I’m so excited to do this post about one of my top ten favorite scriptures! The verses are Moses 6:59-60:
“That by reason of transgression cometh the fall, which fall bringeth death, and inasmuch as ye were born into the world by water, and blood, and the spirit, which I have made, and so became of dust a living soul, even so ye must be born again into the kingdom of heaven, of water, and of the Spirit, and be cleansed by blood, even the blood of mine Only Begotten; that ye might be sanctified from all sin, and enjoy the words of eternal life in this world, and eternal life in the world to come, even immortal glory;
“For by the water ye keep the commandment; by the Spirit ye are justified, and by the blood ye are sanctified.”
These two verses cover all three pillars of eternity—Creation, Fall, and Atonement, and are drenched in doctrine. We have the doctrine of the Fall bringing death into the world and its opposite, which is the atonement of Jesus Christ, bringing eternal life. We have the parallel of mortal birth and spiritual birth, and we have the saving doctrines leading to eternal life, becoming spiritually begotten sons and daughters of God.
Obviously, blood, water, and spirit are all present at mortal birth when the spirit enters the body. Spiritual rebirth involves keeping the commandments, the sanctification and sealing power of the Holy Ghost, and the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. Doctrine and Covenants Section 132, verse 19, speaks of the “new and everlasting covenant” of eternal marriage performed in the temple, and the necessity of that ordinance being “sealed by the Holy Spirit of promise.” We often think of the sealing power as only applying to the sealing of families for eternity, but in reality, every saving ordinance has to be sealed and ratified by the Holy Ghost to be binding in eternity.
Let’s define some things. I like to think of justification as our legal standing before God, and sanctification as our actual standing before God. Justification is defined in D&C 76:69 as being “made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood.” Without His atonement and grace, we are just ordinary men and women, regardless of how hard we try to be perfect. We become clean, holy, and without spot through the blood of Christ (the Hebrew word would be tamiym, meaning spotless or blameless before God), which is sanctification.
It’s also important to think of the term “born again” in a proper perspective. When Nicodemus comes to Jesus by night, Jesus taught, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). The original Greek word for again is anothen, meaning “from above or from a higher place.” Thus, this is not merely a repeat birth, but rather, it’s being “born of God” (Mosiah 27:25).
John also speaks of these three elements of blood, water, and Spirit. Much of his Gospel deals with the interplay of these three elements. But in an epistle he stated, “This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one” (1 John 5:6-8).
In Exodus 23 and Deuteronomy 16, the children of Israel were commanded to gather to “the place which the Lord shall choose to place his name there,” which was the tabernacle or the temple, for three required annual feasts. These were Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), and the Feast of Tabernacles, which was called Sukkot, named after the Hebrew word for booth.
We often think of Passover as being the most important and biggest feast, but really it was the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot). It was simply called “The Feast.” Sukkot was an eight-day event, and the culmination was on the eighth day, called the “great day of the feast” (John 7:37). They dwelt in tabernacles, tents, or booths, made from various symbolic tree branches, during the feast. They chanted the Hallel Psalms 113-118, 136 and Isaiah 12, which has to do with one of the two big events. This feast was also called the Ingathering, as it was the final fall feast and the ingathering of the harvest. Some Bible scholars believe the Pilgrims got the idea of Thanksgiving from the Feast of Tabernacles.
The two big events were associated with and occurred at the temple. They were the illumination of the temple courtyards with four giant candelabra fueled by pure olive oil and the water libation poured on the altar of the temple from the Pool of Siloam. It was said that the candelabra would light up every corner in Jerusalem and would illuminate the area for several miles. It was during this event that Jesus proclaimed, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12).
The water libation was a joyous event. The rabbis said that “he who has not seen the joy of the drawing of water at the Feast of Tabernacles does not know what joy is.” (By the way, it’s a fun and rewarding exercise to compare this event with King Benjamin’s speech in Mosiah chapters 2-4 to see how many similarities you can find. I’m 99 percent sure that King Benjamin’s speech took place during Sukkot). There would be a procession led by the priests, who would take pitchers down to the Pool of Siloam, fill them with water, and ascend up the steps on the Temple Mount. But there was another element besides the water. They would also bring wine (symbolizing blood) to the altar. There were two receptacles of different sizes—one for the water and one for the wine. The wine was thicker, so it needed a slightly larger diameter. The priests would pour the water and the wine into their respective containers, and the water and wine would run down the side of the altar and into a catch basin.
The symbolism of the Savior’s atonement is remarkable here! At the Crucifixion of the Savior, the soldiers broke the legs of the other two who were condemned to death to accelerate their death. It was unlawful to leave them on the cross into the Sabbath, and especially on Passover weekend. Crucifixion was a prolonged agony as the diaphragm was cramped, causing a slow suffocation. The only relief was to push with the legs against the cross to allow the body to be upright. Thus, with broken legs, they would die sooner. But when the soldiers saw that Jesus was already dead, they pierced His side with a spear “and forthwith came there out blood and water” (John 19:34), just like the wine and water running out of the side of the altar. The atonement of Jesus Christ was the ultimate sacrifice.
Because of Him, we can be born of God and experience “newness of life” (Romans 6:4). It was during the water libation, as water was being poured onto the altar, that Jesus proclaimed, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38). John goes on to say parenthetically, “But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.” But whose “belly” is this? According to Greek syntax, this is likely Jesus’ belly. In other translations, this is “heart” or “inner being,” but it is significant that the original Greek word is koilia, and it can mean either belly or womb. It is actually the same Greek word for womb when Nicodemus asks about entering his mother’s womb the second time. Thus, the symbolism is about being a spiritually begotten son or daughter of Jesus Christ.
The main takeaway in Moses 6:59-60 is that through the waters of baptism, the reception and justification of the Holy Ghost, and the sanctification of the blood of Jesus Christ, we can be born of Him and become new creatures.
I am attaching a video below. This explains everything and more. It’s kind of long. I think it runs about 22 minutes, but well worth it. Watch for temple symbolism and parallels to King Benjamin’s gathering in the Book of Mormon. But what you won’t see in the video is the beautiful symbolism in Moses, chapter 6. We are so blessed to have a fulness of scripture!