WORK FOR THE DEAD.
The doctrine of the brotherhood of man and the principles of united
order and co-operation show the necessity of giving ourselves for the
common good. This intense desire of the Church for service to all, for
human brotherhood, are probably nowhere better shown than in the work
for the dead.
**All Must Be Saved.** Temple work rests on the principle of the
Great Plan that all must be saved, or at least given the opportunity
of salvation. Persons who have been unable to accept the Gospel
ordinances on earth, are not necessarily denied the privileges of
membership in the Church or refused the blessings which come to those
who accept the truth. For such dead persons vicarious work must be
done in all the essential ordinances of the Church. Vicarious work is
not new, for it has been practiced in various forms from the first
day. In common daily life, a man is given authority to do official
work for another, when a "power of attorney" is conferred. The work of
Jesus Christ was essentially vicarious, for he atoned for the act of
Adam.
**Earthly Ordinances.** Great, eternal truths make up the Gospel
plan. All regulations for man's earthly guidance have their eternal
spiritual counterparts. The earthly ordinances of the Gospel are
themselves the reflections of heavenly ordinances. For instance,
baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost and temple work are really earthly
symbols of realities that prevail throughout the universe; but, they
are symbols of truths that must be recognized if the Great Plan is to
be fulfilled. The acceptance of these earthly symbols is part and
parcel of correct earth-life, and being earthly symbols they are
distinctly of the earth, and can not be performed elsewhere than on
earth. In order that absolute fairness may prevail and eternal justice
may be satisfied, all men to attain the fulness of their joy must
accept these earthly ordinances. There is no water baptism in the next
estate, nor any conferring of the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying
on of earthly hands. The equivalents of these ordinances prevail no
doubt in every estate, but only as they are given on this earth can
they be made to aid, in their onward progress, those who have dwelt on
earth. For that reason those who have departed this life without
having accepted the earthly ordinances, which constitute in part the
conditions of entrance to the Church, must have that work done for
them on earth. By proxy they must be baptized by water, receive the
laying on of hands and accept of the temple ordinances. By this method
the path to eternal life is invariable; in fairness and without
discrimination, all must tread it. Were there any departure from this
order, it would be a short time only until men might take upon
themselves the authority of devising various methods whereby eternal
joy might be obtained. This would be unnatural, because definite order
prevails throughout nature.
**A Work of Love.** To do work for the dead involves much sacrifice
on the part of the living. Genealogies must be collected, exact
information concerning dates of births and deaths and other
fundamental data must be obtained, and the better part of a day is
required to take the endowments for each dead person--and all this,
usually, for a person long dead, of whom the worker may have no
definite knowledge beyond name and time of his life. It follows that
only by love for one's fellowmen can the work be done. Young and old
may do work for the dead in the temples; and young and old are,
indeed, engaged in it. Especially in the evening of life, when time is
more plentiful for such work, do many persons give themselves fully to
this labor of love. As a result of temple work for the dead, to which
thousands of people give their time and means, a great flood of love
for humanity is poured out upon the people.
**The Need of Records.** Before the earth passes away into its next
stage of existence, work must be done in the temples for all the
living and all the dead. Only when this is done, will the curtain be
rolled up, and the vision of complete existence given to man. To do
work for the dead, who in life did not accept the Gospel, will require
complete genealogies of the human race. To secure these is a gigantic
task. The diverse conditions of human life, and the vicissitudes of
the race have been such that frequently genealogies have not been
written and often have been lost. The most careful search of man will
not reveal them all. However, as has been explained, in an intelligent
universe, nothing is wholly lost. The record of every man exists and
by some means will be found before the work on earth is completed.
Meanwhile, no external power will come to man's aid, until he has used
his own efforts, and therefore it becomes necessary for men to search
out existing genealogies of the human race. When that has been done,
in the years to come, man may rest secure that the gods who direct our
earth, will come to the rescue of this important part of the work of
salvation.
Consequently there is intense interest in the Church in all
genealogical matters. Every person is on the lookout for his own
genealogy; when that is completed, he searches for those of others.
Such work intensifies family loyalty and devotion, from which virtues
proceed. It follows, also, that the Church records and preserves with
utmost care the genealogical histories of its members. Sacred history
shows that at all times, when the Church has been on earth,
genealogies have been carefully kept and recorded.
**The Result.** Work for the dead has far-reaching results. First of
all, it establishes a close communion among those who have lived and
who are living on earth. The hearts of the children are turned to the
fathers, and the hearts of the fathers are turned to the children.
This, indeed, is the vital principle of the Great Plan--that all may
work together to the ultimate good of each.
The principle of infinite, loving brotherhood among men, as
exemplified in the work for the dead, may be applied in the daily
lives of the living. If so much work is done, so much time and energy
expended and so much care bestowed upon the salvation of the dead, how
much more should we help and support and love the living. The living
must always be man's first concern. This principle, carried into our
daily lives, means that we must continually and at our own sacrifice
help each other. Then only will the sacrifice for the dead not be in
vain.
Work for the dead is no doubt symbolic of the great universal law that
things of the universe move onward together, not singly. So great is
this principle in its application to daily life, among the living,
that it rises to be one of the mightiest principles that contribute to
human brotherhood and brotherly love.