Baptisms for the Dead

BAPTISMS FOR THE DEAD is something that the LDS church believes and practices within their temples.  Mormons view baptism as an essential ordinance to get into heaven and believe that these proxy baptisms aid those who died before they were able to complete all of their earthly work/ordinances.

I participated in this ordinance when I was 14 or so years old.  I, along with several other youth, was driven to the Los Angeles Temple.  We had our temple recommends in hand and were allowed entry into one of the sections of the temple.  We all had to change into a sort of baptism uniform, which was basically just a clean white jump suit and we were led into a very large room.

Baptismal Font in the Mormon L.A Temple

The baptismal font was, in a word, beautiful. I remember seeing 12 oxen around the base of the font and was told that they were there to symbolize the 12 tribes of Israel.  The artwork, the architecture, the magnitude of the room, coupled with what I believed I was going to be doing in that room gave me quite an 'awe' moment. 

We all stood in line and waited our turn.  One by one, we would all step into the font and met a man who would be performing the proxy baptisms.  There was a computer screen to his side that would display the name of the person that we were being baptized for.  We'd each get baptized for 10-15 people and then it'd be someone else's turn.

Now, I don't know why this particular Mormon ordinance was stuck in my head this past week, but for some reason I just couldn't shake it.  I thought about how thousands upon thousands of young men and women are doing 'work' for those people who can't do it themselves.  And even though I do not at all believe in the theology behind this practice, that's not what was speaking to me.  I wasn't focusing on whether or not performing Baptisms for the Dead is doctrinally sound or the eternal consequences of being baptized for someone else, but rather on the literal act being done.  You see, these people are performing a service for someone else.  They are doing something for someone that is unable to perform it themselves.  In that moment, I immediately thought of Jesus. 

Jesus did something for us all...something that we could never do on our own.  Defeat sin. 

God saw that we were sinners, far removed from His Holiness and could not change it.  He saw that even on our best days reconciliation is impossible.  The Bible rightly says that we are all sinners (Romans 3:10-12)...every. single. one. of us.  And so, He sent Himself, in the person of Jesus, to atone for our sins.  Just as dead people cannot get baptized, neither can we change our standing with God, no matter how hard we try.  We are always going to be sinners.  Unfortunately, that's the best fallen creatures can ever hope for...and that's failure.  And while this is a sad, depressing, tragic, and yet painfully truthful realization, our good news comes from up above!  Jesus is soooooo good and when we call on His great name, and repent of our sins, and proclaim Him as our personal Lord and Savior ALL of our sins are washed away, and we are made new in Christ.  We are no longer seen by our Father in Heaven as irreconcilable creatures but as His people!

And then I realized that this comparison is not perfect because Jesus doesn't save someone after they've done A,B,C,D....  He saves them because they can't do A, B, C, D, ...

Even with a proxy baptism salvation is not guaranteed.  The baptism performed is just one of the many ordinances needed; others may still need to be performed. [Mormon doctrine states that just having faith in Jesus Christ is not enough for salvation (Articles of Faith #3 and #4, 2 Nephi 25:23)]  But Jesus didn't come to "make up the difference" but to "be" the difference.  Baptisms for the dead is an attempt to do some of the work for you, but the Bible says that Jesus already paid it ALL.   Do you see the difference?

Biblically speaking, there is nothing you can do, need to do, are required to do, or need to have someone do for you.  There is only Jesus and faith in His unfailing love for you that was demonstrated on the cross all those years ago.