The Baptism of Jesus Christ

Why was John so hesitant to baptize Jesus?

I’ve always believed that John was hesitant to baptize Jesus because he was worried about his own worthiness to baptize the Son of God! I mean who wakes up in the morning and thinks, “Ya, I can totally do it. I can baptize the ONE perfect being on the planet.” I don’t blame him for feeling this way. I think it is a really natural reaction and one I definitely would have had!

What is taught here about the Holy Ghost?

Here we learn that the Holy Ghost is a personage, a tangible thing. President Joseph Smith taught, “‘The sign of the dove was instituted before the creation of the world, a witness for the Holy Ghost, and the devil cannot come in the sign of a dove. The Holy Ghost is a personage, and is in the form of a personage. It does not confine itself to the form of the dove, but in sign of the dove. The Holy Ghost cannot be transformed into a dove; but the sign of a dove was given to John to signify the truth of the deed, as the dove is an emblem or token of truth and innocence.”

List three reasons why Jesus was baptized.

Jesus Christ was baptized in order to be an example for everybody else in the world. Another reason he was baptized is because it is an earthly ordinance that must be done after you reach the age of accountability, as Christ was. The reason that I found most compelling is that the Savior wanted to prove his obedience to his Father in Heaven, by fulfilling the commandment to be baptized.

What evidence is found in Matthew 3:16-17 that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are three separate personages in the Godhead.

The list scripture(s) above state, “And Jesus when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and light upon him, And lo a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” This is one of the few places in the scriptures that the three members of the Godhead appear together. Jesus Christ is being baptized, Heavenly Father’s voice is heard from the heavens, and the Holy Ghost appears as a dove. This is definite evidence of the nature of the Godhead.