NEED OF TEMPLES IN THE PRESENT DISPENSATION
{63} Among the numerous sects and churches professing Christianity,
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints stands alone in the
teaching and practise of temple ministration. The devotion of this
people to the sacred labor of building temples and administering
therein the saving ordinances of the Gospel has attracted the attention
and aroused the wonder of both philosopher and layman. It is not
enough to attempt an explanation of this singular and stupendous
sacrifice by ascribing it to assumed and unproved fanaticism; the
earnest investigator, the careful observer, and even the cursory
reader, indeed, if he be honest, admits that beneath this devotion is
a deeply-seated and an abiding faith. It cannot be affirmed that the
Latter-day Saints build temples as monuments of communal wealth nor
in the pride of human aggrandisement; for we find them thus arduously
engaged even while bread was scarce and clothing scant among them; and
throughout their history the people have looked upon their temples
as edifices belonging to the Lord, and upon themselves as stewards
entrusted with the custody of the consecrated properties. Nor can it
be said that this Church builds temples as other sects erect chapels,
churches, cathedrals, and synagogues; for the Church has the equivalent
of these, and indeed the meeting-houses and places of public worship
maintained by the Latterday Saints are proportionately greater in
number than {64} are those of other denominations. Moreover, as already
stated, these temples are not used as places of common assembly, nor as
houses of general and congregational service.
Why, then, does The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints build
and maintain temples? In answer let the following pertinent facts be
carefully considered.
NECESSITY OF OBEDIENCE TO THE LAWS AND ORDINANCES OF THE GOSPEL
As part of its declaration of faith, the Church proclaims:
"_We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be
saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel_."[1]
While professing belief in the possibility of a universal salvation,
the Church affirms that salvation is assured only on condition of
individual compliance with the requirements established by the
Redeemer, without whose atoning sacrifice none could be saved. The
atonement wrought by the Christ on Calvary was a vicarious offering, in
the beneficent results of which all mankind are made partakers. As to
redemption from the thrall of mortality incident to the transgression
in Eden, the sacrificial death of Christ met in full the exactions
incident to the broken law; and none but Adam shall be held accountable
for Adam's disobedience, nor for any results thereof. In the just
judgment to which every mortal shall come, all conditions of inherited
weakness, temptation due to {65} environment, the capacity to choose
and to act, the measure of knowledge to which the subject has attained,
the meed of truth he has accepted or rejected, the opportunities he has
used aright or wrongly spurned, the fidelity with which he walked in
the light or the depravity through which he wandered in the forbidden
paths of darkness,--these and every other fact and circumstance
entering into the individual life will be duly weighed and considered.
At the bar of God the distinguishing feature of Divine mercy will
be, as in the affairs of mortal life it now is, not an arbitrary
forgiveness of sin nor unearned annulment of the debts of guilt, but
the providing of a way whereby the sinner may be enabled to meet the
requirements of the Gospel, and so in due course pass from the prison
house of sin to the glorious freedom of a righteous life.
There is but one price set on forgiveness for individual transgression,
and this is alike to all,--to poor and rich, to bond and free, to
illiterate and learned; it knows no fluctuations, it changes not with
time; it was the same yesterday as today it is, and even so shall be
forever,--and that price, at which may be bought the pearl beyond all
price, is _obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel_.
Hear this further declaration of faith taught by the restored Church:
"_We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel
are:--(1) Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; (2) Repentance; (3) Baptism
by immersion for the remission of sins; (4) Laying-on of hands for the
Gift of the Holy Ghost_."[2]
{66} _Faith_ in the Lord Jesus Christ is the fundamental principle of
the Gospel, the first letter in the alphabet of salvation with which
are spelled the words of life eternal. Yet who can have faith in aught
of which he knows nothing? Knowledge is essential to faith, and faith
impels its possessor to seek further knowledge, and to make of that
knowledge, wisdom, which is but knowledge applied and put to use. To
preach Christ and Him crucified[3] is the one and only way by which
faith in Him may be taught through the medium of either precept or
example. While knowledge and faith are thus closely associated, the two
are not identical, nor is the one an assured outgrowth of the other. A
man may have learned the truth, and yet may ignore it. His knowledge,
far from developing within his soul the faith that leads to right
action, may but add to his condemnation, for he sins without even the
mitigation of ignorance. Evil spirits have testified of their knowledge
that Jesus is the Christ, nevertheless they remain the fallen followers
of Satan.[4] As living faith develops within the soul of man it leads
its possessor to seek a means whereby he may rise from the thraldom
of sin; and the very thought of such emancipation inspires a loathing
for the evil contamination of the past. The natural fruitage of that
glorious growth is repentance.
