=18. Baptism Required of All.=--The universal applicability of the law
of baptism has been already dwelt upon. Compliance with the ordinance
has been shown to be essential to salvation, and this condition
applies to all mankind. Nowhere in scripture is a distinction made in
this regard between the living and the dead. The dead are those who
have lived in mortality upon earth; the living are mortals who yet
shall pass through the ordained change which we call death. All are
children of the same Father, all to be judged and rewarded or punished
by the same unerring justice, with the same interpositions of
benignant mercy. Christ's atoning sacrifice was offered, not alone for
the few who lived upon the earth while He was in the flesh, nor for
those who were to be born in mortality after His death, but for all
inhabitants of earth then past, present, and future. He was ordained
of the Father to be a judge of both quick and dead;[422] He is Lord
alike of living and dead,[423] as men speak of dead and living, though
all are to be placed in the same position before Him; there will be
but a single class, for all live unto Him.[424]
[422] Acts x, 42; II Tim. iv, 1; I Peter iv, 5.
[423] Rom. xiv, 9.
[424] Luke xx, 36, 38.
=19. The Gospel yet Unknown to Many.=--Of the multitudes of human
beings who have existed on the earth, but few have heard and fewer
have obeyed, the law of the gospel. In the course of the world's
history there have been long periods of spiritual darkness, when the
gospel was not preached upon the earth; when there was no authorized
representative of the Lord officiating in the saving ordinances of the
kingdom. Such a condition has never existed except as the result of
the unbelief and waywardness of the people. When mankind have
persistently trodden the pearls of truth into the mire, and have
sought to slay and rend the bearers of the jewels, in justice not more
than in mercy these treasures of heaven have been taken and withheld
until a more appreciative posterity could be raised up. It may very
properly be asked, What provisions are made in the economy of God for
the eventual salvation of those who have thus neglected the
requirements of the Word, and for those who have never heard the
gospel tidings?
=20.= According to certain dogmas that have prevailed among many
so-called Christian sects during the obscurity of the spiritual night,
and which are yet zealously promulgated, never-ending punishment or
interminable bliss, unchanging in kind or degree, shall be the lot of
every soul; the award being made according to the condition of the
spirit at the time of bodily death; a life of sin being thus entirely
nullified by a death-bed repentance; and an honorable career, if
unmarked by ceremonies of the established sects, being followed by the
tortures of hell without the hope of relief. Such a belief must rank
with the dread heresy which proclaims the condemnation of innocent
babes who have not been sprinkled by man's assumed authority.
=21.= It is blasphemous to thus attribute caprice and vindictiveness
to the Divine nature. In the justice of God, no soul shall be
condemned under any law which has not been made known unto him. It is
true, eternal punishment has been decreed as the lot of the wicked;
but the true meaning of this terrible expression has been given by the
Lord Himself:[425] eternal punishment is God's punishment; endless
punishment is God's punishment, for "Endless" and "Eternal" are among
His names, and the words are descriptive of His attributes. No soul
will be kept in prison or continued in torment beyond the time
requisite to work the needed reformation and to vindicate justice, for
which ends alone punishment is imposed. And no one will be permitted
to enter any kingdom of glory to which he is not entitled through
obedience to law.
[425] See page 63; Doc. and Cov. xix, 10-12.
=22. The Gospel to be Preached to the Dead.=--It is plain, then, that
the gospel must be proclaimed in the spirit world; and that such work
is provided for, the scriptures abundantly prove. Peter, describing
the mission of his Redeemer, thus declares this truth:--"For this
cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they
might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to
God in the spirit."[426] The inauguration of this work among the dead
was effected by Christ in the interval between His death and
resurrection. While His body lay in the tomb, His spirit ministered to
the spirits of the departed:--"By which also he went and preached unto
the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient when once the
long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a
preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved by
water."[427]
[426] I Peter iv, 6.
[427] I Peter iii, 18-20.
=23.= Other scriptures sustain the position, that while in a
disembodied state, Christ went elsewhere than to the place usually
termed heaven,--the abode of His Father; and that He labored among
the dead, who greatly needed His ministry. One of the malefactors who
suffered crucifixion by His side, through humility won from the dying
Savior the promise, "To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise."[428]
And three days afterward, the Lord, then a resurrected Being, declared
to the sorrowing Magdalene, "I have not yet ascended to my
Father."[429]
[428] Luke xxiii, 39-43.
