THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST

What does the word doctrine mean?

Elder Bruce R. McConkie in his book Mormon Doctrine said that doctrines are teachings. They
are classified as true or false. In our case the Doctrine of Christ could be called the Teachings of
Christ or Christ’s Teachings.
What does the word teachings mean?

Teachings as defined by the dictionary are ideas or principles taught by an authority.

What are principles?

Principles as defined by the dictionary are fundamental (i.e. core or central) truths. From D&C
93:24, we learn that truth is knowledge of things as they are, as they were, and as they are to
come, or in other words, knowledge of things present, past and future.
Doctrine of Christ redefined in other words

So we started with the Doctrine of Christ and we changed that to say Christ’s Teachings. We
can further state it as the Central or Core Truths that Christ teaches us.
But what are these teachings in relation to? What are these fundamental truths that He is

sharing with us and for what purpose?

3rd Nephi 11:31-41 the Lord states plainly what His doctrine is:

31 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my  adoctrine.
32 And this is my  adoctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I
bear  brecord of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the  cHoly Ghost beareth
record of the Father and me; and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men,
everywhere, to repent and believe in me.
33 And whoso believeth in me, and is  abaptized, the same shall be  bsaved; and they are they
who shall  cinherit the kingdom of God.
34 And whoso believeth not in me, and is not  abaptized, shall be damned.
35 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father;
and whoso  abelieveth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear
record of me, for he will visit him  bwith fire and with the  cHoly Ghost.
36 And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the  aHoly Ghost will bear record unto him of
the Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are  bone.
37 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and  abecome as a  blittle child, and be baptized in
my name, or ye can in nowise receive these things.
38 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a
little  achild, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.
39 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my  adoctrine, and whoso  bbuildeth upon this buildeth
upon my rock, and the  cgates of hell shall not prevail against them.
40 And whoso shall  adeclare more or less than this, and establish it for my doctrine, the same
cometh of evil, and is not built upon my rock; but he buildeth upon a  bsandy foundation, and the
gates of hell stand open to receive such when the floods come and the winds beat upon them.
41 Therefore, go forth unto this people, and declare the words which I have spoken, unto the
ends of the earth.

Nephi in his final words to his people and all who would later read his words taught the doctrine
of Christ very plainly. He left the most important thing he had to share for the last part of his
record. This is what he said and this was 604 years before Christ taught the same doctrine after
his resurrection to the nephites and lamanites who remained after the great destruction.
In 2nd Nephi 31:2, he says

2 Wherefore, the things which I have written sufficeth me, save it be a few words which
I  amust speak concerning the doctrine of Christ; wherefore, I shall speak unto you plainly,
according to the plainness of my prophesying.
He then recounts Christ’s baptism by water and the Spirit and shows the narrowness of the gate
by which all will need to enter which was what Christ did.
He then recounts starting in vs. 11 what the doctrine of Christ is and expounds on it. Remember
these are the final words he is writing. This is what he really wants the reader to remember.
11 And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son.
12 And also, the voice of the Son came unto me, saying: He that is baptized in my name, to him
will the Father  agive the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore,  bfollow me, and do the things
which ye have seen me do.
13 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, I know that if ye shall  afollow the Son, with full purpose of
heart, acting no  bhypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real  cintent, repenting of your
sins, witnessing unto the Father that ye are  dwilling to take upon you the  ename of Christ,
by  fbaptism—yea, by following your Lord and your Savior down into the water, according to his
word, behold, then shall ye receive the Holy Ghost; yea, then cometh the  gbaptism of fire and of
the Holy Ghost; and then can ye speak with the  htongue of angels, and shout praises unto the
Holy One of Israel.
14 But, behold, my beloved brethren, thus came 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, and can speak with a new tongue, yea, even with the tongue of angels, and after this
should  adeny me, it would have been  bbetter for you that ye had not known me.
15 And I heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the  awords of my Beloved are true and
faithful. He that  bendureth to the  cend, the same shall be saved.
16 And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall  aendure to the end, in
following the  bexample of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved.
17 Wherefore, do the things which I have told you I have seen that your Lord and your
Redeemer should do; for, for this cause have they been shown unto me, that ye might know the
gate by which ye should enter. For the gate by which ye should enter is repentance
and  abaptism by water; and then cometh a  bremission of your sins by fire and by the Holy
Ghost.
18 And then are ye in this  astrait and narrow  bpath which leads to eternal life; yea, ye have
entered in by the gate; ye have done according to the commandments of the Father and the
Son; and ye have received the Holy Ghost, which  cwitnesses of the  dFather and the Son, unto
the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should
receive.
19 And now, my beloved brethren, after ye have gotten into this strait and narrow  apath, I would
ask if all is  bdone? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; for ye have not come thus far save it were by
the word of Christ with unshaken  cfaith in him,  drelying wholly upon the merits of him who is
mighty to  esave.
20 Wherefore, ye must press forward with a  asteadfastness in Christ, having a perfect
brightness of  bhope, and a  clove of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward,
feasting upon the word of Christ, and  dendure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall
have  eeternal life.
21 And now, behold, my beloved brethren, this is the  away; and there is  bnone other way
nor  cname given under heaven whereby man can be saved in the kingdom of God. And now,
behold, this is the  ddoctrine of Christ, and the only and true doctrine of the  eFather, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost, which is  fone God, without end. Amen.

