If you’ve ever gone to the temple before, you probably had the chance to be baptized on behalf of someone who has died.
This is one of the most wonderful truths of the restored gospel—that everyone has a chance to join the kingdom of God, whether in this life or the next!
The Lord gave the early Saints instructions for doing temple baptisms the way He reveals many things: little by little, one piece at a time. Here’s a timeline.
- January 1836. Joseph Smith is told in a vision that those who die without knowing the gospel in this life, like his brother, Alvin, still have a chance to go to the Celestial Kingdom. But it’s not clear how that relates to baptism.1
- August 1840. At a funeral, Joseph teaches that living Saints can be baptized for their dead ancestors! Many immediately begin proxy baptisms in rivers and streams.
- January 1841. The Lord tells Joseph that proxy baptisms should be done in the temple, and instructs him to add a baptismal font to the new temple the Saints were building.2
- August 1842. During a Relief Society meeting, Joseph announces that “all persons baptized for the dead must have a recorder present.” Joseph sends a letter the next month explaining the role of witnesses and recorders.3
- 1845. After Joseph died, Brigham Young explained that only women should be proxies for women and men for men.
Just as Brigham Young received more information about sacred ordinances, so does our current prophet today! For example, the First Presidency announced in 2019 that all worthy members could be a witness of a baptism, male and female.
These ongoing changes to Church policies stand as evidence that the Lord continues to restore the gospel and guide its administration step by step. Isn’t that wonderful?
As Joseph once put it, how glorious is the voice we hear from heaven!4
Gathering Israel
Notes
- See Doctrine and Covenants 137:5–9.
- See Doctrine and Covenants 124:29–36.
- Part of this letter is shown in the image above. Dated 7 September 1842.
- See Doctrine and Covenants 128:23.