Dear Gramps,
How the baptism was done at the time of Moses in the Desert?
Bishop Gonçalves, from Sao Paulo, Brazil
Dear Bishop Gonçalves
Baptisms in the desert during the time of Moses were done in exactly the same way that they are done today in the Mormon chapels containing baptismal fonts. The fact that you ask the question suggests that you may have a concern over a lack of water in the desert sufficient to fill a baptismal font. The number of Israelites who fled from Goshen under Moses’ leadership and crossed the Red Sea into the Sinai desert is estimated at approximately two million souls! We read from Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book II, Chapter 15—
“Now the entire multitude of those that went out, including the women and children, was not easy to be numbered; but those that were of an age fit for war, were six hundred thousand.”
All of those people while in the desert had to both eat and drink. How could that be accomplished in a barren desert? It’s true that there really wasn’t enough food and water around to feed all the people, and after two and a half months in the desert, the people rebelled against Moses and Aaron for lack of food and water (Exo. 16:1-3), and so the Lord provided manna for them to eat (Exo 16:15), and water from a rock for them and their livestock to drink (Num. 20:8). So there is no doubt that there would be sufficient water available in which to conduct baptisms.
Gramps
