"Ye Must Be Born Again" John 3:7

In John chapter 3, verse 7, it says “Ye must be born again”. We are exhorted to be “born again”, but what does it mean to be “born again”? Like many of us, Nicodemus was confused as to the term “born again”. In verse 4, it says “Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the womb, and be born? Jesus teaches Nicodemus’ men that “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” (John 3:4)

In Verse 5 through Jesus Christs’ teachings, we learn that there are two things required to be born again. 1)Born of Water and 2)Born of the Spirit. In the footnotes of John, we see that being born of water means baptism. Through the Bible Dictionary, we learn that baptism is an introductory ordinance in the Gospel of Jesus Christ including faith in Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end. “Baptism symbolizes death, burial, and resurrection, and can only be done by immersion.” Baptism is necessary to our salvation or to entering in the kingdom of God as it says in John 3:3-5.

Baptism can be a symbol of rebirth. In Moses 6:59 many examples can be found such as “ye were born of the world by water”, the rising up out of the water following the baptism, “be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin”, through the Atonement, forgiveness of our sins is made possible and we must follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized by immersion to be cleansed of our sins. Baptism can also be a symbol of death. Being immersed in the water is symbolic of death, being buried and then coming up from the water is symbolic of being raised from the dead as Christ was.

Born of the Spirit means to receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost. This happens after baptism by the laying on of hands. After receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, we are blessed with the constant companionship so that we may receive comfort, peace, guidance, and so on. In John 3:8, the Holy Ghost is compared to wind because as it says in verse 8 “thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and wither it goeth.” The Spirit may manifest itself in many ways whether it be a still small voice, or a feeling, or a clear and direct thought.

Our Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us and because of His love, he sacrificed his only begotten son so that we could return to live with our Father again. Unconditional love was required of Jesus Christ to suffer as he did in the garden of Gethsemane and on the cross. That same love was required of Heavenly Father to sacrifice his son, to watch his son endure the pains of the world, but he did it for the world so that we could have eternal life. If we follow the example of Jesus Christ, accept the Gospel: Having faith in Jesus Christ, repenting, being baptized by the proper authority and in the proper way, receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and endure to the end then we will be blessed with eternal life. I have seen the blessings of following the Gospel in my life and in the life of my family. I know that the Atonement is real and is meant for each and everyone of us.