Born Again- A Process or an Event?

Is being born again (becoming spiritually begotten as a child of God through the baptism of fire and the baptism of the Holy Ghost) an event or is it a process?

The “Slow & Imperceptible” Born Again Process

From the pulpit, “born again” (if ever mentioned) has been likened unto the gradual settling of dust on a windowsill over time or the imperceptible appearance of dew upon the morning grass. Leaders have even described it using “the parable of the pickle”. Such analogies and related teachings have led many to believe that becoming truly converted (born again) is a relatively unremarkable process that occurs gradually over a long period of time. As a result, many members of the church spend their entire lives submitting to the “pickling process” of perfection, expending tremendous effort keeping the commandments, magnifying their callings, and honoring their stewardships.

However, despite all these noble efforts, too few seem to experience a profound enough transformation to ever emerge from the “salt brine” as anything but cucumbers. Too few seem to be truly born again. Too few seem to experience the “signs [that] shall follow them that believe.” (see also Mark 16:17, 1 Corintians 12:1-12, Jacob 4:5-7, Mormon 9:19-24, Moroni 7:34-37, Moroni 10:8-18, Ether 4:18, Ether 12:12-41, D&C 46:11-13, D&C 58:64, D&C 84:65, D&C 124:98). 

Why might this be? Perhaps many of us do not properly understand the nature of the Lord’s processes and events embodied within the simplicity of the doctrine of Christ. Likewise, perhaps too many of us believe that the examples of mighty miracles and miraculous conversions in scripture are remarkable cases, and are for extraordinary people, but not for us. 

The Born Again Event- Perceptible & Memorable

Carefully considering the scriptural examples of people being “born again” will yield few to no examples of people being “born again” with a “mighty change of heart” via a slow and imperceptible process. Rather, the scriptures repeatedly show that the “born again” experience is a very noticeable event that invariably links to the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost. According to the scriptures, this marvelous blessing is available to anyone who relies alone on the “merits of Christ” (2 Nephi 31:19, Moroni 6:4) and enters the “strait gate” (2 Nephi 31:18, Jacob 6:11, 3 Nephi 27:33). It is available “unto all those who diligently seek him” (1 Nephi 10:17) and is not meant for just the prophets or extraordinary people.

Becoming born again is a charismatic experience and is accompanied by great manifestations of God’s power including (but not limited to): mighty deliverances, a remission of sins, miracles, visions, heavenly visitations, voices, prophecies, tongues, miraculous healings, fire from heaven, etc. As such, the event marks a total transformation and conversion of the recipient.

Those who experience this event are a certain way before, but then they are completely transformed thereafter. 

A “Mighty Change” Cannot Be a Slow & Imperceptible Change

This mighty change not only had the power to convert wicked people into becoming righteous, but it also worked a miraculous change upon people that were already righteous. As the Lord said to the “more righteous” Nephites who had barely escaped great destruction and who were soon to become truly converted:

It’s worth noting that many of these people were already baptized members of the church (the record of their baptism is in 3 Nephi 7:26). Even though they were “more righteous”, and baptized, they had not yet received the promised event of true conversion. They had not yet received the baptism of the Holy Ghost and been “born of God.”  Fortunately, their true conversion occurs a few chapters later, and then the power of God makes itself manifest in their lives. Their hearts experienced a mighty change, and they became “new creatures in Christ.” 

But Isn’t There a Process In Being Born Again?

Of course there is a process. But, let us be very clear that the process must culminate in a mighty spiritual event. 

Considering Child Birth

In the above passage, the Lord likens being “born again” to our natural birth into the world. Let us then use this (natural birth) as a parable to describe the spiritual rebirth. Each baby is born into this world following a series of processes and events. First, there is the event that happens at the time of conception, when a seed implants itself into a fertile egg to miraculously yield an embryo. Then begins the approximate nine month long process where all fetal development is 100% dependent on the uterine environment provided by the mother. Organs, bones, muscles, physical traits, and senses grow steadily, yet slowly and imperceptibly, over time. Once sufficient maturation of the fetus has taken place, it is now ready for the culminating event – the miraculous birth of a new baby. 

Now, considering this parable, does the fact that pregnancy involves a longer-than-desired process somehow diminish the fact that the culminating event is the actual birth of a baby? Of course not! Obviously, the entire purpose of the process of pregnancy is to bring about the culminating event of the birth of a child. So it is with the spiritual rebirth Christ offers us – there are both born again processes and events that are absolutely necessary. As newly conceived spiritual embryos, we need to realize that we are 100% dependent on Jesus Christ if we are to have any hope of being spiritually reborn.

