Mormon Theology no. 10 - The House of the Lord and Baptism for the Dead

The most confusing practice of the LDS Church to outsiders is baptism for the dead.  What is this practice?  Why do Latter-day Saints practice it?  Is it in conformity with Biblical doctrine?  Why do we need Houses of the Lord in which to do the ritual, anyway?  Aren't we all free to choose the way we live?  In this essay, we will have all these questions answered.


NEED FOR BAPTISM
The Savior said, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5)."  When the Savior came to John, John at first refused to baptize him.  The Lord said, "Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness (Matt 3:15)."  What does it mean to "fulfill all righteousness"?  A prophet from the Book of Mormon tells us what that means, and gives us the reason all - both living and dead - need baptism.  Said Nephi:  

"And now, if the Lamb of God, he being holy, should have need to be baptized by water, to fulfill all righteousness, O then, how much more need have we, being unholy, to be baptized, yea, even by water!  And now, I would ask of you, my beloved brethren, wherein the Lamb of God did fulfill all righteousness in being baptized by water?  Know ye not that he was holy? But notwithstanding he being holy, he showeth unto the children of men that, according to the flesh he humbleth himself before the Father, and witnesseth unto the Father that he would be obedient unto him in keeping his commandments.  Wherefore, after he was baptized with water the Holy Ghost descended upon him in the form of a dove.  And again, it showeth unto the children of men the straitness of the path, and the narrowness of the gate, by which they should enter, he having set the example before them (2 Nephi 31:5-9)"

Here we find, from both the Savoir and Nephi, the doctrine of the need of baptism, and that the Book of Mormon confirms the Biblical doctrine of the need of all to be baptized.  What does baptism for the dead have to do with anything, and why do we need a temple in which to do so?

THE HOUSE OF THE LORD AND BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD
 As we stated in our last essays (particularly essay VIII), The Lord gave his ancient Apostles the authority to seal on earth and in heaven.  Before the Lord was crucified he said, "Verily, Verily I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live (John 5:25)", because before this He had said that "except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5)."  Thus it is seen that Jesus Himself intimated the need for all to hear the gospel - both living and dead.  The Apostle Paul also said, "Else what shall they do, which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead" (I Cor. 15:29)?  Of this verse, the Prophet Joseph Smith said that “the Apostle was talking to a people who understood baptism for the dead, for it was practiced among them" (The Words of Joseph Smith, comp. Andrew F. Ehat and Lyndon W. Cook (Provo, Utah: Religious Studies Center, 1980), p. 49).  And so it was.

Baptismal font in the Nauvoo Illinois Temple

After the Great Apostasy, the Lord restored the practice of baptism for the dead.  It was publicly announced at the funeral of Seymore Brunson in the fall of 1840 by the Prophet Joseph Smith.  The doctrine was subsequently practiced in the Nauvoo Temple in 1841 and in the Endowment House from 1855 to 1889, when the House was razed.  It has been practiced in ever temple continually since the dedication of the St. George Utah Temple on 6 April 1844.  Of the necessity of building a Temple, Joseph Smith said,

What was the object of gathering the … people of God in any age of the world? … The main object was to build unto the Lord a house whereby He could reveal unto His people the ordinances of His house and the glories of His kingdom, and teach the people the way of salvation; for there are certain ordinances and principles that, when they are taught and practiced, must be done in a place or house built for that purpose … Ordinances instituted in the heavens before the foundation of the world, in the priesthood, for the salvation of men, are not to be altered or changed. All must be saved on the same principles. . . . It is for the same purpose that God gathers together His people in the last days, to build unto the Lord a house to prepare them for the ordinances and endowments, washings and anointings, etc. One of the ordinances of the house of the Lord is baptism for the dead. God decreed before the foundation of the world that that ordinance should be administered in a font prepared for that purpose in the house of the Lord. . . . (History of the Church, 5:423–25, 427)

CHOICE IN ACCEPTANCE
Although the Lord and his Apostles and other Servants have taught the need that all men need baptism by proper authority in order to be saved, they have also taught all people have freedom to choose.  Agency is as active beyond the veil as it is here on Earth.  The dead have the ability to choose to accept the vicarious rites done on their behalf.  Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said,  

Some have misunderstood and suppose that deceased souls 'are being baptised into the Mormon faith without their knowledge' or that 'people who once belonged to other faiths can have the Mormon faith retroactively imposed on them.'  They assume that we somehow have power to force a soul in matters of faith.  Of course, we do not.  God gave man his agency from the beginning.  'The dead who repent will be redeemed, through obedience to the ordinances of the house of God,' but only if they accept those ordinances (Ensign, Nov 2000, 9–11).

That is the most clear explanation of agency regarding baptism for the dead I have read.

