The Twelve Ephesians Receive the Holy Ghost Through Correct Baptism
Published October 6, 2026 at 3:09 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
Paul found twelve disciples who had only been baptized unto John's baptism. Upon hearing that they should believe on Christ Jesus, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Paul then laid his hands upon them, and they received the Holy Ghost and spake with tongues and prophesied.
Fuller account of this event (as retold in The Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 19:1-10 (King James Version)):
And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. And all the men were about twelve. And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. But divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
In Their Own Words
““And it came to pass, that, while Apollos at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, he said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized? And they said, Unto John’s baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied. And all the men were about twelve.””
— Millennial Star 48:16
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 19 April 1886 (Vol. 48, No. 16). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1886-04-19_48_16 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Fuller account: The Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 19:1-10 (King James Version) https://biblehub.com/acts/19.htm
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