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Salvation for the Dead, II

Improvement Era, vol. 20, no. 4, February 1917, pp. 360 to 364

Smith, Joseph F., Jr.

Salvation for the Dead Social Service of the Doctrine

By Joseph F. Smith, Jr., of the Council of the Twelve

II

  1. The Great Work of the Lord is to Save All Mankind. — "For behold, this is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). Thus the Lord declared to Moses. It is the purpose of the Almighty to save all mankind, and all will enter into His kingdom in some degree of glory, except sons of Perdition who sin beyond the power of repentance and redemption, and therefore cannot receive forgiveness of sins. All the rest shall be saved, but not all with the same degree of glory or exaltation. Every man will be judged according to his works, his opportunities for receiving the truth and the intent of his heart. Those who keep the full law and obey all the commandments of God are heirs of salvation in the celestial kingdom, the glory of which the sun is spoken of as being typical. These overcome all things and receive a fulness of the blessings, power and glory of the Father (Doc. & Cov. 76:59,95; 84:38; 88:107). All who have died without a knowledge of the gospel or the opportunity to receive it who would have accepted it had the opportunity been presented to them while living, are also heirs of this kingdom (History of the Church, Vol. 2:380-1). Those who are not valiant in the testimony of IJesus, those who do not receive the fulness of his glory those who are honorable ;

men of the earth who are blinded by the craftiness of men and reject the truth; those who die without law — all these are heirs of the terrestrial kingdom, the glory of which the moon is spoken of as being typical. Those who enter into the telestial kingdom, where the glory differs as do the stars of heaven in their magnitude, and who are innumerable as the sands of the seashore, are the ungodly, the filthy who suffer the wrath of God on the earth, who are thrust down to hell where they will be required to pay the uttermost farthing before their redemption comes. These are they who receive not the gospel of Christ and consequently could not deny the Holy Spirit while living on the earth. They have no part in the first resurrection and are not redeemed from the devil and

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his angels until the last resurrection because of their wicked lives and their evil deeds. Nevertheless, even these are heirs of salvation, but before they are redeemed and enter into their kingdom they must repent of their sins and receive the gospel and bow the knee and acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ the Redeemer of the world. That all this may be accomplished, in the mercy of the Lord, the doctrine of salvation for the dead has been declared. It is necessary that the living be baptized for the dead and confirmed for them, and where the higher ordinances will apply and be received, they also must be performed for the dead. For this purpose the vicarious work is conducted in our temples which have been built for this holy and noble purpose. And by laboring for the dead we become in our limited way saviors to our fellow men (read carefully sections 76 and 88 of the Doctrine and Covenants).

  1. The Greatest Responsibility Placed Upon Us is to Seek After Our Dead. The Prophet Joseph Smith declared that "the greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid upon us is to seek after our dead." The reason for this is that all the dead must be redeemed from th'eir sins through obedience to the gospel just as the living are. It is required of us to perform this labor in their behalf. Moreover, we cannot be made perfect without our faithful dead who are also heirs of celestial exaltation. There must be a welding, or joining together of generations from Adam down. Parents must be sealed to each other, and children to parents in order to receive the blessings of the celestial kingdom. Therefore our salvation and progression depends upon the salvation of our worthy dead with whom we must be joined in family ties. This can only be accomplished in our Temples.
  1. The Most Glorious Subject Belonging to the Everlasting Gospel. The Prophet further declared that the doctrine of salvation for the dead is the "most glorious subject belonging to the everlasting gospel" (Doc. and Cov. 128:17). The reason for this is the great magnitude of the labor, and that we have the privilege of officiating for the dead and assisting in giving to them

the privileges that we also enjoy through our obedience to the gospel. The Prophet said in a sermon delivered Oct. 3,1841: "This doctrine appears glorious, inasmuch as it exhibits the extent greatness of divine compassion, and benevolence in the of the plan of human salvation. This glorious truth is well calunderstanding, and to sustain the soul culated to enlarge the

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under troubles, difficulties and distresses. * * * This doctrine presents, in a clear light, the wisdom and mercy of God in preparing an ordinance for the salvation of the dead. * * *

Those Saints who neglect it, in behalf of their deceased relatives,do it at the peril of their own salvation. Another thing that makes it glorious is the fact that we have the assurance that the work we do will accomplish so much more than our ministering among the living can possibly accomplish. We are under obligation to our ancestors for our being in this existence, and we can in part pay the debt of gratitude to them which we own by assisting in their redemption."