_Repentance_, as a requirement made of all men, constitutes the second
principle of the Gospel of Christ. It comprises a sincere sorrow for
the sins of the past, and a resolute turning away therefrom with
the solemn determination to endeavor by Divine assistance to return
thereto no more. Repentance comes as a gift from God {67} to him who
has treasured and nurtured the earlier gift of faith. It is not to be
had for the careless asking; it may not be found upon the highway; it
is not of earth, but a treasure of heaven, and is given with care, yet
with boundless liberality unto those who have brought forth works that
warrant its bestowal. That is to say, all who prepare themselves for
repentance will, by the humbling and softening influence of the Holy
Spirit, be brought to the actual possession of this great gift. When
Peter was charged by his fellow-worshippers with a breach of law in
that he had associated with Gentiles, he told his hearers of the Divine
manifestations he had so recently received; they believed and declared
"Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life." Paul
also, in writing to the Romans, teaches that repentance comes through
the goodness of God.[5]
Wilful persistency in sin may lead to the loss and forfeiture of the
ability to repent; and for man to procrastinate the day of repentance
is to invite and eventually to insure such forfeiture. The Divine word
through the mouth of a modern prophet is thus explicit:
"For 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;
"And he that repents not, from him shall be taken even the light
which he has received, for my Spirit shall not always strive with
man, saith the Lord of Hosts."[6]
The Latter-day Saints believe and teach that repentance {68} will
be possible, and indeed required to the yet unrepentant, even after
death; and they affirm that this doctrine is supported by scripture
both ancient and modern. We read that while the body of our Lord lay
in the tomb, between the evening of the day of crucifixion and the
glorious resurrection morn, He was engaged in ministerial labor in the
world of disembodied spirits. Peter specifically declares that our
Lord "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."[7] The context with which appear these words of the
inspired apostle, shows that the event referred to occurred prior to
the Savior's resurrection. Furthermore, it will be remembered that one
of the condemned malefactors, whose cross of death stood alongside
that of Jesus, manifested faith and even some degree of repentance,
and received from the suffering Christ the benediction and assurance
"Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise."[8] It cannot be maintained
that this promise implied the passing of the repentant sinner directly
from the cross into Heaven--the abode of the redeemed in the presence
of God; for surely there had been no opportunity for the suffering
penitent to put his repentance into effect by complying with the
established laws and ordinances of the Gospel, and without such
compliance, even as to the single requirement of water-baptism alone,
the man could neither enter nor see the Kingdom of God, or the word of
Christ would have been proven false.[9] Moreover, as conclusive proof
of the fact that between the time of Christ's death and resurrection,
neither He nor the contrite {69} sinner had gone to the abode of God,
we have the words of the Risen Lord to the sorrowing Magdalene: "I am
not yet ascended to my Father."[10]
In view of scriptural affirmation that the disembodied Christ did visit
and minister among the spirits who had been disobedient, and who,
because of unpardoned sin were still held in duress, it is pertinent to
inquire as to the scope and object of our Savior's ministry among them.
