Baptisms for the Dead

When I was ten, I had a conversation with a girl named Claire.  She said that premarital sex was a good idea.  I testified that you shouldn't have sex before marriage.  She responded, "That's gross!"  I never forgot that conversation because it was so strange to me that she thought abstinence was gross, while I thought premarital sex was gross.

Claire lived in my neighborhood, and we rode the bus to school together.  But I really don't remember talking to her again after that.  We had different friends, we had different classes, and there really was never another opportunity to talk with her.

I found out that Claire was killed about a year ago in a house fire.  Her young son was killed with her.  I am heartbroken for a woman I barely knew, for her child, and for her friends and family.  They must be suffering from their tragic loss.

I believe in a loving Heavenly Father.  I believe He would create a world and a plan that would allow for the salvation of all of His children, if they would just choose to follow His plan.

I believe that we lived with Heavenly Father as spirits before we were born.  We needed to progress from that state; Heavenly Father's plan was to send us to Earth, give us bodies, give us the ability to choose, and allow us to be tested.  We would be taught the commandments, but we wouldn't remember our premortal life; so we would have to live by faith.  Heavenly Father knew that our ability to choose would mean that we would often make poor choices.  And if "no unclean thing" can dwell with God (1 Nephi 10:21), we would never be able to progress and return to His presence.  So we would be given a Savior, who would suffer the ultimate penalty for our sins; so that we wouldn't have to suffer, so that we could be made clean again, and so that we could return to live with Heavenly Father.  One came forward, offering to be the Savior; he would force men to make good choices, and he would keep the glory for himself.  It was Lucifer, the son of the morning, or Satan.  Another came forward, offering to be the Savior; He would follow Heavenly Father's plan of agency (or free choice), and give the glory to the Father.  It was Jesus Christ.  The Father chose Jesus Christ, and Satan was angry.  He had many followers, and all who continued to rebel against the Father's plan were cast out.  They would not be given an earthly experience, they would never receive bodies, and they could never progress from their current state.  They were angry, and Satan and his followers would become devils: tempting all mankind in diverse ways to cause them to stray from the straight and narrow path back to heaven.

Heavenly Father's plan is simple.  We would be given commandments.  And we would be given priesthood ordinances necessary to turn our hearts toward Christ.  First, we would need to have faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ.  Second, we would need to repent of our sins.  Third, we would need to be baptized for the remission of sins.  Fourth, we would need to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (as a constant companion, as long as we remain worthy).  Finally, we would need to receive the ordinances of the temple: washing and anointing (a physical and spiritual cleansing), endowment (a gift of added power to overcome worldly things), and eternal marriage (not 'til death do you part, but a union that will continue after this life).

Following this life, we will be judged.  Heavenly Father will determine whether we kept the commandments or not and whether we repented or not.  Those who kept all the commandments (or at least repented when they did not) and who received all the ordinances required, will be offered a place in the Celestial Kingdom (the place where God dwells).  Those who lived good lives but did not choose to do everything required of them, will be offered a place in the Terrestrial Kingdom.  Those who lived evil lives and refused to repent will be offered a place in the Telestial Kingdom.  (These are described in 1 Corinthians 15:40-41 as sun, moon, and stars.)

I believe in a loving Heavenly Father.  I believe He did create a plan in which most of His children could be saved, and even exalted.  How can this be, if so many of His children wouldn't know His commandments, let alone receive all the necessary ordinances?  He provided a way!

After we die, our spirits are sent to the Spirit World.  There, all of Heavenly Father's children who didn't have the opportunity in life will be taught the gospel (what a fair and loving Heavenly Father!).  But those spirits will not have physical bodies, so they will not be able to receive the physical ordinances required to be exalted.  They are stuck.  But Heavenly Father provided the doctrine of ordinances for the dead, by proxy.  In the temple, worthy living people can do the work for and in behalf of those who are dead.  The Apostle Paul asked the Corinthians, "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?"  But Christ is risen!  And the dead will rise!  So we need to be baptized, etc., for the dead!  Then, the dead will be allowed to accept or reject the ordinances done on their behalf.  Heavenly Father still allows them to choose.

Recently, I heard two separate stories of women (here and here) who were missing.  After many days of searching, both were found alive.  Each had been in an automobile accident, veered off into a ditch or ravine, and had become pinned in their cars.  Their loved ones had been frantically searching for them and just couldn't see them from their vantage points.  These women were stuck and in desperate need of rescue.

This is how I view the Spirit World.  There are many souls who are stuck.  They cannot progress.  They are dammed, or damned.  They cannot move forward without help.  They are in desperate need of rescue.  They are waiting for us, the living, to do their work.  How many millions, maybe billions, of our ancestors have been waiting for a long, long time for their ordinances to be done?  This is why genealogy is so important: "And [Elijah] will turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers" (Malachi 4:6).

Heavenly Father is real!  He provided a perfect plan!  He loves all of His children!  He has provided a way for all those children to return to Him.  It is not a "Get out of Jail Free" card that He offers.  We must obey the commandments, we must receive the ordinances, and we must repent.  Through the mercy of Jesus Christ, we can all be "saved" and exalted and receive all that the Father hath.  Both the living and the dead.

And Claire?  I like to think that she is being taught the gospel in the Spirit World.  I wonder if, when she watches the proverbial video of her life, she will remember me.  I wonder if she will remember our conversation.  I wonder if she will appreciate a ten-year-old testifying about the law of chastity, or if she will be sad that I didn't try to teach her more.  More than anything, I hope that she will accept the gospel.  I hope that her living family can accept the gospel and perform the ordinances for her.  She is waiting, and she may be waiting a long time, before she can fully enjoy the blessings of heaven.

Why are Mormons missionaries?  Because we want all of our brothers and sisters to enjoy the hope and happiness we look forward to.

I know that if you study the scriptures and pay attention to the good feelings which come from the Holy Ghost, you can know the truth of all things.  "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him" (James 1:5).

One of the most valuable scriptures to me is the Book of Mormon.  It is a wonderful book written by prophets in the ancient Americas.  It clarifies so many important points of doctrine.  I feel the spirit of the Lord when I read it.  Would you like a free copy?  I can get you one.  And if you want to get started before your hard copy arrives, you can find it here.