Because God loves all people and wants all to be saved, He has given The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - and only that Church - the authority to act in His name and be instruments in the salvation of the human family.  All this is done in the Name of Jesus Christ because He it was who atoned for our sins.  He has said, "Behold, this is my work and my glory - to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (Moses 1:30)."  The Church will fulfill that mandate.  I know it is the word of the Lord.  In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Mormon Theology no. 9 - Becoming Worthy and Receiving Forgiveness

I remember on my mission to California attending Saddleback Church in Rancho Santa Margarita.  At the end of a sermon, Pastor Rick Warren looks at us and says, "It's not about works!", referring to the misconception that Mormons believe they work their way into Heaven, and that its actually all about grace.


In this essay, we will examine, from an active Latter-day Saint's Bible and Triple Combination, the Lord's commandments to remain worthy of His grace and receive His forgiveness - every single day of our lives - not just once.  It must here be remembered that the men herein quoted (including Christ) were Apostles of Jesus Christ and Prophets, Seers, and Revelators in their day, dispensation, and time.  Remember, "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets (Amos 3:7)."  God always works in this way, anciently as well as in modern times.

In the beginning God created Heaven and Earth.  "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them (Gen. 1:27)."  God gave unto Adam and unto his wife Eve two commandments whilst they dwelt in the Garden of Eden.  "And the Lord commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil thou shalt not eat of it; for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (Gen. 2: 16-17)."  He then married Adam and Eve, and the record states, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh (Gen. 2:24)."  The two commandments received were to not eat of the Forbidden Fruit and to multiply and replenish the earth.  But, Adam and Eve transgressed the law, ate of the Fruit, and were kicked out of the Garden and out of the presence of God and the Lamb.  "And after many days an angel of the Lord appeared unto Adam, saying; Why dost thou offer sacrifices unto the Lord?  And Adam said unto him: I know not, save the Lord commanded me.  And then the angel spake, saying; This thing is a similitude of the sacrifice of the Only Begotten of the Father, which is full of grace and truth.  Wherefore, thou shalt to all that thou doest in the name of the Son, and thou shalt repent and call upon God in the name of the Son forevermore (Moses 5:6-8)."  God, through His angel, commands Adam to "not do evil, the penalty thereof being a second death, which was an everlasting death as to things pertaining unto righteousness (Alma 12:32)."  It is through the Son Jesus Christ - and Him only - that forgiveness is possible, as taught to Adam by the angel.  Both the Bible and the Book of Mormon confirm this fact.

When the Savior was in His mortal ministry, He plainly taught the keeping of His commandments and repentance are needful to receive God's forgiveness.  "If ye love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15)."  The Lord of the Earth also said, "except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish (Luke 13:3)."  Mark wrote of Jesus that He Himself said, "repent ye, and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15)."  During the Last Supper of our Lord, He instituted the ordinance of the Sacrament, saying, "this do in remembrance of me (Luke 22:19)."  The purpose of the Sacrament is to renew a covenant, which the Apostle Paul says, "shew[s] the Lord's death till He come.  Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord (1 Cor. 11:26-27)."  Here we remark that the Apostle Paul (upon who's teachings the majority of Christendom's churches are based) says that one must be worthy - no questions asked - to partake of the Sacrament, and thus receive the Lord's fellowship.  What exactly does "fellowship" mean?  The Lord said, "If ye keep my commandments ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in His love (John 15:10)."  The Lord's "fellowship" is literally the love of the Savior, love for the Savior, and love from the Savior.  Thus, if the Savior states that He needed to keep commandments to abide in God the Father's love, certainly we should all follow the Prince of Peace and keep His commandments, shall we not?

What has the Lord said about repentance and forgiveness in the present dispensation through His prophets?  "I the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance; Nevertheless, he that repents and does the commandments of the Lord shall be forgiven (D&C 1:31-32)."  Christ states in a similar but more clarifying tone, "Nevertheless, thou art not excusable in thy transgressions; nevertheless, go thy way and sin no more (D&C 24:2)."  Lastly, "Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.  By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins - behold, he will confess them and forsake them (D&C 58:42-43)."


What do the Standard Works of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (including the Bible) say about it's own teachings?  The words of the Son of Man Himself, "These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world (John 16:33)."  Speaking of these words of the Savior, Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said, "Because Christ had overcome the world . . . all mankind would be given . . . immortality!  Additionally . . . there would be the richness of eternal life!  These . . . justified the Twelve being of good cheer - not their grim, temporary circumstances (Neal A. Maxwell, "Be of Good Cheer”, Ensign, Nov 1982, 66)."  Also, we can read more of the non-despair-laden teachings from the Book of Mormon: "And moreover, I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God.  For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven . . . (Mosiah 2:41)."

I urge the reader to consider the facts.  There is a God in heaven.  He has sent His Son as a ransom for all sin, pain, and loss if we but give heed through repentance, commandment and covenant keeping, and being of good cheer.  The Lord has called a Prophet to restore Ancient Christianity named Joseph Smith, Junior.  There is a Prophet of God on the earth today, President Thomas S. Monson.  The Book of Mormon does lead people to be of good cheer, for I have witnessed it in my own life and in the lives of hundreds of Californians and many others.  I know this is true.  In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen!