I pondered my own baptism. It occurred like this. I had been praying since I was eight years old that I could be baptized into the Church. On a Saturday, the day following my graduation from high school, the White Salmon Branch President, Moz Burles, showed up at our house with an invitation. “Next Saturday at 5 p.m., our branch has scheduled a baptismal service at the Hood River wardhouse. Why don’t you and Dorothy come and be baptized?” My mother persuaded my Dad to bring us to that service, and we were baptized and confirmed members of the Church. My own baptism fulfilled my long-dream to belong to the Church. I think I also felt a sense that I had drawn closer to God and had more of His approval.
As I reflect back, I see some possible differences from the baptism of John. As I read the New Testament I sense that, among other things, John was performing a baptism to establish or confirm discipleship. I do not think that he really had a organized or operating church in the sense that we understand it for persons to join, but rather he was gathering and confirming followers. I believe the word disciple is rooted the same as the word discipline, in its meaning as a field of study, including the values and life style that might go with that field. It reflects an ancient schooling method, in which the learner was attached to an expert tutor or master to learn the particular field or craft. Generally the master in such a situation was recognized as an expert in this field and the disciple or apprentice is seeking to fully emulate his instructor, and not only in acquiring knowledge but in developing the same life skills as his master.
Therefore, it seems to me that becoming a disciple of Christ means to fully accept Christ as our master teacher, and to try our best to emulate his entire way of living. Might I be bold to say that becoming a true disciple of Christ as we are baptized is even more important than becoming a member of his Church. The Church is one of the key places for us to practice our discipleship to be sure. But still, ideally, our commitment to discipleship brings us to the Church, not the other way around. Without the Church, in our day and time, we could not fully discharge our commitment to being disciples of Christ. Yet, to the greatest extent possible, we come to the Church as a part of our commitment to serve and exercise our discipleship. The Church is one of our major scenarios for practicing our Christian commitment, along with our families, within our school/profession/work, within the neighborhood and area in which we reside, etc. Sometimes it could even be one of our major areas of challenge to this commitment.
The idea of this discipleship being one the major commitments and a driving force behind our actions and thoughts and feelings suggests that we live by a higher law even than just being “active in the Church.” That higher standard is suggested in the temple, and is that we strive to be “consecrated disciples” of the Lord Jesus Christ.
