Mormons believe in—Baptism by Immersion

If we have faith in Jesus Christ, and we believe in His Atonement (discussed in {Article of Faith #3}), then we understand how repentance frees us from the bonds of sin. Our faith and desire to overcome our mistakes increases our desire to keep His commandments and follow His example. There's a great story in Acts that illustrates how faith compels us to take action: A group of people were listening to Peter teach about Jesus Christ. After listening to him and experiencing the feelings of the Spirit, "they were pricked in their hearts, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2:37-38).

These people showed their willingness to repent by acting upon their faith and doing all that Peter instructed:

Baptism
The first ordinance they needed was baptism. I think the important question to ask here is how were they baptized? If we desire to follow Christ's example, then we desire to do as he did: "Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water" (Matthew 3:16). We learn from this and other scriptures (Acts 8:38, Romans 6:4, Mark 1:5) that baptism is done by going into the water and coming up out of the water, or in other words, through immersion. In fact, the word "baptize" in Hebrew means: "to dip" or "immerse."

Gift of the Holy Ghost
Peter said that after they were baptized, they would "receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Again, we have been given the perfect example in all things: Jesus Christ, after he was baptized, saw "the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him" (Matthew 3:15). So we know this is an important step. Now let us ask: How does one receive this gift? This question is answered in a few passages of scripture, two of which I've documented here:
1. "John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Ghost came on them" (Acts 19:4)
2. "Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost." (Acts 8:17)
What we can learn from the examples of the apostles is that the gift of the Holy Ghost is given through the laying on of hands.






Jesus taught: "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). Christ left us His example, so that we could follow in His steps and do as He did (1 Peter 2:21):

"And now if, the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!" 

(2 Nephi 31:5)

Continue reading: {Article of Faith #5} Who has the authority to administer these ordinances?