The doctrine or teachings of Christ as outlined here are what we must do to inherit the kingdom
of God. They are spelled out clearly by Nephi and Christ himself. These are things we must do
to have eternal life. We should be so grateful for the Book of Mormon that clearly outlines what
we must do. During the translation of the bible the parts of the doctrine of christ are there but not
explained in plain terms. For example,
In the bible the doctrine of Christ is only mentioned twice. In 2nd John 1:9 it states:
9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that
abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
Here is states that the doctrine of Christ is necessary but it does not define what it is. The only
other mention we have is in Hebrew 6:1-3 and is leaves out a very important word that was
restored through the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible. Currently in the KJV is reads:
1 Therefore  aleaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto  bperfection; not
laying again the foundation of  crepentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
2 Of the  adoctrine of  bbaptisms, and of  claying on of  dhands, and of resurrection of the dead,
and of eternal judgment.
3  aAnd this will we do, if God permit.

In this form it is the opposite of what was said in 2nd John. We are being told to leave the
principles of the doctrine of christ. The JST however adds this important word, the word “not”.
The JST reads:

1 Therefore not leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not
laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.

This correction makes a lot more sense but even with it corrected it does not explain plainly
what the doctrine of christ is and this doctrine is necessary for eternal life.
Now that we have defined what the doctrine of Christ is and why it is important how does
this relate to the gospel, the fulness of the gospel?
In D&C 39:5-6 it reads:

5 And verily, verily, I say unto you, he that receiveth my gospel  areceiveth me; and he
that  breceiveth not my gospel receiveth not me.
6 And this is my  agospel—repentance and baptism by water, and then cometh the  bbaptism of
fire and the Holy Ghost, even the Comforter, which showeth all things, and  cteacheth the
peaceable things of the kingdom.

In the Encyclopedia of Mormonism it states under the section Fulness of the Gospel that
“Fulness is a term sometimes used in the scriptures to describe Christ himself, regarding both
his stature as the Son of God and what he offered mankind.

With this definition another way of saying Fulness of the Gospel is the Savior’s Gospel and we
know the gospel is also the doctrine of Christ so they are interchangeable. The Book of Mormon
really does contain The fulness or the Savior’s gospel or glad tidings or teachings.

How does the doctrine of christ relate to being born again and the mighty change or
heart?

They are actually all the same thing. We are told that we need to be born again, to receive the
mighty change. In John 3:1-8 it says:

1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named  aNicodemus, a  bruler of the Jews:
2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher
come from God: for no man can do these  amiracles that thou doest, except  bGod be with him.
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man
be  aborn  bagain, he cannot  csee the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second
time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man
be  aborn of  bwater and of the  cSpirit, he cannot  denter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be  aborn again.