His preaching must have been purposeful and positive; moreover, it is
not to be assumed that His message was other than one of relief and
mercy. Those to whom He went were already in prison, and had been there
long. To them came the Redeemer, to preach, not to further condemn,
to open the way that led to light, not to intensify the darkness of
despair in which they languished. Had not that visit of deliverance
been long predicted? Centuries before that fateful time Isaiah had
prophesied of proud and wicked spirits: "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."[11] And again,
referring to the appointed ministry of the Christ, the same inspired
voice of prophecy declared part of that work to be "to open the blind
eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in
darkness out of the prison house."[12] David, filled with the emotions
of contrition and hope, sang in measures of mingled sadness and joy:
"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."[13]
{70} From these and other scriptures we learn that the ministry of
Christ was not confined to the few who lived in mortality during the
short period of His earthly life, nor to them and the generations
then future; but to all, dead, living, and yet unborn. It cannot be
denied that myriads had lived and died before the meridian of time,
and of these multitudes, as of the many since born, unnumbered hosts
have died without a knowledge of the Gospel and its prescribed plan of
salvation. What is their condition, as indeed what shall be the state
of the present inhabitants of earth, and of the multitudes yet future,
who shall die in ignorance and without the faith that saves? Let us ask
again, how can those who know not Christ have faith in Him, and how,
while lacking both knowledge and faith can they avail themselves of the
provision made for their salvation?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints affirms that the
plan of salvation is not bounded by the grave; but that the Gospel
is deathless and everlasting, reaching back into the ages that have
gone, and forward into the eternities of the future. The ministry
of the Savior among the dead doubtless included the revelation of
His own atoning death, the inculcation of faith in Himself and in
the divinely-appointed plan He represented, and the necessity of a
repentance acceptable unto God. It is reasonable to believe that the
other essential requirements comprised within the _laws and ordinances
of the Gospel_ were made known.
To the less thoughtful reader it may appear that to teach the
possibility of repentance beyond the grave may tend to weaken belief
in the absolute necessity of repentance and reformation in this life.
A careful consideration {71} of the matter, however, will show that
this doctrine affords no reason for such objection. To reject or ignore
in any degree a gift of God is to forfeit to the corresponding extent
one's claim upon that gift. To the soul that has wilfully neglected the
opportunities for repentance here offered, repentance in the hereafter
may be, and indeed it is reasonable to believe will be, so difficult as
to be long unattainable. This conception is justified by scripture, as
witness the words of Amulek, a Nephite prophet, who thus admonished the
Church on the western continent four score years before the birth of
Christ:
"For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God;
* * * therefore, I beseech of you, that ye do not procrastinate the
day of your repentance until the end; * * * Ye cannot say, when ye
are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will
return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit
which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this
life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that
eternal world. For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of
your repentance, even until death, behold, ye have become subjected
to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his."[14]
_Baptism by water_ is taught by the Church in this dispensation as an
essential ordinance of the Gospel. Baptism is the gateway leading into
the fold of Christ, the portal to the Church, the established rite
of naturalization in the Kingdom of God. The candidate for admission
into the Church, having obtained and professed faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ, and having sincerely repented of his sins, is properly required
to give evidence of this spiritual sanctification by some outward
ordinance, prescribed {72} by authority as the sign or symbol of the
new profession. The initiatory ordinance is baptism by water, to be
followed by the higher baptism of the Holy Spirit; and, as a result of
this act of obedience, remission of sins is granted.[15]
That baptism is essential to salvation is attested by many specific
scriptures; yet even without such its essentiality appears in view of
the unconditional requirement of repentance, and the evident fact that
to be of value and effect repentance must imply obedience to the Divine
requirements, which include baptism by water. Be it remembered that
Jesus, the Christ, though untouched by the taint of sin, submitted in
person to this ordinance, which was administered by the Baptist in the
waters of Jordan. The burden of John's teaching was "Repent ye; for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand," and to such as came to him professing
repentance he administered baptism by water immersion. Then came Jesus
unto John, to be baptized of him; and the Baptist, regarding Him as one
without sin, demurred, saying:
"I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
"And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for
thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered
him.
