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Authority to baptize
As Joseph Smith was translating the Book of Mormon, he and his friend Oliver Cowdery read Jesus Christ’s teachings about baptism by immersion for the remission of sins (Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi 11:21–27). On 15 May 1829, Joseph and Oliver prayed for direction concerning baptism. Their prayer was answered by a heavenly messenger. The resurrected John the Baptist appeared to them and gave them the priesthood of Aaron, or Aaronic Priesthood, which has the authority to preach the gospel of repentance and to baptize. Joseph and Oliver then baptized each other in the nearby Susquehanna River. This event marked the beginning of the restoration of the priesthood, which had been taken from the earth during the period of Apostasy.
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The Church
