John the Baptist proclaimed the preparatory gospel of repentance and obedience that would be fulfilled and completed through the mission of the Lamb of God, the “author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him” (Hebrews 5:9). Through Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice, the gift of the Holy Ghost would be dispensed upon the faithful as the key to the remission of sins. Elder Bruce R. McConkie describes John’s calling:
John, who bore testimony of Jesus, did so for one reason and one reason only: he was seeking to persuade men to believe in Christ, to come unto him, to accept him as the Son of God, and to be saved by obedience to the laws and ordinances of his gospel. When John baptized for the remission of sins, he was not seeking disciples who would follow him, except as he guided them to the one who should come after. Indeed, the very remission of sins that he promised could not come until they received the Holy Ghost—the baptism of fire—which burns sin and evil out of a human soul as though by fire. John’s whole purpose was to persuade his disciples to follow, not himself, but the Lord Jesus whose witness he was. (The Mortal Messiah: From Bethlehem to Calvary, 4 vols. [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1979–1981], 1:438)