Church Talks

JOHN THE BAPTIST, NOT A GREATER PROPHET BORN OF WOMEN

[Talk given by John E. Enslen at Wetumpka Ward Sacrament Meeting (Worship Service) on Sunday, February 12, 2023.]

John, who would come to be known as John the Baptist, was between six and seven months older than his cousin Jesus. After turning the required Rabbinical age of thirty, John actively embarked upon his singular, unmatchable assignment to prepare the way for, and baptize, the Savior and Redeemer of the world.

In those few months preceding the baptism of Jesus, John attracted loyal followers and disciples unto himself. After baptizing Jesus, Jesus began to baptize and attract loyal followers and disciples unto himself. (John 3:22; JST John 4:3)

In the third chapter of John (KJV) we find this episode:

“Then there arose a question between some of John’s disciples and the Jews about purifying. And they came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him.” (John 3:25-26)

(In other words, there were now two different Rabbis who were “purifying,” that is, performing the purification rite of baptism. Some were now loyal followers and disciples of John, and others among the Jews had not yet been baptized but were aware of the success Jesus was having in attracting followers and disciples and baptizing them. Whom should they follow?)

“John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.” (John 3:27)

That was John’s introduction to his forthcoming explanation that he had received from heaven the assignment to prepare the way for and baptize the Messiah, and his assignment had been successfully completed and accomplished. John taught by parable that any subsequently baptized persons, whether baptized by John or by Jesus or by the disciples of Jesus, were to be the exclusive followers and disciples of the bridegroom Jesus and not the followers and disciples of the bridegroom’s friend, John. (John 3:29)

John was not going to pridefully assume more authority than he had received from heaven. John forcefully ended the debate by repeating that which he had previously taught: “I am not the Christ.” (John 3:28)

Today, I want to share some information about this humble, unassuming man named John of whom the Savior declared: “For I say unto you, among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist…” (Luke 7:28) “Among those…born of women,” that covers at least all of humankind on planet earth.

Why would the Savior say such a thing about a man who only held the Aaronic Priesthood in mortality, who had a meager following, and whose mortal ministry lasted for only about a year? Could John be as great as Abraham? Or Moses? Or Elijah? There must be more to the man than that which we learn from the Bible alone.

Only a small handful of pre-mortal people have been the subject of prophesies. John was one of them. Isaiah foretold of “[t]he voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” (Isaiah 40:3) Speaking Messianically, Malachi declared: “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me…” (Malachi 3:10) The Savior identified that messenger as John. (Luke 7:27) Almost 600 years before Christ, while still in the Old World, both Lehi and Nephi foresaw John in vision “that he should baptize the Messiah with water. And after he had baptized the Messiah with water, he should behold and bear record that he had baptized the Lamb of God, who should take away the sins of the world.” (1 Nephi 10:9)

The final prophesy of which we are aware came from the angel Gabriel, who had been Noah in mortality (HC 3:386). The prophesy was spoken to John’s father only days prior to John’s conception: “For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord,…and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. *** And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias *** to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:15-17)

At six months from conception, John, who was “filled with the Holy Ghost from his mother’s womb,” was jumping for joy in his mother’s womb when he came into the presence of Mary carrying within her womb an embryonic Jesus. (Luke 1: 41; 44)

John’s mother, Elizabeth, was a descendant of Aaron and his father, Zacharias, was an ordained priest authorized to administer temple rites. (Luke 1:5) John would normally have been ordained by his father Zacharias. But we learn through modern revelation that John the Baptist was ordained to the Aaronic priesthood by an angel when John was but eight days old. (D&C 84:28) Christ himself would be ordained about six months later to the higher Melchizedek priesthood by God the Father at or near the time of His birth. (Hebrews 5:5)

How many men have been ordained to the priesthood by heavenly beings? John was one of them. Can you think of any men, other than Christ and John the Baptist, who were ordained to the priesthood when they were newborn infants?

Only a small handful of men have been tutored in mortality by angels. John was one of them. As he grew up alone in the desert, wearing his camel-hair coat over a leather loin covering, subsisting on a meager diet of locust and wild honey (Matthew 3:4), he was not always alone. John makes reference to an unidentified being who sent him to baptize with water: “And I knew [the Christ] not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he….” (John 1:33)

Only a handful of mortal people have heard the audible voice of God. John is one of them. “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17) And why was the sinless Jesus baptized? First, to be obedient to the Father; second, to set an example for all of us; and third, to overcome the restriction which he would later reveal to Nicodemus: “Except a man be born of the water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5)

How many prophets have taught and baptized multiple members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles? John did. (John 1:35–42; Acts 1:21–22)

How many prophets have been imprisoned? John was one of them. (Matt. 14:3-12)

How many prophets have been executed for preaching righteousness? John was one of them. (Mark 6:16–29)

I want to bear witness to the young men of the Aaronic priesthood here today, you fellow servants of John the Baptist, of the amazing power of the Aaronic Priesthood.

Wilford Woodruff, a former president of the Church, who served a mission as a priest, said: “I desire to impress upon you the fact that it does not make any difference whether a man is a Priest or an Apostle, if he magnifies his calling. A Priest holds the keys of the ministering of angels. Never in my life, as an Apostle, as a Seventy, or as an Elder, have I ever had more of the protection of the Lord than while holding the office of a Priest.” (Millennial Star, 53:629.)

I want to add my testimony to that of Wilford Woodruff. Fifteen years ago, as the new branch president of a newly organized branch of the Church in Cambodia, it was common for there to be no Melchizedek priesthood holder present other than myself. As the branch rapidly grew, I needed to fill the positions that were normally held by Melchizedek priesthood holders, like counselors, executive secretary, clerks, quorum instructor, and young men’s president. Under these circumstances, I had to rely heavily on recent converts, both men and young men, who held “only” the Aaronic priesthood.

These Aaronic priesthood holders were assigned to conduct meetings, teach classes, baptize new converts, bless and pass the sacrament, and ordain other Aaronic priesthood holders. They were called to serve as clerks, executive secretaries, and home teachers. That was the way we functioned.

It was a special joy to observe these Aaronic priesthood holders administering the affairs of the Church. They were in no way spiritually hindered by the fact that they did not hold an office in the Melchizedek Priesthood. The power of God was manifested in them to the same full extent as I have seen it manifested in Melchizedek Priesthood holders. It was a marvelous spiritual phenomenon to behold, for which privilege I remain grateful.

After being imprisoned for about a year, and then beheaded, and after Jesus was resurrected, John was also resurrected, possibly in that first group that went into Jerusalem and were seen by many. (Matthew 27:52-53) As Latter-day Saints, we know that the resurrected John the Baptist fulfilled yet another Elias assignment relating to preparing the way. This time he helped to prepare the way for the Messiah’s Second Coming.

About four months ago, my wife Robin and I had the privilege of visiting rural Harmony, Pennsylvania, in the beautiful Susquehanna River Valley. My previously held misconception, based on the renderings of artists, was corrected. Near the home of Joseph and Emma, we visited an elevated wooded area—a stand of maple trees called “the sugar bush.” It was within that wooded area, on May 15, 1829, that John the Baptist appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. Each felt a tangible hand on his head. They both heard these words spoken in the English language:

Upon you my fellow servants, in the name of Messiah I confer the Priesthood of Aaron, which holds the keys of the ministering of angels, and of the gospel of repentance, and of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins…” (D&C 13; JSH 1:68-72; D&C 27:7-8)

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