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This is probably the most important “Gospel” lesson you can learn about on this Earth, nothing is more important than this in your probationary state because it has far more eternal consequences . It unpacks the very way in which a person can receive salvation and become a son or daughter of Christ.

What is the Doctrine of Christ?

In clear and simple English this can be written as “ The way of Christ “ or “Way to Christ “ this is the Gospel. I shall expound it using the very exact words of Jesus contained in :

3 Nephi 11 : 31 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my doctrine.

32 And this is[who’s doctrine]my [Christs] doctrine⁠, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me, and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me.

33 And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized⁠, the same shall be saved⁠; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.

34 And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized⁠, shall be damned.

35 Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost⁠.[A promise of what the Father will do if you believe in his Son]

36 And thus will the Father bear record of me, and the Holy Ghost will bear record unto him of the Father and me; for the Father, and I, and the Holy Ghost are one[with same purpose and will]⁠.

37 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and become as a little child, and be baptized in my name, or ye can in nowise receive these things.[Receive what exactly?]

38 And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child⁠, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.[The emphasis from the Lord! You can’t receive these blessings without being like a child,repenting and getting baptised]

So basically the Lord is asking us to believe in him[Faith] then Repent and be Baptised with fire and the Holy Ghost.

So in simple the Doctrine of Christ is Faith, Repentance, baptism of Water and by Fire and then reception of the Holy Ghost.

Let’s first explain each concept contained in the above statement.

Faith: According to the lectures on faith, faith is the assurance which men have of the existence of things which they have not seen, and the principle of action in intelligent beings.

Application: As you begin to believe and seek more about the Lord[action upon belief] you start to hope and trust that you can be saved and receive his spirit and become his daughter or son. Faith is what drives you to seek more of him and want to learn more about his ways. It’s the principle by which we act as beings of intelligence. There’s a very good reason as to why this is the first pillar of this doctrine because it empowers the “why” in all your actions, through faith you obtain all the blessings promised and what follows after having faith is a result of action to your belief which then results to the blesssings which were first hoped for but not yet seen[Gift of the Holy Spirit].

Repentance: To fully forsake your sins and put your trust in the Lord because you recognise you are in desperate need of him[Complete broken heart]. A perfect example of this is found in the book of Alma as King Lamoni cries unto the Lord in desperation because he recognised how he needed him.

Alma 18:40 And it came to pass that after he had said all these things, and expounded them to the king, that the king believed all his words.41 And he began to cry unto the Lord[A complete broken heart], saying: O Lord, have mercy; according to thy abundant mercy which thou hast had upon the people of Nephi, have upon me, and my people.

Be willing to be honest and open with him[Lord] so he can help you in your struggles to overcome and forsake sin.

Baptism of water: Here things get serious, it’s basically our way of showing the Lord about how serious we are in seeking him and becoming his follower. Here we witness to him that we are willing to take upon us his name meaning we clearly vow to represent him in all places in which we shall be in and that we enter into a covenant with him that we shall follow him until our last breath, that’s how big and serious it is. It’s literally a contrite spirit which means to be willing to do anything he commands us to do no matter how uncomfortable or unconventional it may be, but we will DO IT.

After all this comes the Baptism of fire and the Gift of the Holy Ghost which are a testament that you have sufficiently offered an acceptable sacrifice unto him which sacrifice unto him is a broken heart and a contrite spirit which then he fulfills his promise and baptizes us with fire which literally cleanses our spirits and prepares us for the Gift of the Holy Ghost normally referred to as the “mighty change of heart “ from here onwards an individual is no longer the same the heart is literally changed, desires are unto the Lord an individual strives and delights in pleasing the Lord and in doing good continually. Lamoni’s father experienced this as he asked for the Lord to uproot his wicked heart see Alma 22 : 18 O God, Aaron hath told me that there is a God; and if there is a God, and if thou art God, wilt thou make thyself known unto me, and I will give away all my sins to know thee, and that I may be raised from the dead, and be saved at the last day. And now when the king had said these words, he was struck as if he were dead. Verse 23 And the king stood forth, and began to minister unto them. And he did minister unto them, insomuch that his wholehousehold were converted unto the Lord.
In previous verses before 18 the king was pleading his case before the Lord, that the Lord might uproot his wicked heart and later on in verse 23 he starts preaching to show that he had a mighty change of heart[Gift of the Holy Ghost]. You see how literal and real this doctrine is? It’s all over the scriptures where we see ordinary people seeking after the Lord and going through the same process to receive him. This is and was the gospel from the beginning. Adam, Enoch and Noah taught this gospel, it’s the only way we can be saved there’s absolutely no other besides following his doctrine. Will you ponder these words and do as they compel you to do.