No. 11.  
BY CHARLES W. PENROSE
 
"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?" (1 Cor. xv: 29.) This was an argument used by the Apostle Paul with the Corinthians, who doubted the doctrine of the resurrection of the body. It is evident that they were familiar with baptism for the dead. For, the Apostle was reasoning with them from what they knew. The influence of Greek philosophy affected the minds of the Saints at Corinth, and the Apostle found it necessary to write to them his splendid treatise, to convince them that as Christ was actually raised from the dead, so all mankind should be brought forth from their graves, as the Savior himself declared. And appealing to their good sense he asked the question why they were baptized for the dead, if, as some among them maintained, there was to be no resurrection of the dead.
 
This doctrine, that the living could be baptized in behalf of the dead, has not been understood in the so-called Christian world for many hundreds of years. It was known to the early fathers, but became obsolete when the authority held by the Apostles and their associates was taken from the earth and spiritual darkness settled upon the world. Yet, if that was part of the doctrine of Christ in the Apostolic age, it is part of it now. But who among all the sects of the age teaches it? Who has authority to administer it? Who knows anything of the manner in which the ordinance should be solemnized? It is because of the profound ignorance of modern teachers of religion on this important subject that they endeavor, whenever the text given above is quoted, either to cover it with a cloud of meaningless explanation, or to treat it as unworthy of attention, or to set it aside as something "done away."
 
In the revelation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ anew in the present age baptism for the dead was made known to the Prophet Joseph Smith as a necessary part of the doctrine of {253} Christ. Its purpose, the form of the ordinance, who should administer it, who should receive it, how it would affect both the living and the dead, and everything to render it acceptable to God and efficacious to the departed, was made known to the Prophet of the nineteenth century.
 
It has already been demonstrated that the Gospel preached by our Savior and His Apostles to the living was also preached to the dead, that is, to the spirits of those who had once dwelt in the body on earth. Also that such persons are capable of receiving the truth, of faith, of repentance, of obedience and reform. It has been further shown that baptism for the remission of sins and the reception of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands, both ordinances to be administered by actual divine authority, are essential to salvation. But it will be evident to the thoughtful reader that while the internal or spiritual requirements of the Gospel can be complied with by disembodied persons, the outward and material ceremonies are of the body, and can only be performed on the earth. Water is an earthly element or composition of material elements, and pertains to this mundane sphere. It is for this reason that the living must be baptized for the dead. If those who die unbaptized are to obtain salvation the necessary ordinances will have to be attended to by proxy.
 
If any professing Christian objects to the idea of salvation by proxy, the all-important fact that the entire plan of salvation hinges on that principle should be sufficient to sweep away the objection entirely and forever. "The wages of sin is death." "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." Jesus of Nazareth died instead of sinners. The just was offered for the unjust. The innocent Christ was a substitute for the guilty men. The whole doctrine of the atonement rests upon the principle of salvation by proxy. Jesus is called the Captain of our salvation. He is the head of the host of the army of saviors. It was predicted by Obadiah the Prophet that, "Saviors shall come upon Mount Zion" in the latter days, and "the kingdom shall be the Lord's" (verse 21). And the inspired writer of the epistle to the Hebrews, speaking of those worthies who through faith performed great wonders and prevailed and obtained a witness from God in olden times, declared: "These all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise, God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect." (Heb. XI; 39, 40.) Thus the work of human redemption is to be carried on until all the people {254} of the earth shall be judged according to the Gospel, every soul having had an opportunity of receiving or rejecting it, either in the body or in the spirit state, and of obeying the ordinances thereof, either in person or vicariously, the living acting for the dead.
 
At the first glance this doctrine may strike the modern Christian mind as new and dangerous, but the more it is investigated in all its bearings, the clearer its truth is made apparent, and the more glorious it becomes. The thought that those who receive and obey the Gospel of Christ in its fulness while in the flesh, can aid in the work of redemption for their ancestors who are in the spirit world, is most delightful to the reverent soul. It shows the value of those genealogies which Israel, the covenant people of God, were moved upon in olden times to preserve. It simulates the faithful in Christ to good works that they may become "Saviors on Mount Zion." It explains how the nations composed of millions upon millions of souls that never heard the Gospel or the name of Christ Jesus, may ultimately be redeemed and made heirs of salvation. It points out the way by which Christ shall eventually obtain the victory over Satan and prove himself "a ransom for all," presenting His perfect work to the Father, not one soul having been lost but the sons of perdition, who sinned unto death and could not be forgiven in this world or in the world to come.
 
The ordinances for the dead, as revealed from heaven to the Prophet Joseph Smith, must be attended to in the way provided by the Lord or they will not be accepted of Him. They must be administered in sacred places built according to a heavenly pattern, and administered by those who have authority to loose on earth and it shall be loosed in heaven, to seal on earth and it shall be sealed in heaven. Persons who have themselves complied with the requirements of the Gospel, may be baptized and administered to in other necessary ordinances for and in behalf of their departed kindred and ancestors, as far back as their line of progenitors can be ascertained. This work must be attended to in Zion. This necessitates the gathering of the Saints, &qu............