Why should we be baptized?

Question:

I was looking over the blog and I found that a question that I was looking to get answered was not there. I have a good friend of mine who believes in the Book of Mormon, but he wonders why he should be baptized into the church. I was wondering if you could answer his question in two perspectives. One perspective with the inquisitor asking with a belief in the Book of Mormon, and one without a belief in the Book of Mormon. Again, the question is: "Why should I be baptized into the church?"

Answer: Great question. The answer to both scenarios is the same—we are baptized because we are commanded to be baptized as the basic prerequisite to re-entering the presence of God. Whether a person has a testimony of the Book of Mormon or not, the Savior’s teaching to Nicodemus is relevant: “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
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?
Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.( John 3:3-5)
If a person wants to enter the kingdom of Heaven, then baptism is the gate. Obviously that teaching is confirmed and expanded in the Book of Mormon. Note what Nephi was taught in 2 Nephi 31:5-7: “And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfil all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!”
And now, I would ask of you, my beloved brethren, wherein the Lamb of God did fulfil all righteousness in being baptized by water?
Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments.”
Nephi continues to explain the necessity of baptism as recorded in 2 Nephi 31:9-11: “And again, it showeth unto the children of men the straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the gate, by which they should enter, he having set the example before them.
And he said unto the children of men: Follow thou me. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, can we follow Jesus save we shall be willing to keep the commandments of the Father?
And the Father said: Repent ye, repent ye, and be baptized in the name of my Beloved Son.”
You really ought to read the entirety of 2 Nephi 31 but here are some concluding verses: 2 Nephi 31:16-18: “And now, my beloved brethren, I know by this that unless a man shall endure to the end, in following the example of the Son of the living God, he cannot be saved.
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 baptism by water; and then cometh a remission of your sins by fire and by the Holy Ghost.
And then are ye in this strait and narrow path 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 witnesses of the Father and the Son, unto the fulfilling of the promise which he hath made, that if ye entered in by the way ye should receive.”
This isn’t just a “Mormon” teaching. The Bible is full of the teachings of the Savior and His apostles about the absolute necessity of baptism if one wants to enter into the celestial kingdom. In addition to that the Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price confirm what the Bible and Book of Mormon teach. Any person who is serious about preparing for the next life can’t help but be motivated to seek out God’s true key that He offers to all—that key opens the door to the celestial presence of God. If one doesn’t exercise his or her agency to take the key and open the door, then it seems ridiculous to accuse God of being prejudicial or discriminatory in excluding some from His divine presence. The choice is ours. Our eternal destiny hangs in the balance dependent on the choice we make.

Bro. Bott