"And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the
water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the
Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
"And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased."[16]
{73} It is evident from the foregoing that the baptism of Jesus was
acceptable unto the Father, and was by Him characterized as an act of
humility and obedience on the part of the Son, with which He was well
pleased. Some time after His own baptism Jesus affirmed, in words at
once forceful and unequivocal, that baptism is required of all men as
a condition of entrance into the kingdom of God. To Nicodemus, a ruler
among the Jews, who came by night professing some measure of faith,
Jesus said: "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."[17]
When in the resurrected state He manifested Himself to the apostles,
He instructed them by way of final and special commission: "Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."[18] The necessity and
purpose of the ordinance appear in His further words on the same solemn
occasion: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he
that believeth not shall be damned."[19]
The Apostles, inspired by that Divine commission, ceased not to teach
the necessity of baptism, even as long as their ministry endured among
mortals.[20]
The elders of the Church in the present dispensation have been directed
and empowered by the same authority, and almost in the same words:
"Go ye into all the world, preach the Gospel to every creature,
acting in the authority which I have given you, baptizing in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; and {74} he
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth
not shall be damned."[21] On another occasion the Lord added, in a
revelation through the modern prophet, Joseph Smith: "Therefore, as
I said unto mine apostles I say unto you again, that every soul who
believeth on your words, and is baptized by water for the remission of
sins, shall receive the Holy Ghost." And further, "Verily, verily, I
say unto you they who believe not on your words, and are not baptized
in water, in my name, for the remission of their sins, that they may
receive the Holy Ghost, shall be damned, and shall not come into my
Father's kingdom, where my Father and I am."[22]
_The Gift of the Holy Ghost_ follows baptism by water, and its
authoritative bestowal constitutes the next essential ordinance of the
Gospel.[23] In both ancient and modern times this endowment has been
regarded as a higher baptism, lacking which the baptism of water is
incomplete. John, distinctively known as the Baptist, so taught on the
very eve of our Savior's personal ministry. Consider well his words: "I
indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after
me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall
baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire."[24] John testifies
further that the One who should thus inaugurate the higher baptism
was Jesus, Himself. Not until after he had administered the ordinance
of water baptism to Jesus, did John recognize Him as the Christ;
but immediately {75} after that recognition, the Baptist fearlessly
proclaimed his testimony:
"Behold the Lamb of God * * * This is he of whom I said, After me
cometh a man which is preferred before me * * * And I knew him not:
but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me,
Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on
him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost."[25]
Jesus repeatedly promised the apostles that the "Comforter" or the
"Spirit of Truth"[26] should be given unto them; and this assurance
was made specific and final immediately prior to the ascension. He
"commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait
for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the
Holy Ghost not many days hence. * * * Ye shall receive power, after
that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto
me."[27] The promise was fulfilled at the succeeding Pentecost when
the apostles received power never before known to them, the endowment
being marked by an outward manifestation of fiery tongues.[28] The
apostles thereafter promised the Holy Ghost to those who sought
salvation. Peter's exhortation to the multitude, on that same memorable
day of Pentecost, is particularly explicit and forceful. In answer to
the inquiry, "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" the chief of the
apostles replied: {76} "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost."[29]
A similar assurance as to the higher endowment of the Holy Ghost
following the ordinance of water-baptism was made by Nephite
prophets,[30] and by the resurrected Christ in His visit to the people
of the western continent.[31] And later still this has been repeated
through the Church in the current dispensation, that of the fulness of
times: "I say unto you again," said the Lord in a revelation to certain
elders of the Church, "that every soul who believeth on your words, and
is baptized by water for the remission of sins, shall receive the Holy
Ghost."[32]
By way of summary let it be repeated: The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints holds as a fundamental doctrine, attested and
proved by scripture both ancient and modern, that compliance with _the
laws and ordinances of the Gospel_ is an absolute and irrevocable
requirement for admission into the Kingdom of God, or in other words,
for the securing of individual salvation to the souls of men, and that
this requirement is universal, applying alike to every soul that has
attained to age and powers of accountability in the flesh, in whatever
period or dispensation that soul has lived in mortality. It follows as
a necessary consequence that if any soul has failed, either through
ignorance or neglect, to render obedience to these requirements, the
obligation is not removed by death.
VICARIOUS SERVICE OF THE LIVING FOR THE DEAD
{77} A question now arises as to how it is possible for the dead to
comply with the terms of the Gospel and do in the spirit what they had
failed to do in the flesh. The exercise of faith and the manifestation
of repentance by disembodied spirits may offer no great difficulty to
human understanding; but that the dead shall obey the ordinances of
the Gospel requiring water-baptism and the baptism of the Spirit by
the authorized laying-on of hands, appears to many as truly impossible
as seemed the new birth to Nicodemus. He listened in amazement to the
Savior's words: "Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom
of God;" and asked: "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he
enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?" At last he
learned that the new birth referred to was baptism by water and the
baptism of the Spirit. With equal pertinency it may now be asked: How
can a man be baptized when he is dead? Can he enter the second time
into his body of flesh and be immersed in water by human agency? The
answer is that the necessary ordinances may be performed for the dead
by their living representatives, the mortal subject acting as proxy for
the departed one. Thus, even as a man may be baptized in his own person
for himself, he may be baptized as proxy for and in behalf of the dead.