The first thing the Savior taught him was the doctrine of Christ, right here. And interestingly
enough, he said it also means being born again.

In Moses 6:58-68 it states:

58 Therefore I give unto you a  acommandment, to  bteach these things freely unto
your  cchildren, saying:
59 That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as
ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the  aspirit, which I have made, and so
became of  bdust a living soul, even so ye must be  cborn again into the kingdom of heaven,
of  dwater, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten;
that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and  eenjoy the  fwords of  geternal life in this world, and
eternal life in the world to come, even immortal  hglory;
60 For by the  awater ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are  bjustified, and by
the  cblood ye are  dsanctified;
61 Therefore it is given to abide in you; the  arecord of heaven; the  bComforter;
the  cpeaceable things of immortal glory; the truth of all things; that which quickeneth all things,
which maketh alive all things; that which knoweth all things, and hath all  dpower according to
wisdom, mercy, truth, justice, and judgment.
62 And now, behold, I say unto you: This is the  aplan of salvation unto all men, through
the  bblood of mine  cOnly Begotten, who shall come in the meridian of time.
63 And behold, all things have their  alikeness, and all things are created and made to  bbear
record of me, both things which are temporal, and things which are spiritual; things which are in
the heavens above, and things which are on the earth, and things which are in the earth, and
things which are under the earth, both above and beneath: all things bear record of me.
64 And it came to pass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried unto
the Lord, and he was  acaught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the
water, and was laid under the  bwater, and was brought forth out of the water.
65 And thus he was baptized, and the Spirit of God descended upon him, and thus he
was  aborn of the Spirit, and became quickened in the  binner man.
66 And he heard a voice out of heaven, saying: Thou art baptized with  afire, and with the Holy
Ghost. This is the  brecord of the Father, and the Son, from henceforth and forever;
67 And thou art after the  aorder of him who was without beginning of days or end of years, from
all eternity to all eternity.
68 Behold, thou art  aone in me, a son of God; and thus may all become my  bsons. Amen.

Here Adam was taught the doctrine of Christ and received it and became a Son of God or a
child of Christ.

In Alma 5:12-14 Alma the younger speaking of his father Alma who believed the words of
Abinadi says:

12 And according to his faith there was a mighty  achange wrought in his heart. Behold I say
unto you that this is all true.
13 And behold, he  apreached the word unto your fathers, and a mighty change was also
wrought in their hearts, and they humbled themselves and put their  btrust in the true and  cliving
God. And behold, they were faithful until the  dend; therefore they were saved.
14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye  aspiritually been  bborn of
God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this
mighty  cchange in your hearts?

What is he asking in verse 14? What is he trying to tell us here?

Alma the younger gives us the answer in an earlier chapter of Mosiah. The answer comes from
Mosiah 27:23-27. Remember Alma the Younger had been persecuting the Church of God and
trying to tear it down with the sons of Mosiah who was king. An angel came and stopped him
and he went into a coma. When he came out this is what he said

23 And it came to pass after they had fasted and prayed for the space of  atwo days and two
nights, the limbs of Alma received their strength, and he stood up and began to speak unto
them, bidding them to be of good comfort:
24 For, said he, I have repented of my sins, and have been  aredeemed of the Lord; behold I am
born of the Spirit.
25 And the Lord said unto me: Marvel not that all mankind, yea, men and women, all nations,
kindreds, tongues and people, must be  aborn again; yea,  bborn of God,  cchanged from their
carnal and  dfallen state, to a state of righteousness, being redeemed of God, becoming
his  esons and daughters;
26 And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in  anowise inherit
the kingdom of God.
27 I say unto you, unless this be the case, they must be cast off; and this I know, because I was
like to be cast off.

Alma the Younger completed the full baptism. His Father Alma the Elder baptized at the waters
of Mormon and most likely Alma the Younger would have already received the baptism by water
and now he was finally receiving years later, the baptism of the Spirit, that is the baptism of fire
and the Holy Ghost. He was born again and received the mightly change of heart. His
experience of 3 days and 3 nights had brought him to a broken heart and contrite spirit. He had
now entered the gate and was finally on the strait and narrow path that leads to eternal life.