  1. Salvation for the Dead an Unselfish Labor.
 There is no work connected with the gospel that is of a more

unselfish nature than the work in the House of the Lord, for our dead. Those who work for the dead do not expect to receive any earthlv remuneration or reward. It is, above all, a work of love, which is begotten in the heart of man through faithful and constant labor in these saving ordinances. There are no financial returns, but there shall be great joy in heaven with those souls whom we have helped to their salvation. It is a work that enlarges the soul of man, broadens his views regarding the welfare of his fellowman, and plants in his heart a love for all the children of our heavenly Father. There is no work equal to that in the temple for the dead in teaching a man to love his neighbor as himself. Jesus so loved the world that he was willing to offer himself as a sacrifice for sin that the world might be saved. We also have the privilege, in a small degree, of showing our great love for Him and our fellow beings by helping them to the blessings of the gospel which now they can not receive without our assistance.

  1. Salvation for the Dead Gives Us the Greatest Hope of Our Future Welfare. The doctrine of salvation for the dead and the temple work holds out to us the glorious prospect of the continuance of the family relation. Through it we learn that familv ties are not to be broken, that husbands and wives will eternally have a claim upon each other and upon their children to the latest generation. However, in order to receive these privileges the sealing ordinances in the temple of our God must be obtained. All contracts, bonds, obligations and agreements made by men shall come to an end, but the obligations and agreements entered into in the house of the Lord, if faithfully kept, will last forever. This doctrine gives us a clearer concept of the purposes of the Lord toward his children. It shows his abundant and unlimited mercy

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and love to all who obey him, aye, even to those who are rebellious, for in his goodness he will grant great blessings even unto them.

  1. The Hearts of the Children Have Turned to Their Fathers. The hearts of the children have turned to their fathers throughout the nations of the earth where Israel is now being gathered. At the time of the coming of Elijah there were no genealogical societies organized for the gathering of the records of the dead. There were no individuals searching in a systematic way in the preparation of the records of the dead. Since the bestowal of those keys and authority, genealogical societies have sprung up all over the United States and most of the countries of Europe. There are today thousands of persons who are searching after the records of the dead and compiling them. The government of Great Britain has taken the matter in hand, and in that land laws are in force for the preservation of the records of the dead. In our own land in many states, similar, and even superior laws, have been enacted. The national government itself is preserving such records and in the Library of Congress

is to be found the most extensive genealogical library in the world. All of this has been accomplished since the announcement was made by Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery that Elijah had appeared to them.

  1. What is the Great Duty of the Latter-day Saints? The great responsibility resting upon the members of the Church today is to gather the records which are now being pubof this spirit lished in the world by those who have partaken and

and whose hearts have been turned toward their fathers, saving ordinances for those whose names can thus perform the be obtained.

  1. The Genealogical Society of Utah. where That these records might be collected and preserved Church, the Genethey will be accessible to the members of the organized Nov. 20, 1894, by the alogical Society of Utah was strictly a Church organization of the First Presidency. It is in the salvation ot greatest importance to all who are interested of the great historical department ot the dead. It is a division not of the Church the Church. All Latter-day Saints, and those our communities, are eligible who are of good moral standing in society are: The purposes of the to membership in the society. informaa. To assist the Saints in obtaining genealogical nations, kintion, as that information can be obtained from all

dreds and peoples.

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b. To preserve such records in suitable quarters where they may be accessible to all who desire to perform this labor. c. To provide a place where the Saints can be instructed in the best methods of compiling and keeping the records of their dead for temple work. d. To increase the interest of the Saints in this important work of salvation for the dead.

  1. Problems.
    1. What is the great work and glory of the Lord?
    2. How will all this be accomplished?
    3. Why is the responsibility of redeeming the dead so great for the living?
    4. Why can we not be made perfect without the dead?
    5. What punishment will be meted out to those who neglect this great duty?
    6. Name some important blessings and benefits derived by the living who labor in behalf of the dead?
      1. What great corroborative evidence can you show to prove the truth of the declaration of the Prophet Joseph Smith regarding the coming of Elijah?

A Baptism in Samoa

Ray G. Wood, secretary of the Upolu conference, Samoa, has sent the Era the above portrait which represents a baptismal service, at the semiannual conference of Upolu, on the 22nd of October, 1916. The Saints were gathered to witness the service.