The First Baptism

In the account that we have in Moses 6, the Lord spoke to Adam and explained to Him about what we call the first principles of the gospel.  He told Adam, “If thou wilt turn unto me, and hearken unto my voice, and believe, and repent of all thy transgressions, and be baptized, even in water, in the name of mine Only Begotten Son, who is full of grace and truth, which is Jesus Christ, the only name which shall be given under heaven, whereby salvation shall come unto the children of men, ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, asking all things in his name, and whatsoever ye shall ask, it shall be given you” (Moses 6:52). 

This tells us what we need to do, but not exactly why we must repent and be baptized, and Adam asked the question: “Why is it that men must repent and be baptized in water?”  It seems to be that Adam was, all these years later, still concerned about what had happened in the garden of Eden.  It’s almost as if his question was: “Why must we be baptized?  Was it all my fault for partaking of the fruit?  Am I the one to blame?  Will I ever be forgiven?”  The Lord answered the question that he really meant to ask, not the actual question.  In fact, the Lord in this exchange did not answer Adam’s question at all, but he does answer what was in Adam’s heart.  The Lord said, “Behold I have forgiven thee thy transgression in the Garden of Eden” (Moses 6:53).  What a relief that must have been to Adam; perhaps he had held on to this guilt and experience all those years and finally he had some confirmation that the Lord’s forgiveness would cover his sins!

                After this exchange we then get an account of the baptism of Adam.  He was the first man to be baptized, and so there was no one there to perform the ordinance.  Like Nephi's companion when he was given his visions, it was the Spirit that came down to baptize him.  “And it came to pass, when the Lord had spoken with Adam, our father, that Adam cried unto the Lord, and he was caught away by the Spirit of the Lord, and was carried down into the water, and was laid under the water, and was brought forth out of the water.  And thus he was baptized” (Moses 6:64-65).  So the Spirit took him into the water and he came forth clean again just as we do today.  Surely it was a powerful experience for Alma to feel being cleansed from his sins and to understand that he had a fresh start—for Adam just like the rest of us is needed the Lord’s grace and found it is found in the ordinances of the gospel.