In 3rd Nephi 9:17, 20 it states that the condition to receive the baptism of the Spirit is predicated
upon having a broken heart and contrite spirit. It says:

17 And as many as have received me, to them have I  agiven to become the sons of God; and
even so will I to as many as shall believe on my name, for behold, by me  bredemption cometh,
and  cin me is the  dlaw of Moses fulfilled.
20 And ye shall offer for a  asacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit. And whoso
cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, him will I  bbaptize with fire and with
the Holy Ghost, even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their
conversion, were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.

This is why Alma the Younger was asking the question:

14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye  aspiritually been  bborn of
God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this
mighty  cchange in your hearts?

He was talking to the members of the Church, those who had already been baptized by water
and had hands layed on their heads to receive the Holy Ghost. He knew that it was possible
even with hands laid on their heads, that these members may not have had this baptism of fire
yet but were in the process of receiving it or needed to learn that they needed it. He himself did
not have it until he was in the coma. It took a lot for Alma to make the change. It does not mean
it will take the same for us to have a broken heart and contrite spirit. Some of us here may have
already had it. Some may not have. It can come when hands are laid on our heads or many
years thereafter.

In Mormon Doctrine under Baptism of Fire, Elder Bruce R. McConkie says:

To gain salvation every accountable person must receive two baptisms. They are baptism of
water and of the Spirit. (John 3:3-5.) The baptism of the Spirit is called the baptism of fire and of
the Holy Ghost. (Matt. 3:11; Luke 3:16; 2 Ne. 31:13-14; 3 Ne. 11:35; 12:1-2; Morm. 7:10 D. & C.
20:41; 33:11; 39:6.) By the power of the Holy Ghost — who is the Sanctifier (3 Ne. 27:19-21) —
dross iniquity, carnality, sensuality, and every evil thing is burned out of the repentant soul as if
by fire; the cleansed person becomes literally a new creature of the Holy Ghost. (Mosiah 27:24-
26.) He is born again. The baptism of fire is not something in addition to the receipt of the Holy
Ghost; rather, it is the actual enjoyment of the gift which is offered by the laying on of hands at
the time of baptism. "Remission of sins," the Lord says, comes "by baptism and by fire, yea,
even the Holy Ghost." (D. & C. 19:31; 2 Ne. 31:17.) Those who receive the baptism of fire are
'filled as if with fire" (Hela. 5:45.)

In the book Learning for the eternities Marion G Romney says the following:

This baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost here spoken of by Nephi affects the great change in
the hearts of men referred to by Alma. It converts them from carnality to spirituality. It cleanses,
heals, and purifies the soul. It is the sealing and sign of forgiveness. It is the spiritual rebirth
spoken of by Jesus to Nicodemus. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, and water
baptism are all preliminary and prerequisite to it, but it is the consummation. To receive it is to
have one's garments washed in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ.
The mighty change wrought by the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost should, and does, if the
proselyte is prepared to receive it, occur when he is baptized by immersion for the remission of
sins and receives the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, the two required
ordinances for being "born of water and of the spirit."
Elder Bednar in his talk Receive the Holy Ghost in October G.C. 2010 said the following:
The simplicity of this ordinance may cause us to overlook its significance. These four words
—“Receive the Holy Ghost”—are not a passive pronouncement; rather, they constitute a
priesthood injunction—an authoritative admonition to act and not simply to be acted upon
(see 2  Nephi 2:26). The Holy Ghost does not become operative in our lives merely because
hands are placed upon our heads and those four important words are spoken. As we receive
this ordinance, each of us accepts a sacred and ongoing responsibility to desire, to seek, to
work, and to so live that we indeed “receive the Holy Ghost” and its attendant spiritual gifts. “For
what doth it profit a man if a gift is bestowed upon him, and he receive not the gift? Behold, he
rejoices not in that which is given unto him, neither rejoices in him who is the giver of the gift”
(D&C 88:33).