The validity of vicarious service, in which one person acts in
behalf of another, is generally recognized as an element of human
institutions; and that such service may be acceptable unto God is
attested by the written word. Ancient and modern scripture, the
record of {78} history other than sacred, the traditions of tribes
and nations, the rites of bloody sacrifice, and even the sacrificial
abominations of pagan idolatry, involve the essential conception
of vicarious propitiation and of service rendered by proxy. The
scape-goat[33] and the altar victim[34] in the Mosaic dispensation,
when offered by constituted authority and with due accompaniment of
acknowledgment and repentance, were accepted by the Lord as sacrifices
in mitigation of the sins of His people.
The most significant sacrifice of all, the greatest work ever wrought
amongst mankind, the pivotal event in human history, the supreme
achievement which was at once the most glorious consummation and the
most blessed beginning, is the Atonement of Christ; and this was
pre-eminently a vicarious offering. No one who believes that Jesus died
for man can doubt the validity and efficacy of vicarious ministration.
He gave His life as a fore-ordained sacrifice, voluntarily offered and
duly accepted as a propitiation for broken law, and the means by which
salvation was made possible unto man. That His death was literally an
accepted offering in behalf of human kind is thus set forth in the
words of the resurrected Christ, given through modern revelation:
"For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that
they might not suffer if they would repent, but if they would not
repent, they must suffer even as I, which suffering caused myself,
even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to
bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit: and would
that I might not drink the bitter cup and shrink--nevertheless,
glory be to the Father, {79} and I partook and finished my
preparations unto the children of men."[35]
The vicarious effect of the atonement of Christ is twofold; it has
wrought a universal redemption of all men from the mortal death
incident to the transgression of Adam; and it has provided a means of
propitiation for individual sin whereby the sinner may attain salvation
through obedience. It is by His mortal life and sacrificial death
in behalf of others,--and those others, all who have lived or shall
live,--that Jesus the Christ earned His title, Savior and Redeemer of
mankind. And as He by effort, sacrifice, and suffering, did for men
what they never could accomplish for themselves, and so became in very
truth the one and only Savior and Redeemer of the race, so may each of
us by opening the way to our departed dead whereby they may be brought
within the saving law of the Gospel, become in a small measure saviors
unto those who would otherwise be left in darkness.[36]
In every instance of vicarious ministration, it is an indispensable
requisite that the proxy be worthy and acceptable; and of necessity he
must himself have obeyed the laws and ordinances of the Gospel before
he can officiate in behalf of others. Further, the ministrations of the
living representative must be in accordance with Divine appointment,
and in no wise a merely human assumption. The acceptable sacrifices of
ancient Israel were such as had been definitely specified and minutely
prescribed; and the sacrificial rites could be solemnized only by
authorized priests. The supreme sacrifice involved {80} in the atoning
death of Christ was as truly appointed and fore-ordained. Prophets,
through the long centuries antedating the Christian era, predicted the
birth, life, and death of our Lord as already provided for;[37] and
these prophecies were confirmed by Jesus Himself.[38] Consider also
the testimony of the apostles to the same effect. Peter specifically
designates Christ as "a Lamb without blemish and without spot: who
verily was fore-ordained before the foundation of the world."[39] The
designation "Lamb" is indicative of a sacrificial victim. Paul in
writing to the Romans characterizes our Lord as the one "Whom God hath
set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare
his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past."[40]
The Latter-day Saints affirm that their vicarious work in behalf of
the dead is required of them by the call of the Lord through direct
revelation; and that it becomes the duty and privilege of every
individual who accepts the Gospel and enters the Church to labor
for the salvation of his dead. He is expected and required by the
obligations and responsibility he has assumed as a member of the Church
of Jesus Christ, so to live as to be a worthy representative of his
departed ancestors, in holy ordinance, and to be of clean life, that he
may not forfeit his right to enter the sacred confines of the Lord's
House, where alone he may officiate in that privileged capacity.
