The Word Baptize in the Book of Mormon

[Page 65]Abstract: The word baptize appears 119 times in the Book of Mormon; three speakers (Jesus Christ, Mormon, and Nephi) account for 87% of all of these usages. Each of these individuals have distinctive patterns in how they use the word baptize, indicating that each speaker has his own unique voice. When one accounts for the fact that Christ says relatively fewer words than Mormon, it is evident that per 1,000 words spoken, Jesus Christ uses the word baptize more than any other speaker in the Book of Mormon. This finding holds true for Christ’s words both in and outside of 3 Nephi. Among other patterns, we demonstrate that Jesus Christ associates his name with baptism more than any other Book of Mormon speaker and that Christ is responsible for 58% of the Book of Mormon’s invitations to be baptized. Additional patterns and their implications are discussed.

The scriptures teach that baptism is a requirement for entering the Kingdom of God. This message is particularly prominent in the Book of Mormon. Baptize[1] appears 119 times in the Book of Mormon (in contrast to 138 times in all other books of scripture combined). Speaking of this emphasis, Noel B. Reynolds has written, “The Book of Mormon accounts make clear that baptism by water is the act wherein repentant [Page 66]converts to Jesus Christ can witness to the Father that they have repented and covenanted to keep his commandments.”[2]

In the Book of Mormon, baptize first appears in 1 Nephi 10, where Nephi describes a dream Lehi[3] had depicting the work of John the Baptist. Nephi says baptize again in 1 Nephi 11:27. The next time the word occurs is in 2 Nephi 9:23, when Jacob states, “And he commandeth all men that they must repent, and be baptized in his name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel.” This is the first mention in the text of the necessity for all people to be baptized. In 2 Nephi 31 (the next chapter in which baptize appears), Nephi continues this message, saying, “If the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfill all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!” (2 Nephi 31:5). While the word baptize does not appear between 2 Nephi 31 and Mosiah 18, it does appear in every subsequent book. The final occurrence of baptize is in Moroni 8:10: “Teach parents that they must repent and be baptized, and humble themselves as their little children, and they shall all be saved with their little children” (Moroni 8:10). Thus from the beginning to the [Page 67]end, Book of Mormon writers consistently emphasize the importance of being baptized. Table 1 shows how often the word appears in the various books of the Book of Mormon.

Table 1. Occurrences of baptize(and its derivatives) by book.

Book

Occurrences of Baptize

1 Nephi

7

2 Nephi

9

Mosiah

18

Alma

19

Helaman

8

3 Nephi

44

4 Nephi

1

Mormon

5

Ether

3

Moroni

5

Unique Voices in the Book of Mormon

While one could profitably study the doctrine of what it means to baptize or be baptized in the Book of Mormon, analyzing how different speakers in the Book of Mormon utilize the word provides an additional lens of examination. The idea that distinct voices can be heard in ancient texts is not new to this study. For example, Dorota Dutsch has examined Roman literature written between 300–200 BC. Her study focused on works written by two male Roman authors (Terence and Plautus). Both these men included female characters in their works, and these female characters were consistently portrayed as having distinctive patterns of speech.[4] Similar analyses have been done on the Book of Mormon.

One specific type of analysis that examines different authorial voices is known as stylometry. Some stylometric studies of the Book of Mormon have confirmed that there are indeed different authorial voices in the [Page 68]Book of Mormon.[5] Roger Keller’s examination of themes and patterns in the words used by Book of Mormon speakers provides one example of how the distinctive ways speakers discuss specific topics can be a useful lens. Keller said that “[s]ince the Book of Mormon is believed by Latter-day Saints to be a compilation of writings from numerous ancient authors, then one should be able to discern the unique content words used by the authors whose messages are preserved within its pages.”[6] Keller’s study focused on “content words,” words that “are theologically, culturally, and historically significant.”[7] He created word clusters, related groups of words, and analyzed them to determine if there were statistically significant differences in how they were used.

One word cluster Keller identified was a group of 109 words related to the ancient Near East. This cluster included words such as Babylon, Egypt, Jeremiah, and Moses. Collectively, these 109 words are used 1,179 times in the Book of Mormon. Keller then examined whether certain speakers in the Book of Mormon used these words more frequently than others. He noted, “The authors who are most distant in time from the Ancient Near East context use the words of this group the least, while those nearest in time, use them the most.” [8] Keller expected his study of content words and other stylometric studies to support each other, and found that “there are clear and recognizable differences in the content words used and the meanings attached to them by the authors within the Book of Mormon.”[9]

Book of Mormon Speakers’ Use of Baptize

The present study seeks to further the work of analyzing word patterns of different individuals in the Book of Mormon to see how this elucidates the key word baptize. While the word baptize appears throughout the Book of Mormon, it is emphasized to different degrees by the different [Page 69]speakers in the book. In order to determine which speakers used the word baptize, we used a database known as “The Voices of the Book of Mormon,” created by John Hilton III, Shon Hopkin, Jennifer Platt, Randal Wright, and Jana Johnson. This database parses the text of the Book of Mormon by the person to whom the text is attributed.[10]

[Page 70]Table 2 shows how many times individual speakers in the Book of Mormon say baptize. (The last column is the speaker’s total spoken words as a percentage of the total words spoken in the Book of Mormon.)