So is it possible that we have not received the baptism of the Spirit yet?

That is a question that needs to be answered by our Father in Heaven to each individual who
prays and asks Him if it has happened. Elder McConkie said in Mormon Doctrine under the
section Conversion related the following:

Peter is the classic example of how the power of conversion works on receptive souls. During
our Lord's mortal ministry, Peter had a testimony, bom of the Spirit, of the divinity of Christ and
of the great plan of salvation which was in Christ. "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God," he said, as the Holy Ghost gave him utterance. (Matt. 16:13-19.) When others fell away,
Peter stood forth with the apostolic assurance, "We believe and are sure that thou art that
Christ, the Son of the living God." (John 6:69.) Peter knew, and his knowledge came by
revelation.
But Peter was not converted, because he had not become a new creature of the Holy Ghost.
Rather, long after Peter had gained a testimony, and on the very night Jesus was arrested, he
said to Peter: "When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." (Luke 22:32.) Immediately
thereafter, and regardless of his testimony, Peter denied that he knew Christ. (Luke 22:54-62.)
After the crucifixion, Peter went fishing, only to be called back to the ministry by the risen Lord.
(John 21:1-17.) Finally on the day of Pentecost the promised spiritual endowment was received;
Peter and all the faithful disciples became new creatures of the Holy Ghost; they were truly
converted; and their subsequent achievements manifest the fixity of their conversions. (Acts 3;
4.)
It is interesting to note also that the Latter-day Twelve, long after they had testimonies of the
gospel, and more than two years after their calls to the apostleship, were promised that if they
would be faithful they would yet be converted. (D. & C 112:12-13.)

So if we have not had this mighty change of heart how do we obtain a broken heart and
contrite spirit?

In Alma 22:15-18 it says

15 And it came to pass that after Aaron had expounded these things unto him, the king
said:  aWhat shall I do that I may have this eternal life of which thou hast spoken? Yea, what
shall I do that I may be  bborn of God, having this wicked spirit  crooted out of my breast, and
receive his Spirit, that I may be filled with joy, that I may not be cast off at the last day? Behold,
said he, I will give up  dall that I possess, yea, I will forsake my kingdom, that I may receive this
great joy.
16 But Aaron said unto him: If thou desirest this thing, if thou wilt  abow down before God, yea, if
thou wilt repent of all thy sins, and will bow down before God, and call on his name in faith,
believing that ye shall receive, then shalt thou receive the  bhope which thou desirest.
17 And it came to pass that when Aaron had said these words, the king did  abow down before
the Lord, upon his knees; yea, even he did prostrate himself upon the earth, and cried  bmightily,
saying:
18 O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt
thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may
be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day. And now when the king had said these
words, he was struck  aas if he were dead.

Omni 1:26 states:

26 And now, my beloved brethren, I would that ye should  acome unto Christ, who is the Holy
One of Israel, and partake of his salvation, and the power of his redemption. Yea, come unto
him, and  boffer your whole souls as an  coffering unto him, and continue in  dfasting and praying,
and endure to the end; and as the Lord liveth ye will be saved.

Mosiah 3:19 states:

19 For the  anatural  bman is an  cenemy to God, and has been from the  dfall of Adam, and will
be, forever and ever, unless he  eyields to the enticings of the  fHoly Spirit, and  gputteth off
the  hnatural man and becometh a  isaint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and
becometh as a  jchild,  ksubmissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all
things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father.

A key phrase here is: willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him,
even as a child doth submit to his father.

Elder Neal A Maxwell summed it up beautifully:

“The submission of one's will is really the only uniquely personal thing we have to place on
God's altar. The many other things we 'give' are actually the things He has already given or
loaned to us.”

We go to God in prayer and tell Him we want to receive the full baptism of the Spirit and give
Him permission to try us or let us have those experiences necessary to have a broken heart and
contrite Spirit to meet this condition which is necessary to receiving the baptism of fire and the
Holy Ghost.