[429] John xx, 17.
=24.= If it was deemed proper and just that the gospel be carried to
the spirits who were disobedient in the days of Noah, is it not
reasonable to conclude that like opportunities shall be placed within
the reach of others who have rejected the word at different times? For
the same spirit of neglect and disobedience that characterized the
time of Noah has ever existed.[430] And further, if, in the plan of
God, provisions be made for the redemption of the wilfully
disobedient, of those who actually spurn the truth, can we believe
that the still greater multitudes of spirits who have never heard the
Gospel are to be left in punishment eternally? No; God has decreed
that even the heathen nations, and those that knew no law, shall be
redeemed.[431] The good gifts of the Father are not confined to this
sphere of action, but will be distributed in justice throughout
eternity. Upon all who reject the word of God in this life shall fall
the penalties provided for such act; but after the debt has been paid,
the prison doors shall be opened, and the spirits once confined in
suffering, now chastened and clean, shall come forth to partake of the
glory provided for their class.
[430] Luke xvii, 26.
[431] Doc. and Cov. xlv, 54.
=25. Christ's Work among the Dead was Foretold.=--Centuries before
Christ came in the flesh, the prophets rejoiced in the knowledge that
through Him would salvation be carried to the dead as well as to the
living. Speaking of the punishment to be brought upon the proud and
haughty of the earth, Isaiah declares: "And they shall be gathered
together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up
in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited."[432] The
same great prophet thus testifies concerning the work of the coming
Redeemer; He is "to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners
from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison
house."[433] And David, singing to the music of inspiration concerning
the redemption from the grave, exclaims: "Therefore my heart is glad,
and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou
wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy
One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path of life; in thy
presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for
evermore."[434]
[432] Isa. xxiv, 22.
[433] Isa. xlii, 6-7.
[434] Psa. xvi, 9-11.
=26. Work of the Living for the Dead.=--The redemption of the dead
will be effected in strict accordance with the law of God, which is
written in justice and framed in mercy. It is alike impossible for any
spirit, in the flesh or disembodied, to obtain even the promise of
eternal glory, except on condition of obedience to the laws and
ordinances of the gospel. And, as baptism is essential to the
salvation of the living, it is likewise indispensable to the salvation
of the dead. This was known by the Saints of old, and hence the
doctrine of baptism for the dead was taught among them. In an epistle
addressed to the Saints at Corinth, Paul expounded the principles of
the resurrection, whereby the bodies of the dead are to be brought
forth from the graves. "Christ the first fruits, and afterward they
that are Christ's," and as proof that this doctrine of the
resurrection was included in the gospel as they had received and
professed it, the apostle asks: "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?"[435] These words are unambiguous, and the fact
that they are presented without explanation or comment argues that the
principle of baptism for the dead was understood among the people to
whom the letter was addressed.
[435] I Cor. xv, 29. See "The House of the Lord," p. 92.
=27.= The necessity of vicarious work is here shown,--the living
laboring in behalf of the dead; the children doing for their
progenitors what is beyond the power of the latter to do for
themselves. Many and various are the interpretations rendered by
erring human wisdom on this plain statement of Paul's; yet the simple
and earnest seeker after truth finds little difficulty in
comprehending the meaning. In words which form the closing sentences
of the Old Testament, the prophet Malachi predicted the great work to
be carried on in behalf of the dead during the latter days: "Behold, I
will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and
dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers
to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest
I come and smite the earth with a curse."[436] It is a current belief
among many Bible students, that this prophecy had reference to the
birth and ministry of John the Baptist,[437] upon whom indeed rested
and remained the spirit and power of Elias, as the angel had
foretold;[438] but we have no record of Elijah ministering unto John;
and moreover the results of the latter's ministry warrant no
conclusion that in him did the prophecy find its full realization.
[436] Mal. iv, 5-6.
[437] Matt. xi, 14; xvii, 11; Mark ix, 11; Luke i, 17.
[438] Luke i, 17; Doc. and Cov. xxvii, 7.
