Cruelty of Baptism for the Dead

Cruelty of Baptism for the Dead

How do you make sure the Mormon church doesn't baptize you posthumously? I think that is a very cruel and horrible practice.
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Ray Farmer
Jealous of and Zealous for the Book of MormonJust now

The practice is an odd one, indeed. If you read the other responses, you can get a small glimpse on how the practice developed. Certainly the scriptural references are weak. The most common reference is where Paul referencing a practice done by apostates who didn't even believe in the resurrection. "They", not "we" were performing something for the dead people. The practice would be useless if there were no resurrection,was Paul's argument. Again, look for the "they" in the following:

1 Corinthians 15

12. Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
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?

Again, they take a verse out of Malachi and build their work for the dead upon it.

Malachi 4

5. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
6. 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

3 Nephi 25, translated by the Gift and Power of God from the mouth of Jesus:

5. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord;
6. 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.

This verse found in the Bible and in the Book of Mormon, gets changed in the Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price as Follows. The first one would have us believe that Moroni, who was about to deliver the Book of Mormon plates to Joseph, misquotes the verse he was about to deliver!

Joseph Smith--History 1

38. And again, he [Moroni] quoted the fifth verse thus: 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.
39. He also quoted the next verse differently: 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.

Oddly, the verse is changed also in the Doctrine and Covenants. It should be noted this verse did not appear in the 1833 Book of Commandments.

In Doctrine and Covenants 2, which was added to the Doctrine and Covenants as if it were a singular revelation, goes

1. 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.
2. 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 we were to discover what were the promises and who were "the fathers", we might find that the misquote has nothing to do with work for the dead for ancestors and, certainly, not genealogy at all.

Looking further in the Doctrine and Covenants, we read who the fathers were and something about the promises:

Doctrine and Covenants 27:10 And also with Joseph and Jacob, and Isaac, and Abraham, your fathers, by whom the promises remain;

And so the descendants would be turned to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to whom promises were made. Isaiah teaches this:

Isaiah 51:2 Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.

And we see what the promises were. Basically, the promises made to the fathers were all about the Gospel and faith in God being the way to claim the blessings of the promises. The Book of Romans covers these promises and covenants better than I can here. The gathering of Israel has something to do with the promises:

Ether 13:11 And then also cometh the Jerusalem of old; and the inhabitants thereof, blessed are they, for they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb; and they are they who were scattered and gathered in from the four quarters of the earth, and from the north countries, and are partakers of the fulfilling of the covenant which God made with their father, Abraham. Also,

Doctrine and Covenants 3:20 And that the Lamanites might come to the knowledge of their fathers, and that they might know the promises of the Lord, and that they may believe the gospel and rely upon the merits of Jesus Christ, and be glorified through faith in his name, and that through their repentance they might be saved. Amen.

Just like taking the baptism for the dead verse and running amuck with it, so do LDSaints take one verse and get temple work, baptism for the dead and genealogy. We see that it takes an active imagination to deal with the scriptures this way.

Cruel or Mockery

The baptism of "those without the law" is condemned by the Book of Mormon in an uncharacteristically harsh way. In a letter to his son, Mormon calls the practice "this gross error", "it is solemn mockery before God", "But it is mockery before God, denying the mercies of Christ, and the power of his Holy Spirit, and putting trust in dead works" and that the practice is "awful wickedness to deny the pure mercies of God unto them". He who thinks they need baptism are "in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; for he hath neither faith, hope, nor charity; wherefore, should he be cut off while in the thought, he must go down to hell", and that "they are in danger of death, hell, and an endless torment".

Mormon explains why baptizing “those without the law” is such a mockery.

Moroni 8

22. For behold that all little children are alive in Christ, and also ALL THEY THAT ARE WITHOUT THE LAW. For the power of redemption cometh on all them that have no law; wherefore, he that is not condemned, or he that is under no condemnation, cannot repent; and unto such baptism availeth nothing--
23. But it is mockery before God, denying the mercies of Christ, and the power of his Holy Spirit, and putting trust in dead works [work for the dead??].
24. Behold, my son, this thing ought not to be; for repentance is unto them that are under condemnation and under the curse of a broken law.
25. And the first fruits of repentance is baptism; and baptism cometh by faith unto the fulfilling the commandments; and the fulfilling the commandments bringeth remission of sins;
26. And the remission of sins bringeth meekness, and lowliness of heart; and because of meekness and lowliness of heart cometh the visitation of the Holy Ghost, which Comforter filleth with hope and perfect love, which love endureth by diligence unto prayer, until the end shall come, when all the saints shall dwell with God.

