The Metaphysics of Bathtism & Confirmation

When I read The Arkwelder’s recent post on Baptism, Confirmation, and the Ideal of Zion, I was glad to hear someone finally point out the misled hypocrisy of baptism of children - particularly in mormonism, which has scripture clearly condemning it.

I also enjoyed his description of the fruits of the Holy Spirit -Warming sensation, Love for everyone and everything around you, and that "AHA!" feeling. Some time ago, that "AHA!" enlightening effect of the Holy Spirit pointed out to my mind the danger of the Church’s over-emphasis on the “burning bosom” feeling as the primary or sole result of the Holy Spirit’s presence. It is dangerous because this heart warming sensation is the easiest to IMMITATE of all the fruits of the spirit. When it is isolated then it will soon deteriorate to “warm fuzzies” and the devil is successful in leading us further and further away from God. Arkwelder’s threefold description of the effects of the Holy Ghost sounds strikingly similar to the effects of a certain strain of wholesome herb.

Which brings up a perfect example of how the Holy Spirit (Supernatural) works in a sacred relationship with substances that we call (Natural). While it may be true that a ritual like baptism is symbolic and holds “no inherit magic”, we can not say that the ritual serves no purpose. Like anything which can have magical effects on the hearts and minds of men, it is ironically the hearts and minds of men which first channel meaning into those elements. Comparing the ritual to the flesh then, yes, we could say that without spirit it is dead. So why even have physical bodies? The truth is that physical things (WATER, in the case of baptism) exist only because they exist as their spiritual counterpart on a spiritual plane. The native understanding that everything possesses spirit is crucial to the concept of Zion. Knowing that all things possess some portion of spirit explains why God would require some ritual act of bathing. That it is symbolic, is true…but it is deeper and the symbol and that which is symbolized are always intimately connected. If not, then it is because the body or work finds itself in some stage of corruption moving towards death. And while some life remains, we should not be deceived as to what direction we are moving in.

D&C 29: 31 For by the power of my Spirit created I them; yea, all things both spiritual and temporal— ALL THINGS CONTAIN SPIRIT FROM GOD
32 First spiritual, secondly temporal, which is the beginning of my work; and again, first temporal, and secondly spiritual, which is the last of my work— SPIRIT&WORKS ENJOY AN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP

33 Speaking unto you that you may naturally understand; but unto myself my works have no end, neither beginning; but it is given unto you that ye may understand, because ye have asked it of me and are agreed. — SO INTIMATE IN FACT THAT BEGINNING AND ENDING CREATE ONE “BEGENDING”
34 Wherefore, verily I say unto you that all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal— RITUALS ARE NEVER COMPLETELY SYMBOLIC/TEMPORAL.

WATER is made up of molecules, each containing a portion of spirit. Those molecules serve as vehicles. A vehicle can bring things or take things away. Does the water and act of bathing literally wash away sins?? It most certainly CAN. Can anyone deny this when we have all born witness to the power of the shower or a long hot bath? After a day of work (which on average is a grueling 8 hrs minimum in today’s wicked world) we have far exceeded the levels of evil which Jesus deemed “sufficient unto the day.” But upon taking a shower or bath we experience some relief, relaxation, remission of sins. We will find that, the more intentional the act, the more effective it is in its physical, psychological and emotional cleansing effects. Whereas simply acting out of routine or focusing our thoughts entirely on the goal to remove physically visible dirt for the purposes of appearance and social acceptance, is the equivalent of what we do when being baptized into a church. It is possible that in many cases a good old fashioned shower or bath would bring more cleanliness than the “baptism” due to the additional element of SOAP.

At church we have all heard mention of our spirit bodies but in our ignorance and sometimes pride, we rarely pause to ask Sunday School teachers, Priesthood™ leaders or even ourselves about these bodies. It is not too surprising that we should be generally unaware of our spirit bodies. We are, after all, awakening from a Deep Sleep that came upon us directly after the formation of our physical bodies was completed. The old FHE or MTC teaching technique of comparing the body to a glove which is animated when the hand slips into it and left lifeless when the hand withdraws, only goes so far in illustrating the mechanics of body and spirit functioning as one. We now know that the spirit dwells not only within but without the physical tabernacle. It is a seamless magnetic field emanating from our core, out through our poles and creating a torus of energy, similar to the magnetic field of our planet. The word ‘torus’ comes from the Latin word for ‘cushion’ and we were told that – “Inasmuch as we do not defile them, they will be shields and a protection to us until we have finished our work on the earth.” Kirlian photography shows our outer temple yard alive with dazzling light of various colors. At least it can be lit when activated through confirmation. Receiving the Holy Spirit means simply acceptance of our spiritual selves as the Holy Ghost itself. Most Christians perform the ceremony of baptism in the name of the The Father, The Son, and The Holy Ghost. Joseph Smith taught that the original words for God, The Son and Man are Ahman, Son Ahman, and Sons Ahman, respectively. Who cares whether these terms are actually in the Adamic language. They do provide a curious key to understanding these three sections of the Godhead. With our astral (spirit) bodies extending far beyond the limits of our skin, do we really think that there is not much spiritual filth that collects in and on our spirit bodies over time? Everyone could do with a BATHTISM from time to time. Even children who are pure inside might at some point benefit greatly from washing off all the SINS OF THE FATHERS!

So, what kind of meaning is being supplanted here in the case of The Arkwelder’s sweet young nephew’s baptism? It is the purveyors of doctrine who provide the meaning to the moment. Well, at least they try and in many instances succeed in inundating (by immersion if possible) the innocent initiate who has desires to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, with their indoctrination. They have literally done the market research to gage the best way to establish LCR -Life-long Customer Relationships which will pay out big time for their church service. LCR could also stand for Locus Control Region, which is a scientific term used in epigenitics. The basic idea in epigenetics is placing the locus of power or Locus of Control (to borrow a related term used in personality psychology) OUTSIDE of one’s self - outside of the channels fore-ordained by the Lord for communicating to the souls of men. But the Satan-inspired, man-made counterfeit is so close that it would SEEM as if the messages resonate from within. This very subtle scientific targeting of the human genome in an attempt to mimic the voice of God and get Israel to bend and twist in the Devil’s direction is sneaky/snaky to say the least. It takes the stakes and wards backwards from Israel to Jacob (literally Hebrew for supplanter, crooked, twister, trickster). The only way to rectify the situation is to “wrestle with God” and find ourselves spiraling along “Jacob’s Ladder” from our very DNA outwards. NOT THE FROM THE OUTSIDE IN. Then when we bend the universe bends with us, as in the movie, The Matrix. Then we may, in honesty, know and state the often heard, vainly repeated, catch-phrase of LDS Testiphonies --“With every fiber of my being.”