Let it not be assumed that this doctrine of vicarious {81} labor for
the dead implies even remotely, that the administration of ordinances
in behalf of departed spirits operates in any manner to interfere with
the right of choice and the exercise of free agency on their part.
They are at liberty to accept or reject the ministrations in their
behalf; and so they will accept or reject, in accordance with their
converted or unregenerate state, even as is the case with mortals to
whom the Gospel message may come. Though baptism be duly administered
to a living man in behalf of a dead ancestor, that spirit will derive
no immediate advancement nor any benefit therefrom if he has not yet
attained faith in the Lord Jesus Christ or if he be still unrepentant.
Even as Christ offered salvation to all, though few there be who accept
in the flesh, so temple ordinances may be administered for many in the
realm of the departed who are not yet prepared to profit thereby.
It is evident, therefore, that labor in behalf of the dead is two-fold;
that performed on earth would remain incomplete and futile but for
its supplement and counterpart beyond the veil. Missionary work
is in progress there--work, compared with which the evangelistic
labor of earth is but a small undertaking. There are preachers and
teachers, ministers invested with the Holy Priesthood, all engaged
in declaring the glad tidings of the Gospel to spirits who have not
yet found the light. As has been shown, this great labor amongst the
dead was inaugurated by Jesus the Christ, during the brief period of
His disembodiment.[41] The saving ministry so begun was left to be
continued by others duly authorized and commissioned; even as the work
of preaching the Gospel {82} and administering therein amongst the
living was committed to the apostles in the Church of old.
AUTHORITY TO LABOR IN BEHALF OF THE DEAD
In the closing chapter of the compilation of scriptures known to us
as the Old Testament, the prophet Malachi thus describes a condition
incident to the last days, immediately preceding the second coming of
Christ:
"For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all
the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the
day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that
it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
"But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness
arise with healing in his wings."
The fateful prophecy concludes with the following blessed and
far-reaching promise:
"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."[42]
It has been held by theologians and Bible commentators that this
prediction had reference to the birth and ministry of John the
Baptist,[43] upon whom rested the spirit and power of Elias.[44]
However, we have no record of Elijah having ministered unto the
Baptist, and furthermore, {83} the latter's ministry, glorious though
it was, justifies no conclusion that in him did the prophecy find its
full realization. In addition, it should be remembered, that the Lord's
declaration through Malachi, relative to the day of burning in which
the wicked would be destroyed as stubble, yet awaits fulfilment. It is
evident, therefore, that the commonly accepted interpretation is at
fault, and that we must look to a later date than the time of John for
the fulfilment of Malachi's prediction. The later occasion has come;
it belongs to the present dispensation, and marks the inauguration of
a work specially reserved for the Church in these latter days. In the
course of a glorious manifestation to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery,
in the Temple at Kirtland, Ohio, April 3rd, 1836, there appeared unto
them Elijah, the prophet of old, who had been taken from earth while
still in the body. 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."[45]
One of the fundamental principles underlying the doctrine of salvation
for the dead, is that of the mutual dependance of the fathers and
the children. Family lineage and the sequence of generations in each
particular line of descent are facts, and cannot be changed {84} by
death; on the other hand it is evident from the olden scriptures
already cited, and attested by the equally sure word of modern
revelation, that the family relationships of earth are recognized
in the spirit world. Neither the children nor the fathers, neither
progenitors nor descendants, can alone attain perfection; and the
requisite co-operation is effected through baptism and related
ordinances, administered to the living in behalf of the dead.
In this way and through this work are the hearts of the fathers and
those of the children turned toward each other. As the living children
learn that without their ancestors they cannot attain a perfect status
in the eternal world, their own faith will be strengthened and they
will be willing to labor for the redemption and salvation of their
dead. And the dead, learning through the preaching of the Gospel
in their world, that they are dependent upon their descendants as
vicarious saviors, will turn with loving faith and prayerful effort
toward their children yet living.
