“The Prisoners Shall Go Free”
Lesson 30
– D&C 2; 124:25-55; 127; 128;
Joseph Smith—History 1:36-39
The Prophet Joseph Smith said of his oldest brother, Alvin: “He was…one of the noblest
of my father’s family. He was one of the noblest of the sons of men…In him
there was no guile…He was one of the soberest of men, and when he died the
angel of the Lord visited him in his last moments” (History
of the Church, 5:126-27). Alvin died
some five years before the restoration of the priesthood, but he had accepted
Joseph’s testimony of the First Vision.
Since his death, the gospel restoration has made available the saving
ordinances as part of the fullness of the gospel. Because we can function as
proxies for deceased family members, we can provide the temple ordinances for
all those who were unable to receive those saving ordinances in their mortal
lifetime.
The Lord revealed the doctrine of priesthood ordinances for
the dead
All people must have the opportunity to hear the gospel
message and receive the saving ordinances administered by the priesthood. If
that opportunity was not available in mortality, it will be extended in the
spirit world. Since these ordinances
require a mortal body, and spirits in the spirit world are separated from
theirs, we act as proxies serving “for and in behalf” of the dead who are
receiving these ordinances. The
deceased may then accept or reject the ordinance in accordance with the
principle of free agency.
President Gordon B. Hinckley commented on the teachings that
the Prophet Joseph Smith received from the Lord: “It is tremendously
significant to me that…this repetition of the wondrous words of Malachi
concerning the work for the dead, was given to the boy Joseph four years before
he was allowed to take the plates from the hill. It was given before he received either the Aaronic or Melchizedek
Priesthood, before he was baptized, and well before the Church was organized.
It says much concerning the priority of this work in the plan of the Lord” (Ensign, Mar. 1995,
61).
On 15 August 1840, the Prophet preached at Seymour Brunson’s funeral. As part of his sermon, he quoted extensively from 1 Corinthians 15, in which verse 29 refers to baptism for the dead. He followed this scripture with an announcement that members could be baptized for their family members or friends who had died without receiving the gospel. The Prophet further assured the Saints that the plan of salvation offered the opportunity to save anyone who was willing to obey God’s law and accept the gospel covenants. Later, the nearby Mississippi River became the site of the baptisms for the dead until a proper site could be prepared in a house of the Lord. (See the Journal History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 15 Aug. 1840)
The Lord commanded the Saints to build a temple in Nauvoo
In D&C 124:25-27, several months after baptisms for the
dead began to be performed in the river, the Lord commanded the Saints to build
a temple in Nauvoo. Reasons for
constructing a temple included:
·
D&C 124:28, 40-41 – additional priesthood ordinances
would be revealed
·
D&C 124:29-30, 33 – a font for baptizing the dead would
be provided
·
D&C 124:55 – An opportunity for the Saints to prove
their faithfulness (which would allow the Lord to bless them with honor, immortality,
and eternal life)
The Nauvoo temple was the second temple in this dispensation
and as such, was designed for ordinances that were not performed in the
Kirtland Temple such as baptisms and confirmations for the dead, the endowment,
and temple marriage.
After great sacrifices by the Saints to build the temple and
obey the Lord, the temple was built in Nauvoo.
See
“The Nauvoo Temple”, Our Heritage, pgs 58-60.
For a short time, baptisms for the dead continued to be
performed in the Mississippi, but in October 1841, the Prophet gave
instructions that the practice should cease “…until the ordinance can be attended to in
the Lord’s House” (History of the Church, 4:426). The baptisms quickly resumed after a
temporary but carefully crafted wooden baptismal font was dedicated in the
unfinished temple’s basement by Brigham Young on 8 November 1841. Today all ordinances for the dead must be
performed in temples. We should give serious
thought to the determination and priority demonstrated by the anxious efforts
of the early Saints to prepare a place where they might redeem their dead.
While some baptisms for the dead
were performed after the Savior’s resurrection, the great work of redeeming the
dead falls to latter-day Saints in this last dispensation. To participate in
baptisms for the dead, you must be 12 or older and hold a current temple
recommend. New converts can participate, but any male member must hold the
priesthood.
D&C 128:15 emphasizes the
mutual dependency for salvation that we share with our dead. D&C 128:17-18
give further enlightenment. President
Gordon B. Hinckley said: “That which goes on in the House of the Lord…comes nearer to the spirit
of sacrifice of the Lord than any other activity of which I know. Why? Because
it is done by those who give freely of time and substance, without any
expectation of thanks or reward, to do for others that which they cannot do for
themselves” (Ensign, Mar. 1995, 62-63).
Elder John A. Widtsoe said: “In our preexistent state,
in the day of the great council, we made certain agreement with the
Almighty. The Lord proposed a plan,
conceived by him. We accepted it. Since the plan is intended for all men, we
become parties to the salvation of every person under that plan. We agreed, right then and there, to be not
only saviors for ourselves, but…saviors for the whole human family. We went
into a partnership with the Lord. The
working out of the plan became then not merely the Father’s work, and the
Savior’s work, but also our work. The
least of us, the humblest, is in partnership with the Almighty in achieving the
purpose of the eternal plan of salvation” (Utah
Genealogical and Historical Magazine, Oct. 1934, 189).
Baptisms for the dead are a work
of the heart as illustrated by the story of some youth in Idaho. “After
researching more than 400 names, both male and female, the Young Women of the
Meridian [Idaho] 15th Ward invited the Young Men to go with them to
the Boise [Idaho] Temple to do baptisms. The temple arranged for the names to
be kept in a file for their ward. Heather Bennett, 15, said, ‘The best part was being
baptized for them. The names sounded
familiar to me. That was the neatest
thing about the whole project. We did work for people that otherwise wouldn’t
have been done. They might have been
forgotten.’” Cori Christensen,
another member of the group, said, “While we were sitting in the baptistery in the
temple, we had this totally good feeling. It was a feeling of victory. We’d given them a chance” (New Era, Feb.
1994, 32)
The Prophet Joseph Smith called
the work of redeeming the dead the “most glorious of all subjects belonging to the
everlasting gospel.” As
faithful Saints, we should seek to do all that we can to redeem our dead and
offer salvation and exaltation to all of our brothers and sisters.
In the summer of 1842, a group of men were seeking to
unjustly imprison the Prophet. Because of this persecution, Joseph left Nauvoo,
saying, “I
have thought it expedient and wisdom for me to leave the place for a season,
for my own safety and the safety of this people” (D&C
127:1). In spite of difficult circumstances, he wrote joyful words in letters
to the Saints. In D&C 128:1 we find
that the subject of baptism for the dead was very much on the Prophet’s mind
during this time.
D&C 127:5-9; 128:1-9 record the Lord’s command to the
Saints to keep careful records of baptisms for the dead. D&C 128:6-8, 24 - When the Savior
returns in the Second Coming, those very records will be presented to Him and
the dead will be judged from these books.