Vicarious Work for the Dead

Vicarious Work for the Dead By Theodore E. Curtis Many longtime hidden truths touching the salvation of mankind have been brought, once more, within range of the spiritual vision, by the light of modern revelation. Prominent among these is the principle of vicarious work for the dead. If the law3 which God has revealed for the salvation of his children are paramount, this question is of vital importance, because it touches a vast majority of the human family who have died without a knowledge of the gospel of Christ. Taking the Bible as a standard of appeal, a controversy about the initiatory steps to be taken in the direction of our Father's Kingdom would find an end in the New Testament. On the day of Pentecost, the apostles were preaching the gos- — pel of the Redeemer, when the multitude pricked in their hearts, asked this question: "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" Peter stood forth in the power and authority of the priesthood and replied, ''Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." Peter did not call attention to faith, on that occasion, for it was already manifest in the attitude of the people. Accordingly, faith, repentance, baptism, and the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost, are among the fundamental principles of the gospel of our Lord. Are they essential to salvation? Let us enquire. There is no difficulty about faith being an essential to the acceptance of things divine. Faith is the spiritual eye of the soul. An analysis of repentance will reveal the truth that the process of moral cleansing cannot be developed without the operation of this principle. The logic of these principles as means to the ends thev are supposed to reach may be worked out in the process of reason. But what of baptism? It is different. Reason will not tell us why immersion will cleanse the soul of its iniquity. Faith is higher than reason, and if we would advance to the ordinance of baptism, and higher themes, we must walk by faith, — faith that the Christ is the manifestation of God in the flesh, and that his utterances are based upon principles of eternal truth. It is fortunate, if not providential, that an account of the interview between our Lord and Nicodemus has been preserved. Its value

VICARIOUS WORK FOR THE DEAD 107 to the world is in the emphasis laid upon the doctrine of baptism as an essential to salvation. "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." That should settle it, once and for all. But now a tremendous question presents itself: What of our friends and kindred who have passed into the spirit world without this cleansing ordinance? The wonder grows as the vision deepens, what of the great majority of the human race who have died without the saving "principles and ordinances of the gospel? Peter informs us that during the interval between the death and the resurrection of our Lord, he entered the spirit world where he preached the gospel to the spirits in prison. God would not offer his children something they could not accept and magnify. A disembodied spirit may exercise the principles of faith and repentance. These are involved in the action of the mind. But we are face to face, once more, with a difficulty about baptism. The spirit and body united compose the soul of man. The spirit is but part of the soul. The law of baptism requires the immersion of the soul. The baptism of the spirit, if such a thing were possible, would not reach this end. So, finally, the work which must be done to complete salvation, but cannot be accomplished in the world of spirits, may be performed by proxy here in the temples of the Lord. That this is the solution to the problem may be confirmed by a reference to Paul: "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?" Enough has been said to establish the fact that the ordinances of the gospel are essential to salvation; and that they may be performed vicariously for those who died without a knowledge of the laws of God. Salvation for the dead is a question which should engage the attention of all Latter-day Saints because it involves the souls of men, than which there is nothing more precious in the sight of God. If we were dependent upon the information which we glean from the Bible, with reference to this matter, we could not proceed with the work. But when the sun of the new dispensation arose into the dawn, shedding its glorious light upon the world, the truth was again manifest, and men were empowered and commissioned to continue the work. All my readers are familiar with the beautiful story of the first vision, when, after a lapse of darkened centuries, the heavens were again opened, and the first power of the new dispensation was conferred upon the Prophet Joseph Smith. Upon that occasion Joseph was corrected in his attitude towards the creed of the nations, and was instructed to prepare for the great work which God was about to inaugurate. Then

108 IMPROVEMENT ERA the Prophet was left to reflect upon the things which he had seen and heard, and when a period of more than three years had elapsed, another glorious vision burst upon him. This time he was lying upon his bed. It was on the night of the 21st of September, 1823. While he was engaged in prayer, a gloriom light filled the room, in the midst of which stood a heavenly messenger who announced himself as Moroni. He was the custodian of the golden plates upon which was inscribed the sacred history of the Nephite nation. These plates were valuable beyond price, because they contained the gospel in its fulness and purity as revealed to that ancient people. By the power of God, Joseph beheld in vision the hill Cumorah and the very spot where, fourteen hundred years before, this glorious personage, while yet in the flesh, had hidden the plates. During this vision Moroni told Joseph many important things pertaining to the work of the latter days. He quoted a number of passages from both the Old and the New Testaments, and emphasized certain scriptures in Malachi, touching the matter of welding together, by the power of the priesthood, the links in the great ancestral chains: "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, 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." This prophecy was gloriously fulfilled in the Kirtland Temple, April 3, 1836, when our Savior, with Moses, Elias and Elijah, appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. In speaking of the visitation of Elijah, the Prophet said: "After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us, for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven, without tasting death, stood before us and said: Behold the time is fully come which was spoken by the mouth of Malachi, testifying that he (Elijah) should be sent before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse. Therefore the keys of this dispensation are committed unto your hands, and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors." Since the reception of that authority, the spirit and power of Elijah has wrought miracles in the hearts of men, both in and out of the Church. Without any definite reason, the children of the Gentiles, all over the civilized world, have formed genealogical societies, founded vast libraries where tens of thousands of vital records have been assembled. The interest is especially keen in America and Great Britain, and extends, in a lesser degree, to Holland, Germany, Switzerland, and through