When we have reached this condition of a broken heart and contrite spirit the First Comforter
which is the gift of the Holy Ghost is given us. We are baptized with fire and we can speak with
the tongue of angels. We have entered in by the gate and are now in the strait and narrow path
that leads to eternal life. Lehi’s dream of the tree of life represents this process. We then feast
on the words of Christ or the word of God and walk that path till it leads to the tree of life which
represents the love or God, Christ Himself. The word of God marks the path and will be
received through the written word and the power of the Holy Ghost and those appointed to
teach us His word. As we follow it we arrive before Christ, we eat of the fruit which are the
blessings of His Atonement.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “The tree of life … is the love of
God (see 1 Ne. 11:25). The love of God for His children is most profoundly expressed in His gift
of Jesus as our Redeemer: ‘God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son’ (John
3:16). To partake of the love of God is to partake of Jesus’ Atonement and the emancipations
[freedom from restraint or sin] and joys which it can bring” (“Lessons from Laman and
Lemuel,” Ensign, Nov. 1999, 8).

In closing Joseph Smith said:

The Two Comforters

There are two Comforters spoken of. One is the Holy Ghost, the same as given on the day of
Pentecost, and that all Saints receive after faith, repentance, and baptism. This first Comforter
or Holy Ghost has no other effect than pure intelligence. It is more powerful in expanding the
mind, enlightening the understanding, and sorting the intellect with present knowledge, of a man
who is of the literal seed of Abraham, than one that is a Gentile, though it may not have half as
much visible effect upon the body; for as the Holy Ghost falls upon 105 one of the literal seed of
Abraham, it is calm and serene; and his whole soul and body are only exercised by the pure
spirit of intelligence; while the effect of the Holy Ghost upon a Gentile, is to purge out the old
blood, and make him actually of the seed of Abraham. That man that has none of the blood of
Abraham (naturally) must have a new creation by the Holy Ghost. In such a case, there may be
more of a powerful effect upon the body, and visible to the eye, than upon an Israelite, while the
Israelite at first might be far before the Gentile in pure intelligence. The Second Comforter The
other Comforter spoken of is a subject of great interest, and perhaps understood by few of this
generation. After a person has faith in Christ, repents of his sins, and is baptized for the
remission of his sins and receives the Holy Ghost, (by the laying on of hands), which is the first
Comforter, then let him continue to humble himself before God, hungering and thirsting after
righteousness, and living by every word of God, and the Lord will soon say unto him, Son, thou
shalt be exalted. When the Lord has thoroughly proved him, and finds that the man is
determined to serve Him at all hazards, then the man will find his calling and his election made
sure, then it will be his privilege to receive the other Comforter, which the Lord hath promised
the Saints, as is recorded in the testimony of St. John, in the 14th chapter, from the 12th to the
27th verses. Note the 16, 17, 18, 21, 23 verses: "16. And I will pray the Father, and He shall
give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; "17. Even the Spirit of Truth;
whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye know
him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. "18. I will not leave you comfortless: I will
come to you. * * "21. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them he it is that loveth me:
and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself
to him. "23. If a man love me, he will keep my word: and my Father will love him, and we will
come unto him, and make our abode with him." Now what is this other Comforter? It is no more
nor less than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself; and this is the sum and substance of the whole
matter; that when any man obtains this last Comforter, he will have the personage of Jesus
Christ to attend him, or appear unto 106 him from time to time, and even He will manifest the
Father unto him, and they will take up their abode with him, and the visions of the heavens will
be opened unto him, and the Lord will teach him face to face, and he may have a perfect
knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God; and this is the state and place the ancient
Saints arrived at when they had such glorious visions -- Isaiah, Ezekiel, John upon the Isle of
Patmos, St. Paul in the three heavens, and all the Saints who held communion with the general
assembly and Church of the Firstborn.

2nd Nephi 31 describes the First Comforter process and experience marked by a remission of
sins and being born again

2nd Nephi 32 describes the Second Comforter process and experience

Baptisms of Fire: Day of Pentacost, 300 Lamanites (maybe Nephites too part of this 300) with
Nephi and Lehi, 3rd Nephi 19 – 12 disciples