=28.= We must therefore look to a later date in the world's history
for a fulfillment of Malachi's prediction. On the 21st of September,
1823, Joseph Smith[439] received a visitation of a heavenly being who
announced himself as Moroni, sent from the presence of God. In the
course of his instructions to the chosen youth, this heavenly
personage quoted the prophecy of Malachi, already referred to, but in
language slightly different from, and certainly more expressive than,
that appearing in the ordinary translation of the scriptures; the
angel's version is as follows: "For behold the day cometh that shall
burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea and all that do wickedly,
shall burn as stubble, for they that come shall burn them, saith the
Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Behold I will reveal unto you the Priesthood by the hand of Elijah the
prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to
the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their
fathers; if it were not so the whole earth would be utterly wasted at
His coming."[440]
[439] See page 10.
[440] Compare verses 1, 5, and 6, Mal. iv.
=29.= In a glorious manifestation to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery,
given in the Kirtland Temple, April 3, 1836, there appeared unto them
Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death; he
declared unto them: "Behold, the time has fully come which was spoken
of by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he (Elijah) should be sent
before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come, to turn the hearts
of the fathers to the children and the children to the fathers, lest
the whole earth be smitten with a curse. Therefore the keys of this
dispensation are committed into your hands, and by this ye may know
that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the
doors."[441]
[441] Doc. and Cov. cx, 13-16.
=30. The Fathers and the Children Mutually Dependent.=--One of the
great principles underlying the doctrine of salvation for the dead is
that of the mutual dependence of the fathers and the children. As the
Prophet Joseph taught the Saints,[442] but for the establishment of a
connecting link between the departed fathers and the living children,
the earth would be smitten with a curse. The plan of God provides that
neither the children nor the fathers can alone be made perfect; and
the necessary union is effected through baptism and associated
ordinances for the dead. The manner in which the hearts of the
children and those of the fathers are turned toward one another is
made plain through these scriptures. As the children learn that
without the aid of their progenitors they cannot attain perfection,
assuredly will their hearts be opened, their faith will be kindled,
and good works will be attempted, for the redemption of their dead;
and the departed, learning from the ministers of the gospel laboring
among them, that they must depend upon their children as vicarious
saviors, will seek to sustain their still mortal representatives with
faith and prayer for the perfecting of those labors of love.
[442] Doc. and Cov. cxxviii, 18; see also this entire section and
sec. cxxvii.
=31.= And love, which is a power in itself, is thus intensified. Aside
from the emotions which are stirred within the soul by the presence of
the Divine, there are few feelings stronger and purer than the love
for kindred. Heaven would not be all we wish were family love unknown
there.[443] Affection there will differ from its earthly type, in
being deeper, stronger, purer. And thus in the mercy of God, His
erring, mortal children, who have taken upon themselves the name of
Christ on earth, may become, in a limited sphere, each a savior in the
house of his fathers, and that too by vicarious labor and sacrifice,
rendered in humility, and, as represented in the baptismal ordinance,
typical of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Redeemer.
[443] See Note 4.
=32. The Labor for the Dead is Two-fold.=--That performed on earth
would be incomplete but for its supplement and counterpart beyond the
vail. Missionary labor is in progress there, whereby the tidings of
the gospel are carried to the departed spirits, who thus learn of the
work done in their behalf on earth. What glorious possibilities
concerning the purposes of God are thus presented to our view! How the
mercy of God is magnified by these evidences of His love! How often do
we behold friends and loved ones, whom we count among earth's fairest
and best, stricken down by the shafts of death, seemingly in spite of
the power of faith and the ministrations of the Priesthood of God! Yet
who of us can tell but that these may be permitted to minister in the
labor of redemption beyond, preaching perhaps the gospel to the
spirits of their forefathers, while others of the same family are
officiating in a similar behalf on earth?
=33.= As far as the Divine will has been revealed, it requires that
the outward ordinances, such as baptism in water, the laying on of
hands for the bestowal of the Holy Ghost, and the higher endowments
that follow, be attended to on earth, a proper representative in the
flesh acting as proxy for the dead. The results of such labors are to
be left with God. It is not to be supposed that by these ordinances
the departed are in any way compelled to accept the obligation, nor
that they are in the least hindered in the exercise of their free
agency. They will accept or reject, according to their condition of
humility or hostility in respect to things divine; but the work so
done for them on earth will be of avail when wholesome argument and
reason have shown them their true position.