This uniting of the interests of fathers and children is a part of the
necessary preparation for the yet future advent of the Christ as ruling
King and Lord of earth. Joseph Smith thus taught:
"The earth will be smitten with a curse, unless there is a welding
link of some kind or other, between the fathers and the children,
upon some subject or other, and behold what is that subject? It
is the baptism for the dead. For we without them cannot be made
perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect."[46]
{85} The Church today cites as authority for its administration
of ordinances in behalf of the dead, the special bestowal of this
power and office through the ministry of Elijah; and furthermore,
the Church holds that the giving of that power marked the fulfilment
of Malachi's portentous prediction. There appears an element of
particular fitness in the fact that the minister through whom this
great work has been inaugurated in the present dispensation, is none
other than Elijah,--who, not having passed the portals of death, held
a peculiar and special relation to both the dead and the living. As
to the fidelity with which the Church has served under this special
commission, the temples it has reared with such sacrifice and
self-denial on the part of its devoted adherents, and the ordinance
work already performed therein, are sufficient proof.
The importance with which the Latter-day Saints regard their temple
work in behalf of the dead naturally produces among this people a vital
interest in the genealogical records of their respective families.
Ordinance work in the temples, in behalf of any departed person, can be
done only as that person may be described on the record, as to name,
relationship, time and place of birth and death, etc., by which data
he may be fully and certainly isolated and identified.[47] It is a
matter of common knowledge that interest in genealogical research has
greatly increased in the United States and in Europe during the last
seven or eight decades. Genealogical societies have been formed, and
individual investigators have devoted great treasures of time and money
to the compilation of records showing {86} numerous lines of family
descent and the many ramifications of complicated relationship. In all
this work the Latter-day Saints profess to see the operation of an
over-ruling power, by which their service for the dead is facilitated.
TEMPLES REQUIRED FOR VICARIOUS SERVICE
While the ordinances of baptism, imposition of hands for the bestowal
of the Holy Ghost, and others, such as ordination to the Priesthood,
may be performed upon the living in any suitable and proper place, the
corresponding ordinances for and in behalf of the dead are acceptable
unto the Lord, and therefore valid, only when administered in places
specially provided, set apart, and dedicated for these and kindred
purposes; that is to say, such ordinances belong exclusively to the
House of the Lord. For a very brief period only, and that the earliest
in modern Church history, before the people had opportunity to erect
temples, did the Lord graciously accept a temporary sanctuary, even
as He accepted the Tabernacle of old as a temporary temple during the
period of Israel's wanderings.
In a revelation given to Joseph Smith, the prophet, at Nauvoo,
Illinois, January 19th, 1841, the Lord called upon His people to build
a house to His name "for the Most High to dwell therein," and added by
way of explanation and instruction:
"For there is not a place found on earth that he may come and
restore again that which was lost unto you, or which he hath taken
away, even the fulness of the Priesthood;
{87} "For a baptismal font there is not upon the earth, that they,
my saints, may be baptized for those who are dead;
"For this ordinance belongeth to my house, and cannot be acceptable
to me, only in the days of your poverty, wherein ye are not able to
build a house unto me.
"But I command you, all ye my saints, to build a house unto me; and
I grant unto you a sufficient time to build a house unto me, and
during this time your baptisms shall be acceptable unto me.
"But behold, at the end of this appointment, your baptisms for
your dead shall not be acceptable unto me; and if you do not these
things at the end of the appointment, ye shall be rejected as a
church, with your dead, saith the Lord your God.
"For verily I say unto you, that after you have had sufficient time
to build a house to me, wherein the ordinance of baptizing for the
dead belongeth, and for which the same was instituted from before
the foundation of the world, your baptisms for your dead cannot be
acceptable unto me,
"For therein are the keys of the holy Priesthood, ordained that you
may receive honor and glory.
"And after this time, your baptisms for the dead, by those who are
scattered abroad, are not acceptable unto me, saith the Lord;
"For it is ordained that in Zion, and in her Stakes, and in
Jerusalem, those places which I have appointed for refuge, shall be
the places for your baptisms for your dead.
"And again, verily I say unto you, How shall your washings be
acceptable unto me, except ye perform them in a house which you
have built to my name?