Table 2. Use of baptize by major Book of Mormon speakers.[11]

Speaker

Times used per 1,000 words spoken

Times used

Percent of total uses of Baptized

Percent of total words spoken in the Book of Mormon

Jesus Christ

2.54

36

30.3%

5.28%

The Father

0.70

1

0.8%

0.56%

Mormon

0.57

56

47.1%

36.36%

Nephi_1

0.42

12

10.1%

10.49%

Jacob

0.24

2

1.6%

3.16%

Moroni_2

0.20

4

3.4%

7.27%

Alma_2

0.20

4

3.4%

7.47%

The Lord

0.08

1

0.8%

4.46%

As indicated, more than three-quarters of the uses of baptize come from Jesus Christ and Mormon. Of the major speakers in the Book of Mormon, Nephi_1 is the only other individual to frequently employ this word. We might expect other major speakers, such as Moroni_2, Alma_2, King Benjamin, and Jacob also to utilize this word often, but they do not. Because Jesus Christ, Mormon, and Nephi_1 are the speakers who use baptize frequently enough to see unique usage patterns, we will focus only on these speakers throughout the remaining tables in this article, unless specifically indicated otherwise.

Although Mormon uses baptize more than any other speaker, it is important to note that Jesus Christ uses the word much more frequently than any other individual in terms of times used per 1,000 words spoken. As we will see, this has interesting implications. While Christ is the most frequent user of baptize, the Lord is the least frequent among major Book of Mormon speakers (in terms of times used per 1,000 words spoken).

Admittedly, it is difficult to distinguish between the voices of “God, the Father,” “Jesus Christ,” and “The Lord.” While good arguments could be made for combining these voices, we determined that if a statement is specifically attributed to the Father, or if context made it [Page 71]clear that the Father was speaking (e.g. 2 Nephi 31:11), we categorized that statement as being from the Father.[12] We likewise attributed words in which Jesus Christ was textually identified as the person speaking (e.g., 3 Nephi 30:1 2) as belonging to him. Generic references to deity (e.g., Lord, God) were assigned to the Lord.

One interesting insight from isolating instances when Jesus Christ was explicitly identified as the speaker in the Book of Mormon is that it allows us to see subtle differences in the way the words of the Lord are recorded as opposed to those specifically attributed to Jesus Christ. One important difference in their speaking patterns is that the Lord says baptize only once, but Jesus Christ says it 36 times. This seems to indicate a significant difference in speaking patterns, since Jesus Christ and the Lord speak approximately the same number of words.[13]

As we analyzed the ways in which Jesus Christ, Mormon and Nephi_1 employ the word baptize, we found patterns and idiosyncrasies in the ways each of them do so. The following three sections focus on these unique usage patterns.

Christ’s Use of Baptize

It is important to recognize that Christ’s emphasis on being baptized is not simply a function of his focus on this topic in 3 Nephi 11. In fact, not only does Jesus Christ say baptize more per 1,000 words than any other speaker, he is consistent in his use of baptize throughout the text. Table 3 illustrates this point.

Table 3. Christ’s use of baptize inside and outside 3 Nephi 11–28.

Location

Appearances of baptize

Total words spoken

Uses of baptize per 1,000 words

Inside 3 Nephi 11–28

25

9,694

2.58

Outside 3 Nephi 11–28

11

4,467

2.46

Table 3 indicates that in addition to regularly saying baptize in 3 Nephi 11–28, Christ also consistently uses the word throughout the entire text of the Book of Mormon. In 3 Nephi 11–28 Christ speaks 9,694 [Page 72]words and says baptized 25 times — 2.58 times per 1,000 words.[14] Outside those chapters he speaks 4,467 words and says baptized 11 times — 2.46 times per 1,000 words.[15] In 3 Nephi 11 he gives the specific manner of baptism; however, apart from that deviation, Christ is fairly consistent in his use of baptize throughout the text. He typically focuses on the idea that people should be baptized in his name and receive the Holy Ghost (e.g., 2 Nephi 31:12).

Aside from looking at quantitative differences in the use of baptize among different Book of Mormon speakers, we can look at how certain collocates of baptize are unique to certain speakers. For example, Christ is much more likely than other speakers to associate name with baptize, as illustrated by Table 4.

Table 4. Appearances of baptize and name in the same verse.

Speaker[16]

Times used per 1,000 words

Number of verses in which baptize appears

Number of verses in which baptize and name appear together

Percent of verses using baptize that also include name

Jesus Christ

2.54

28

17

61%

Mormon

0.57

47

5

11%

Nephi_1

0.42

7

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