Extra Sabbathought: "few, that is, eight"

It is clear from the scriptures we looked at yesterday that baptism is necessary for salvation from this mortal world.

The Lord Jesus made it clear when He said to His Apostles, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:15--16).

Strong doctrine? Rough things from the lips of the Master? The word "damned" is rooted in the Hebrew dam and means blood. The name Adam means to show blood, or first blood. Blood is the badge of the Fall, of mortal life. So to be damned would be to not escape the effects of the Fall, but to have those earth stains cling to you.

Thus we see that baptism is not only important but vital. The LDS Bible has an index system of some 750 gospel topics among which is "Baptism, Essential"---because it is. . . . So essential that the Lord has directed it must be performed by proxy for all accountable souls who have died if they did not receive it in this life (see D&C 124:29; 128:1; 138:33; 1 Corinthians 15:29).

As we saw yesterday, the Lord has defined an "accountable soul" as one that has reached eight years old (JST Genesis 17:11; D&C 68:25).

So, eight is the age of baptism.
Eight souls were saved by water on board Noah's Ark.
Jesus rose from the dead on the first day of the new week, or on the eighth day. Thus the new Sabbath day---"the Lord's day"---replaced the old Shabbat, and a new order was born.

Eight is the number associated with newness of life, resurrection, rebirth, regeneration, and with the beginning of a new era or order. In Hebrew the word for eight is shmoneh, from shamen, to shine, to be oily. It is where the word Gethsemane comes from, which means oil press.

Aeneas was paralyzed in his bed for eight years. "And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately" (Acts 9:33).

Each of us is an Aeneas. . . . If we understand the doctrine of the plan and liken the scriptures unto us.

Now consider the following points from the Book of Mormon. Do you think they are accidental or coincidental? Or do you see divine design here . . . :

It took eight years for Lehi and his family to get from Jerusalem, the place of their birth, to the water at Bountiful and then go by water to the New World (1 Nephi 17:4--5).

Similarly, how many Jaredite barges were built to go underwater to the new land of promise? There were eight barges, built after the pattern of the Ark of Noah.

As we saw yesterday, eight can be a "few", as in 1 Peter 3:20--21. Now notice this:

In 2 Nephi 27:12 the Book of Mormon foretells of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon plates. Then the next verse (13) says : "And there is none other which shall view it, save it be a few according to the will of God, to bear testimony of his word unto the children of men."

There were eight further witnesses of the Book of Mormon plates.

What are we to make of "Many are called, but few are chosen"? Obviously it is to be hoped that more than eight will be "chosen"!! But our exploring of this idea finds consistency here also. It could mean less of a quantity and more of a quality --- an eight-type of person, renewed, reborn, regenerated, risen to new life in Christ through baptism (see Romans 6:3--6).

Baptism is for the remission of sins made inevitable through the Fall. It is for a newness of life in Christ, to begin the process of becoming adopted by a new birth into the family of Christ, to start to take upon us the new name---the name of Christ, the family name.

One last insight in view of this doctrine: How long did it take before the Church received its new name after it was "born" in April 1830?

The revelation to Joseph Smith the Prophet which says, "For thus shall my church be called in the last days, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" (D&C 115:4) was given in April 1838.

Have a lovely first-day-of-Spring Sabbath.

Steve