Confirmation (Latter Day Saints)

In the Latter Day Saint movement, Confirmation (also known as the Gift of the Holy Ghost or the Baptism of Fire and of the Holy Ghost), is an ordinance essential for salvation. It involves the laying on of hands and is performed after baptism. Through confirmation, the initiate becomes an official member of the church and receives the gift of the Holy Ghost. Baptism and confirmation are administered to persons at least eight years old (the age of accountability). The ordinance corresponds to the confirmation rite in many other Christian faiths. Confirmations were first performed on April 6, 1830 at the organizational meeting of the Church of Christ.

The gift of the Holy Ghost is considered the fourth of the "first principles and ordinances of the Gospel": First being "Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost".The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that these two ordinances are necessary for all mankind, so they perform both baptisms and confirmations by proxy on behalf of the dead in their temples.

Joseph Smith taught the need for both water baptism and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost: "The baptism of water, without the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost attending it, is of no use," he declared. "They are necessarily and inseparably connected. An individual must be born of water and the spirit in order to get into the kingdom of God". According to standard Latter Day Saint theology, the gift of the Holy Ghost is the privilege of receiving inspiration, divine manifestations, direction, and other blessings from the Holy Spirit which are not available to those who have not received the ordinance. These include cautions, warnings, and discernment of right and wrong. The gift of the Holy Ghost is the key to all of the spiritual gifts operating in the church, including prophecy and revelation.

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