Born Again Process- The Means to An End

Yet this seems to be a common point of confusion about the doctrine of Christ. We are very good at acknowledging that we are in some sort of a process. However, we tend to lose sight of the culminating event and we “look beyond the mark” (Jacob 4:14-16, Alma 33:19-23). Focusing almost entirely on the process, as if the process itself were the end-goal, we then become like hamsters on a wheel – endlessly running but never moving anywhere meaningful. To make matters worse, the resulting lack of spiritual progression then becomes a mechanism we use to further rationalize away the lack of God’s power in our lives. We reassure ourselves by thinking that the miraculous experiences we read about in the scriptures are the exceptions to the rule, and that un-miraculous experiences with God are somehow more desirable.  

Perhaps another point of confusion may also come from believing that the event has already transpired in our lives, when in fact it has not. A common misconception is that one receives the Gift of the Holy Ghost by virtue of baptism and confirmation into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This tradition seems to put the cart before the horse. Most of us are not “born again” when baptized and confirmed. Rather, this usually marks the beginning of our personalized journey of coming to the Lord.

The Relationship Between Process & Event

This “process,” the one most members of the Church (and most of Christianity) appear to be in, is that of needing to learn to plant the seed of Christ deep within our hearts (Alma 32-33), to exercise faith unto true repentance, to seek revelation and to follow his words to us with exactness “even as a child doth submit to his father” (Mosiah 3:19, 2 Nephi 32:3), and to humble ourselves “even to the dust” (Alma 34:38) until we have fully submitted to Him as “a little child” (3 Nephi 9:22) with “broken hearts and contrite spirits” (2 Nephi 2:7, 3 Nephi 9:20).

These are the necessary prerequisites, “and unto none else can the ends of the law be answered” (2 Nephi 2:7). Once we become ready, God promises that we will be truly born of God and be converted to Christ with a mighty change of heart and the baptism of fire and of the Holy Ghost.  

Sometimes, like in the case of Alma the Younger or King Lamoni, this is a very quick process. Other times, as in the case of King Benjamin’s people, this comes as a result of a long process. Regardless of how long it takes, we should seek after and desire this event above all else in our lives (3 Nephi 19:9, Moroni 7:48). Then, once we become “spiritually begotten… children of Christ” (Mosiah 5:7), an entirely new process begins!

When Can We Expect The Event?

Regardless of how long the process takes, only one simple thing appears to be required. Full submission to Christ.

Though simple, this is far from easy – hence the process. Our entire hearts must be on the altar, fully broken and our spirits contrite. We must truly “become as little children” before the Lord. We must truly “humble [ourselves] even in the depths of humility; and “cry mightily to God” (2 Nephi 9:42, Mosiah 4:11, Mosiah 21:14) “with full purpose of heart, acting no hypocrisy and no deception before God, but with real intent” (2 Nephi 31:13), “relying alone upon the merits of Christ” and with “unshaken faith in him” (2 Nephi 31:19, Moroni 6:4).

The key words here are:

Parable of the Pharisee & The Publican

Consider the Parable of the Pharisee and the publican (tax collector):

Are we as the Pharisee, trusting in our own worthiness and works, endlessly seeking God’s approval through having good church standing, magnifying our offices, and checking off boxes? Or are we as the lowly publican, constantly humbling ourselves to the dust (regardless of how good we are) and relying alone on the merits of Christ? It turns out that this simple requirement of full submission to Christ is much more difficult than any checklist we could ever conceive of. Perhaps, for that very reason, “narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (3 Nephi 14:14, Matthew 7:15).

Complete Submission to Christ

God requires complete submission to Christ, and to Christ alone. We must come to see ourselves as “unprofitable servants” (Mosiah 2:21, Luke 17:10) and “consider [ourselves] fools before God” (2 Nephi 9:42), while “relying wholly upon the merits of him who is might to save” (2 Nephi 31:19, Moroni 6:4). One must be willing to sacrifice all other competing objects of affection, attention, and worship. We must accept no surrogates nor substitutes, and must put all our preconceived notions on the altar (2 Nephi 9:41-43). 

The scriptures clearly describe that this event (and it is an event) occurs only when we have gone through the process (and this usually is a process) of truly submitting to the Lord as little children, with broken hearts and contrite spirits. Let us believe the Lord’s promise that this mighty change can and will occur in our lives if we come to Him. This is the gate through which all true followers of Jesus must pass!