Seer Stone

Why do Latter-day Saints baptize for the dead?

Why baptize for the dead?

Latter-day Saints perform baptisms for the dead because Jesus Christ’s Atonement and saving ordinances are intended to be available to every person, including those who died without a fair opportunity to receive the gospel. Paul referred to the practice when he asked, ‘What shall they do which are baptized for the dead?’ (1 Corinthians 15:29).

A living person acts as a proxy, but the deceased person is not forced to become a Church member. In the spirit world, each person retains agency and may accept or reject the ordinance and choose whether to follow Christ. The ordinance therefore extends an opportunity; it does not determine the deceased person’s salvation (D&C 128:16).

This practice also reflects God’s justice and mercy: those who could not receive baptism in mortality are not denied the same opportunity offered to the living. Temple records are carefully kept because the Lord revealed that what is recorded on earth is recorded in heaven (D&C 128:16).

1 Corinthians 15:29

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?

D&C 128:16

And now, in relation to the baptism for the dead, I will give you another quotation of Paul, 1 Corinthians 15:29: 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?

Church History Topics - Baptism for the Dead

New technologies, greater organization, and an increasing emphasis on regular temple attendance led to greater participation in baptisms for the dead in the 20th century. In addition to performing baptisms for deceased relatives, Latter-day Saints began to perform this ordinance for others whose genealogical information they had extracted from available records. In some instances, these included celebrities and individuals involved in historical events such as the Holocaust. Latter-day Saints believe that baptisms for the dead do not make deceased persons members of the Church. They simply make the ordinance available to the spirits of those who have passed away and who choose to accept it. Nevertheless, in the 1990s, some outside observers expressed concern about the practice. As a gesture of respect and goodwill, Church leaders removed the names of these individuals from Church databases, issued guidelines intended to prevent the ongoing submission of their names for baptism, and encouraged Church members to focus on performing temple ordinances on behalf of their own ancestors.

FAIR - Question: Does the Bible condemn genealogical research?

Latter-day Saints engage in genealogy work so that they can continue the Biblical practice—also endorsed by Paul—of providing vicarious ordinances for the dead, such as baptism (See 1 Corinthians 15:29) so that the atonement of Christ may be available to all who would choose it, living or dead. See: Baptism for the dead

Gospel Topics - Baptisms for the Dead

The New Testament indicates that baptisms for the dead were done during the time of the Apostle Paul.4 This ordinance was restored with the establishment of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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