VICARIOUS WORK FOR THE DEAD 109 the Scandinavian countries. It is quite natural that the spirit of Elijah should move in the hearts of these peoples, because they are rich with the blood of Israel. So thorough has been genealogical research in eome localities,that entire volumes have been compiled with a single pedigree. A number of such books have been secured and placed in our own Church library, of the Utah Genealogical Society. Recently one of our bishops showed me a volume of several hundred pages containing a pedigree of his ancestors, reaching back through a dozen generations. His relatives, in the East, non-members of the Church, had been kind enough to place it in his hands, and in so doing had unwittingly fixed upon him a responsibility that would take the rest of his natural life to discharge. In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the purpose has been more fixed, and the object, of course, more definite. In November, 1894, the Genealogical Society of Utah was organized, and a document prepared over the signatures of a number of our leading brethren, the object of which was to point the purpose of the organization, the chief functions of which were to compile and maintain a library, and to assist the Saints in genealogical research. The headquarters of this organization is at the Historian's office in Salt Lake City. The accommodations at this old home are rather meager, owing to the increasing membership. But I am informed that the organization is soon to occupy one of the commodious floors of the new and elegant Church Administration Building, where its accommodations will be more fitting, and its growth unhampered. Membership in this Society, which may be acquired for a small sum, gives one access to the thousands of volumes assembled in its library. You will pardon me for reference to my personal experience, as a member of this organization : Afriend suggested that I might spend part of my noon hour each day searching for names of my dead ancestors. I followed his suggestion, took out a membership in the Society, and in a few months had accumulated nearly twenty-five hundred names. More than a thousand of these have been baptized for, by proxy, in the temple, and quite a number have received endowments. During this short period I saw numbers of long pedigrees, as complete as research could make them, of families who have representatives here in the Church, and I doubt not that nearly all my readers could find in that splendid library names of their dead for whom they might officiate in the house of the Lord. This institution, however, is not the only monument that emphasizes the faith and integrity of God's chosen people.

110 IMPROVEMENT ERA Under circumstances which often would have been almost unendurable, but for the light of heaven, the Saints have reared six magnificent temples, and have two more under construction. The Kirtland temple was dedicated in 1836. The temple of Nauvoo, ten years later. You know the history, and we have now no occasion for tears, so we will pass it by. But when, out of the flames and over the grave-strewn desert, that little handful of Saints reached these prophetic hills they were not defeated in purpose. The embers of love, faith, and testimony had been kindled into living flame by the fierce winds of their persecution, and their hearts turned more than ever to their dead, for they had been compelled to leave a goodly number behind on the barren waste. It was not long before the corner stones of our four temples, here in the valleys of the setting sun, were placed, and the structures climbed skyward to completion. Between — the years 1877 and 1893, they were all dedicated, one at St. George, one at Logan, another in Manti, and the last the great Temple in Salt Lake City. The interest in temple work has increased wonderfully during the past few years. I am told that about four million ordinances have been performed at the fonts and altars of these holy temples. As we think of it we are almost overwhelmed. But we are like the man who stood in the midst of the great Sahara. He picked up a handful of sand at his feet, which, when he examined he found consisted of almost innumerable particles. Then his eye fell across the white, dry w aste of the desert; and as the wonder of the vision grew upon r him, he realized how insignificant were the few grains that lay in the palm of his hand. The world is a desert, the oases are the gospel dispensations. We have gathered a few grains of sand, but before us reaches the boundless waste. Those who engage in temple work today will be looked vipon, by generations that follow, as pioneers in the work of salvation for the dead. The Prophet Joseph was much concerned about this matter, particularly during the latter part of his life. He urged the Saints many a-time and oft, to think seriously about temple work; and he explained that our salvation could not be complete without our ancestors, and that their salvation could not be complete without us. He said that we had but little time in which to accomplish the work. Temple building is in its infancy. We all look forth to the time when the great temple at Independence will be erected. That time is doubtless not far distant. And, of course, we all hope to be worthy to' participate in the ordinances of that holy house where the glory of God will be abundantly manifest to the Saints of the Most High. Forest Dale, Utah