my point of view (that's a story for another day).

I prayed and asked the Lord for direction (seeking to have my "mind renewed") with a willing heart to do whatever the Lord required, no matter the consequences.  I was prepared to turn over my temple recommend.  Because the only thing that matters to me is being true to God.  And the Lord has been pretty clear with me about the evils of priestcraft in our midst.

Then, as I drove around the neighborhood one sleepless night, the voice of His Spirit whispered to me:

   Resist not evil: 
   And whosover
   shall compel thee
   to go a mile,
   go with him twain.

(Matt. 5:39, 41)

The words were accompanied by a strong impression that if I stopped paying tithing, the Lord was absolutely fine with that; but if I chose the path of submission to unrighteousness (as He had), He would bless me ten fold.  Whichever decision I made (He was leaving it up to me), He would approve.

I apologize for the personal trip down memory lane.  I just wanted to point out that the Holy Spirit entices us constantly.  There are layers upon layers of nuance to the complexity of human affairs.  I reflect often on the strange cultural rift created by the COVID vaccine, how divisive it became.  I remembered Paul's counsel, to do whatever we do unto the Lord, and allow others the same privilege.  For the kingdom is more than food and drink and vaccinations.

The Lord's Spirit is always with us:

   Yield to the enticings
   of the Holy Spirit,
   and putteth off
   the natural man.

(Mosiah 3:19)

But neither Satan nor the Spirit can force or compel us.

What is the Baptism of Fire?

Maybe you've noticed I haven't commented on the symbolism of fire: how it heats, consumes, cleanses, and lights; how it is one of the four classical elements (along with earth, water and air); how anciently fire was associated with the constellation of Leo, the lion; and how it is prophesied the elements shall melt with fire's fervent heat at the Lord's return.

Fire is an apt metaphor.  Especially since fire is associated with love and passion.  Nephi said:

   He hath filled me
   with his love,
   even unto the consuming
   of my flesh.

(2 Nephi 4:21)

It's interesting that there are three baptisms that only make one (water, spirit, and fire), just as there are three Gods who only make one (Father, Son and Holy Ghost).

Let's return now to what we read at the beginning regarding Adam's baptism:

   And thus Adam was baptized,
   and the Spirit of God
   descended upon him,
   and thus he was born
   of the Spirit,
   and became QUICKENED
   IN THE INNER MAN.

   And Adam heard a voice
   out of heaven, saying:
   Thou art baptized with fire,
   and with the Holy Ghost.
   This is the record of the Father,
   and the Son, from henceforth
   and forever.

(Moses 6:65-66)

​What does it mean to be "quickened in the inner man"?  I want to suggest that the baptism of fire is the sign of this quickening.

It's that simple.  The baptism of fire is the quickening of the "inner" man, awakening us to the Record of the Father (the Holy Ghost).

A babe is "quickened" in its mother's womb and begins to kick; we are quickened spiritually when we begin to perceive (hear) the voice of God.

My favorite illustration of this are the Lamanites in Helaman 5; what did their baptism of fire allow them to do?  To hear God's voice!

   When they heard this voice,
   and beheld that it was
   not a voice of thunder,
   neither was it a voice
   of a great tumultuous noise,
   but behold, it was a still voice
   of perfect mildness,
   as if it had been a whisper,
   and it did pierce
   even to the very soul.

(Helaman 5:30)

And being encircled about in fire, what does it say happened to the Lamanites?

   They were . . . full of glory.
   And the Holy Spirit of God
   did come down from heaven,
   and did enter into their hearts.

(Helaman 5:44-45)

Good; and the culmination of their spiritual awakening was to hear God speak directly to them, personally:

   There came a voice unto them,
   yea, a pleasant voice,
   as if it were a whisper, saying:
   Peace, peace be unto you,
   because of your faith
   in my Well Beloved.

(Helaman 5:46-47)

All this, and the Lamanites "knew not" that they had been baptized in fire.

Conclusion

What does the baptism of fire signify?  That a lock has been opened; that our uncreated intelligences and physical bodies have yielded to God's Spirit, and now, as one, are able to commune with the Holy Spirit unto the renewing of our minds and the sanctification of our bodies.

This is the doctrine of the priesthood, that such:

   are sanctified
   by the Spirit
   unto the renewing
   of their bodies.

(D&C 84:33)

And some day, in and through Christ Jesus, we shall attain unto the resurrection of the dead, when the Father (you) and the Son (your flesh) and the Holy Ghost (your Mind) become one.

If that sounds like heresy, please consider the following:

   Behold, I come unto my own . . .
   to do the will both of the Father
​   and of the Son―
   of the Father because of me,
   and of the Son
   because of my flesh.

(3 Nephi 1:14)

Jesus was the Father and the Son, and what does it mean for the Spirit to "bear record" of Him?  Now we comprehend. 

This verse might make more sense now:

   And after this manner
   shall ye baptize in my name;
   for behold, verily I say
   unto you, that the Father,
   and the Son, and the Holy Ghost
   are one; and I am in the Father,
   and the Father in me,
   and the Father and I are one.

(3 Nephi 11:27)

And these words:

   And because he dwelleth
   in flesh he shall be called
   the Son of God,
   and having subjected
   the flesh to the will
   of the Father, being
   the Father and the Son―

   The Father, because
   he was conceived
   by the power of God;
   and the Son,
   because of the flesh;
   thus becoming the Father
   and Son―

   And thus the flesh
   becoming subject
   to the Spirit,
   or the Son to the Father,
   being one God,
   they are one God, yea,
   the very Eternal Father.

(Mosiah 2-3, 5, 4)

"Wait! Tim, I thought we believed the Son and Father were separate Personages.  Do you believe in modalism?"

No, no.  This is not modalism.  There are two distinct Persons, whom we both call Father.  The Father we know as Jesus Christ (by nature and by parentage) and His Father and His God, are two Fathers.  And remember, a third there will always be when two are joined.  We can become One with Them.

What I believe is that we each have the potential to become the Father and the Son, being in God's image: creatures of spirit and flesh, from which the glory of the Holy Spirit emerges, so that our voices are added to the heavenly Record.

The baptism of fire is Their welcome to the Conversation.​