The point is "repentance is unto them that are under condemnation and under the curse of a broken law, And the first fruits of repentance is baptism".

If someone does not have the law, he can't sin against it. If he can't sin, he can't repent. According to LDS doctrine, repentance comes before baptism. But if there is nothing to repent of, there is no need for baptism. Even Joseph Smith said if somebody now dead would have accepted the Gospel (faith, repentance, baptism, Gift of the Holy Ghost) if they would have been given the chance while alive, they go to the highest LDS heaven. I quote Doctrine and Covenants 137 in full, being short.

1. THE heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory thereof, whether in the body or out I cannot tell.
2. I saw the transcendent beauty of the gate through which the heirs of that kingdom will enter, which was like unto circling flames of fire;
3. Also the blazing throne of God, whereon was seated the Father and the Son.
4. I saw the beautiful streets of that kingdom, which had the appearance of being paved with gold.
5. I saw Father Adam and Abraham; and my father and my mother; my brother Alvin, that has long since slept;
6. And marveled how it was that he had obtained an inheritance in that kingdom, seeing that he had departed this life before the Lord had set his hand to gather Israel the second time, and had not been baptized for the remission of sins.
7. Thus came the voice of the Lord unto me, saying: All who have died without a knowledge of this gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God;
8. Also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom;
9. For I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts.
10. And I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven.

How is the Practice Cruel?

It actually is cruel to members of the LDS Church and those living souls whom they should be serving. There is so much time and resources spent on doing genealogy, building expensive temples and genealogy databases and traveling distances to them to serve the dead who, according to the Book of Mormon, are beyond the day of their probation. Money and time that could be spent on activities laid out in Matthew 25 ie. feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and imprisoned, etc., helping the widows and orphans and administering to their relief which is, according to James, pure and undefiled religion before God and man. Members are redirected from these service opportunities and are robbed of special, learning experiences. Those who could have been taught and fed go unattended.

2 Nephi 28:13 They rob the poor because of their fine sanctuaries.

Lets not go into all the anxiety of LDSaints who can’t get to birth and death certificates and cemeteries and municipal record collection and genealogy software because they are busy feeding their families and serving the Church in many other capacities. They are being told that genealogy and Temple work is the most important thing they should be doing. This is cruel, unnecessary pressure and misery.

Yes. Work for the dead, beside being a mockery before God, spreads its cruel effects world wide for nothing.

Encouragement

I plead with you to read the Book of Mormon. It really is a unique Book. It will change your life.

-*-*- Unnecessary Bonus *-*-*-*

Just as a note, almost unrelated to the question at hand: the LDSaints believe that the "Gathering of Isreal" means gathering up the dead into the covenant through work for the dead. However, we see the gathering takes place on earth, from its four quarters, not among people who have been cut off from the face of the earth (Alma 9:11, Alma 42:6, Mormon 3:15).

Read a few of these until you become weary of the repetition. I find, nonetheless, when something is repeated, I should pay close attentions.

1 Nephi 19:16 Yea, then will he remember the isles of the sea; yea, and all the people who are of the house of Israel, will I gather in, saith the Lord, according to the words of the prophet Zenos, from the four quarters of the earth.

1 Nephi 22:25 And he gathereth his children from the four quarters of the earth; and he numbereth his sheep, and they know him; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd; and he shall feed his sheep, and in him they shall find pasture.

2 Nephi 10:8 And it shall come to pass that they shall be gathered in from their long dispersion, from the isles of the sea, and from the four parts of the earth;

2 Nephi 21:12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.

3 Nephi 5:24 And as surely as the Lord liveth, will he gather in from the four quarters of the earth all the remnant of the seed of Jacob, who are scattered abroad upon all the face of the earth.

3 Nephi 5:26 And then shall they know their Redeemer, who is Jesus Christ, the Son of God; and then shall they be gathered in from the four quarters of the earth unto their own lands, from whence they have been dispersed; yea, as the Lord liveth so shall it be. Amen.

3 Nephi 16:5 And then will I gather them in from the four quarters of the earth; and then will I fulfil the covenant which the Father hath made unto all the people of the house of Israel.

3 Nephi 20:13 And then shall the remnants, which shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth, be gathered in from the east and from the west, and from the south and from the north; and they shall be brought to the knowledge of the Lord their God, who hath redeemed them.