"For, for this cause I commanded Moses that he should build a
tabernacle, that they should bear it with them in the wilderness,
and to build a house in the land of promise, that those ordinances
might be revealed which had been hid from before the world was;
"Therefore, verily I say unto you, that your anointings, and
your washings, and your baptisms for the dead, and your solemn
assemblies, and your memorials for your sacrifices, {88} by the
sons of Levi, and for your oracles in your most holy places,
wherein you receive conversations, and your statutes and judgments,
for the beginning of the revelations and foundation of Zion, and
for the glory, honor, and endowment of all her municipals, are
ordained by the ordinance of my holy house which my people are
always commanded to build unto my holy name.
"And verily I say unto you, Let this house be built unto my name,
that I may reveal mine ordinances therein, unto my people;
"For I deign to reveal unto my church, things which have been kept
hid from before the foundation of the world, things that pertain to
the dispensation of the fulness of times."[48]
* * * *
This then is sufficient answer to the question as to why the Latter-day
Saints build and maintain temples. They have been instructed and
required so to do by the Lord of Hosts. They have learned that many
essential ordinances of the Church are acceptable only when performed
in temples specially erected and reserved for the purpose. They know
that within these precincts of sanctity the Lord has revealed many
great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God; and that
He has promised to reveal yet more to man in houses sacred to His name.
They have learned that a great part of the mission and ministry of the
restored Church is the administration of vicarious ordinances in behalf
of the unnumbered dead who never heard the tidings of the Gospel, and
that for such sacred and saving service
_Temples are a necessity_.
FOOTNOTES
1. See the author's "The Articles of Faith," Lecture IV; and references
therein given.
2. See the author's "The Articles of Faith," Lectures V--VIII with
references therein given.
3. I Cor. 1:23; 2:2.
4. See Mark 1:24; 3:11; 5:1-18; and Matt. 8:28-34.
5. Acts 11:18; Rom. 2:4; see also the author's "The Articles of Faith,"
Lecture V:19-30 and references therein given.
6. Doctrine and Covenants 1:31-33.
7. I Peter 3:19-20; compare 4:6.
8. See Luke 23:39-43.
9. Consider our Lord's declaration to Nicodemus, John 3:1-5.
10. John 20:17.
11. Isaiah 24:22.
12. Isaiah 42:6, 7.
13. Psalms 16:9-10.
14. Book of Mormon, Alma 34:32-35.
15. "The Articles of Faith," Lecture VI:1. For a general treatment of
Baptism see Lectures VI and VII.
16. Matt. 3:13-17.
17. See John 3:1-7.
18. Matt. 28:19.
19. Mark 16:16.
20. See Acts 2:38; 9:1-18; 10:30-48; 22:1-16; I Peter 3:21.
21. Doctrine and Covenants 68:8, 9.
22. Doctrine and Covenants, 84:64, 74; see also 112:28, 29.
23. See "The Articles of Faith," Lecture VIII.
24. Matt. 3:11; compare Mark 1:7, 8; Luke 3:16.
25. John 1:29-33.
26. John 14:16, 17, 26; 15:26; 16:7, 13.
27. Acts 1:4, 5, 8.
28. Acts 2:1-4.
29. Acts 2:37, 38.
30. For an instance, see Book of Mormon, II Nephi 31:8, 12-14, 17.
31. III Nephi 11:35; 12:2.
32. Doctrine and Covenants 84:64.
33. Lev. 16:20-22.
34. Lev. chap. 4.
35. Doctrine and Covenants 19:16-19.
36. See Obadiah 21; I Timothy 4:16; James 5:20.
37. Deut. 18:15, 17-19; Job 19:25-27; Psalms 2:1-12; Zech. 9:9; 12:10;
13:6; Isa. 7:14; 9:6, 7; Micah 5:2.
38. See Luke 24:27, 45, 46.
39. I Peter 1:19, 20.
40. Rom. 3:25. See further Rom. 16:25, 26; Eph. 3:9-11; Col. 1:24-26;
II Tim, 1:8-10; Titus 1:2, 3; Rev. 13:8.
41. See pages 68-70.
42. See Malachi 4:1, 2, 5, 6.
43. Compare Matt. 11:14; 17:11; Mark 9:11; Luke 1:17.
44. Luke 1:17.
45. Doctrine and Covenants 110:13-16.
46. Doctrine and Covenants 128:18.
47. See Doctrine and Covenants 128:5-8.
48. Doctrine and Covenants 124:28-41. Read the entire section.