Rebaptism

Among His final teachings recorded in the New Testament, the resurrected Jesus Christ directed disciples to “teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” For centuries, devoted followers referred to this directive as the “Great Commission,” and considered it a call to preach the gospel and welcome believers into the community of faith by administering baptism. After the Protestant Reformation in Europe in the 1500s, a number of churches treated all Christian baptisms as valid, regardless of the baptized person’s age or Christian denomination.

Shortly after the founding meeting of the Church in 1830, the question arose whether those baptized before joining the Church could be confirmed a member without being baptized again. Joseph Smith received a revelation that described how a “new and an everlasting covenant” that superseded “all old covenants” had come into effect with the Church’s organization. From that moment forward, all Church members received baptism regardless of their previous religious affiliation or prior baptisms in other churches.

Throughout the 1830s, Church members who had either disaffiliated from the Church or had been removed from fellowship were baptized anew when they rejoined the Church. In many cases, penitent Latter-day Saints sought rebaptism even when they had not experienced any formal change to their status as a member of the Church. In the 1840s, Joseph Smith taught that Church members in good standing could also be rebaptized for healing. At this time, Latter-day Saints practiced several different healing ceremonies; some noticed parallels between rebaptism for health and biblical accounts of Naaman being healed in the River Jordan and bathers seeking healing at the pool of Bethesda. In Nauvoo, Illinois, many in the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles were likewise rebaptized for remission of sins or for healing. This Latter-day Saint practice of rebaptism was distinct among Christian churches.

After the main body of Latter-day Saints left Nauvoo, these forms of rebaptism continued in the Church. Additionally, upon arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young introduced baptism for “renewing [their] covenant before the Lord.” By that time, Church leaders and members had often made sacred pacts, which they called covenants, with one another in many different contexts, some of them in the temple and others as part of their traveling companies. Brigham Young taught that those who emigrated to the Great Basin needed to renew these pacts as well as their temple covenants by rebaptism. During periods of repentance and reform among the Saints, he also taught that rebaptism signified sufficient preparation ahead of joining a United Order, being endowed or sealed, or attending the temple. Most Latter-day Saints living in 19th-century Utah were rebaptized for the renewal of their covenants several times throughout their lives.

In the 1890s, Church leaders reevaluated the practice of rebaptism. They concluded that it had become too commonplace and that it was no longer required for migrating to Utah or attending the temple. Moreover, they emphasized the sacrament as a primary means for renewing one’s covenants. The practices of rebaptism for renewal of covenants and for health were phased out during President Heber J. Grant’s tenure in the 1920s.

Church Resources

Historian’s Office Rebaptism Records, 1848–1876, CR 100 591, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.

Bibliography

The following publications provide further information about this topic. By referring or linking you to these resources, we do not endorse or guarantee the content or the views of the authors.

Jonathan A. Stapley and David W. Grua, “Rebaptism in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” BYU Studies Quarterly, vol. 61, no. 3 (2022), 59–96.

Jonathan A. Stapley and Kristine L. Wright, “‘They Shall Be Made Whole’: A History of Baptism for Health,” Journal of Mormon History, vol. 34, no. 4 (Fall 2008), 69–112.

Related Topics: Baptism for the Dead, Healing, Sealing, Sacrament Meetings

1. Matthew 28:19; see also Mark 16:15–16; and Luke 24:47.

2. For examples, see works listed in Norman E. Thomas, International Mission Bibliography, 1960–2000 (Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, 2003).

3. See Bryan D. Spinks, Reformation and Modern Rituals and Theologies of Baptism: From Luther to Contemporary Practices (New York: Routledge, 2017).

4. Doctrine and Covenants 22:1; see also “Revelation, 16 April 1830 [D&C 22],” Historical Introduction, josephsmithpapers.org.

5. Some early Church members and their neighbors found this requirement controversial; some members of Baptist and Methodist churches at the time expressed concern that “re-baptizing believers” ran against “the law of Christ.” Thomas Campbell, “The Mormon Challege,” Painesville (Ohio) Telegraph, Feb. 15, 1831, [2]; Christopher C. Jones, “Mormonism in the Methodist Marketplace: James Covel and the Historical Background of Doctrine and Covenants 39–40,” BYU Studies Quarterly, vol. 51, no. 1 (2012), 86–90. In 1841, Joseph Smith recognized that other Christians objected to Latter-day Saints not accepting their baptisms and replied by saying that doing so would be like putting new wine into old bottles and old wine into new bottles. “Minutes and Discourse, 1–5 October 1841,” josephsmithpapers.org.

6. Jonathan A. Stapley and Kristine L. Wright, “‘They Shall Be Made Whole’: A History of Baptism for Health,” Journal of Mormon History, vol. 34, no. 4 (Fall 2008), 69–112; Jonathan A. Stapley and David W. Grua, “Rebaptism in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” BYU Studies Quarterly, vol. 61, no. 3 (2022), 67–71; see also 2 Kings 5:1–15; and John 5:2–4.

7. Stapley and Grua, “Rebaptism,”, 63–67, 95–96.

8. Wilford Woodruff, Journal (Jan. 1847–Dec. 1853), Aug. 5–8, 1847, Wilford Woodruff Journals and Papers, 1828–1898, MS 1352, Church History Library, Salt Lake City.

9. Stapley and Grua, “Rebaptism,” 71–87. See also Topic: United Orders.

10. Stapley and Grua, “Rebaptism,” 87–95.