Peter:—I do. If it had not been so considered by Christ, He would not have commanded us to preach it. Why send us out to tell people to observe an ordinance of the Gospel which it mattered not with God whether they observed or not? That would not give the Lord credit for possessing as much intelligence as men; for no man among you would command his servants to do a certain work when it mattered not whether it was done or left undone. If baptism is not essential to salvation, then it was needless on the part of Christ to command His Apostles to preach it. It was a waste of time for us to do so, for while we were preaching baptism and administering the ordinances we could have employed the time in preaching principles which are essential to men's salvation. You will observe, Christ told us to baptize the people in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Now, do you think for a moment that we would have used the names of the Holy Trinity in an ordinance in which there was no profit? Did Christ not know that it was written in the Scriptures, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." If you say that baptism is not essential to salvation, you make the Savior of the world a transgressor of God's holy commandment, for what could be more vain than to use the names of the Holy Trinity in an ordinance in which there were no virtue, no salvation?
The World:—You, therefore, taught the people that it was necessary for them to be baptized?
Peter:—I did. With the rest of the Apostles I stood up on the day of Pentecost before a great multitude of people and declared unto them the message of life and salvation which Christ had given us to deliver. We spoke under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and thousands of people were pricked in their hearts, and cried out saying, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?"
The World:—What did you tell them?
Peter:—I said unto them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2: 38.) The same day three thousand souls were added to the Church. There was a most devout man named Cornelius, who resided in Caesarea, who prayed to God constantly and gave much alms to the people. His prayers and alms came up as a memorial before God, and He sent an angel to Cornelius to tell him to send for me to Joppa, and that I would tell him words whereby he and his house should be saved. Now, you will remember, that a short time previous to this I had taught thousands of people baptism for the remission of sins. If I had taught them false doctrine do you think the Lord would have sent an angel to Cornelius to advise him to send for me to teach him the plan of salvation? I told Cornelius the same things that I declared to the people on the day of Pentecost, and commanded him and his household to be baptized in the name of the Lord. (Acts 10: 48.)
The World:—That is all, Peter.
Latter-day Saints:—We now submit for your consideration the testimony of the Apostle Paul.
PAUL'S TESTIMONY.
The World:—What is your belief concerning water baptism?
Paul:—I believe and have taught that it is an essential ordinance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When Jesus appeared to me on the way to Damascus, He called me to repentance and told me to go into Damascus and that I would there be told of all things that were commanded of me to do. The Lord then instructed His servant Ananias to go to me and to tell me to arise and be baptised and wash away my sins, calling on the name of the Lord. (Acts 22: 16.) So, you see, baptism for the remission of sins is not my doctrine, but the Lord's. So important is this ordinance in the sight of the Eternal Father that He withheld the Holy Ghost from twelve devout Ephesians until I had re-baptized them. They had been baptized previously, but not by one holding authority from God, and so their baptism was not valid in His sight. How dare I teach the children of men that baptism is not essential to salvation when He who spake as never man spake had declared, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God."