John the Preparer

The prophet Lehi prophesied that the role of John the Baptist would be to “prepare the way of the Lord.”  Perhaps the most important way that he did this was by baptizing.  Lehi said that “he should baptize in Bethabara, beyond Jordan” and that “he should baptize with water; even that he should baptize the Messiah with water” (1 Nephi 10:7, 9).  John prepared the way for the Savior both by baptizing the Savior Himself at the beginning of His ministry as well as by baptizing other disciples.  In doing so he prepared them to receive the Savior, telling them, “he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire” (Matt. 3:11).  He further explained, “Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him….  He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:28, 30).  He clearly sought to prepare his own disciples by teaching them of the Savior and warning them of his own “decrease” and ultimately his death.  Surely there were many who were able to accept the Savior because John had prepared them.

               I think another way in which John prepared the people for the Savior was in the principles he taught the people.  We don’t have a lot of his teachings in the New Testament, but we have enough to see how his words were really another witness of what Jesus was going to teach them.  For example, the Savior taught in the Sermon on the Mount, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Matt. 7:12).  John seemed to have been teaching this principle when he told various groups of people how to live.  He said to the publicans: “Exact no more than that which is appointed you.”  To the soldiers John said, “Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.”  To the general listeners he said, “He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise” (Luke 3:11-14).  All of these teach to consider others and to love and serve them—in other words, to do to others what we would want them to do to us.  John also called to repentance the wicked saying, “O generations of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father” (Luke 3:7-8).  Christ similarly condemned the wicked rulers of the Jews who said exactly what John warned them not to say.  When Jesus spoke to a group of Pharisees, they responded, “We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man….  Abraham is our father” (John 8:31, 39).  Both John and the Savior warned the people that it wasn’t the fact of being Abraham’s seed that counted but bringing forth works of repentance. 

                 John also taught this powerful doctrine: “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:35-36).  This sounds very similar to what Christ taught Nicodemus: “God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:17-18).  Both John and the Savior testified that Christ was the Son of God and that salvation indeed comes through Him.  John was a great forerunner to the Messiah whose words stood as a second witness to the testimony of the Savior.