baptism & salvation for the dead

8/3/2019 Baptism & Salvation for the Dead

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The British Institute of Mormon Studies Ronnie Bray

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Salvation For The

Dead & Baptism For

the Dead

A Christian Belief &

Practice


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The question is:

Salvation for the Dead & Baptism for the DeadAre These Doctrines

BIBLICAL & CHRISTIAN?

The Answer is:

UNDENIABLY!

~~~

The Holy Bible provides ample reason to believe that all

that come in to this world are favoured to do so because of theirfaithfulness in the pre-mortal life. From the same source it is

likely that the rebellious ones were denied the blessing of

becoming human and are followers of Lucifer, dedicated to

Lucifers aims to thwart Gods purposes for his children in

mortality.

But as pre-existence is not our present subject we turn ourattention to biblical authority for the belief that Gods plan of

salvation does not exclude those that have died without

knowing, or not having had opportunity to accept or reject Jesus

Christ as Gods Son, their Saviour, and their Redeemer.

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All mortals face two serious difficulties that they cannot, in

their own behalf, overcome. The first is death, and the second is

sin. All must die, and if Christ had not opened the doors of theprison we call Death, we would be condemned to remain in our

dead condition forever. But Jesus Christ has not only overcome

death by becoming the firstfruits of them that slept,1 but he also

turned the key in our behalf so that all that have lived and died

will at some future day be resurrected. Of this eternal verity, the

Apostle Paul assures us that

as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made

alive.2

It is this knowledge that all will be made alive again,

whatever their condition, that caused him to ask triumphantly,

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy

victory?3

Albert Barnes says:

This triumphant exclamation is the commencement of the

fourth division of the chapter, the practical consequences of the

doctrine. It is such an exclamation as every man with right

feelings will be disposed to make, who contemplates the ravagesof death; who looks upon a world where in all forms he has

1 1 Corinthians 15:302 1 Corinthians 15:223 1 Corinthians 15:55

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reigned, and who then contemplates the glorious truth, that a

complete and final triumph has been obtained over this great

enemy of the happiness of man, and that man would die no

more. It is a triumphant view which bursts upon the soul as itcontemplates the fact that the work of the second Adam has

repaired the ruins of the first, and that man is redeemed; his

body will be raised.4

John Wesley writes:

O death, where is thy sting? - Which once was full of

hellish poison. O Hades, the receptacle of separate souls, where

is thy victory - Thou art now robbed of all thy spoils; all thy

captives [spirits in prison] are set at liberty. Hades literally

means the invisible world, and relates to the soul; death, to the

body. The Greek words are found in the Septuagint translation

of Hosea 13:14. Isaiah 25:8.5

All mankind are subjected to temporal death, that is, they

are mortal and will some day die. We learn from the scriptures

that Jesus Christ overcame death rose from the dead after three

days during which his body lay in the silent tomb. We also learn

that because Jesus Christ rose from the dead, having seized the

keys of death and Hell, from where he delivers the prisoners, thereleased and we together shall live again.

4 BarnesNotes on the Bible5 John WesleysNotes on 1 Corinthians 15:55

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Jesus said: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold,

I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of

death.6

Jesus unlocked hell to let the captives go free, and he

overcame death, so that Paul was able to proclaim: In Christ

shall all be made alive.7

As the death of all was occasioned by the sin of one, even

so, in like manner, the resurrection of all shall be produced by

one. His resurrection shall meet and counteract the evilsintroduced by the other, so far as the subject under discussion is

concerned; that is, so far as relates to temporal death.8

The grand obstacle to human progress in eternity, death, is

therefore overcome once and for all. The remaining difficulty is

the consequence of our own sins, and how they can be

overcome? We know that sin separates us from God, and that

no unclean thing can enter his presence.

Any change in the condition of sinfulness must be taken

care of before Judgement, for at Judgement we will be judged as

we are, and once judgement is passed, our disposition to glory or

darkness is unchangeable. Wesley comments, The final

judgement is at hand; after which the condition of all mankind

will admit of no change for ever.9

6 Revelation 1:187 1 Corinthians 15:228 BarnesNotes on the Bible, 1 Corinthians 15:229 John WesleysNotes on Revelation 22:11

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Wesley suggests, quite properly, that afterJudgement, the

Unrighteous will be Unjustified, and the Filthy will be

Unsanctified, that is, all that do not repent and come to Christ in

faith will remain forever in their unholy states.

Here we must consider the opportunity extended to the

unbaptised that have lived and died without knowing Christ, or,

if they have known of him, did not come to him for whatever

reasons prevailed. We take as our starting place the

consideration of God as Just.

All Christians should, at the very least, be able to confirm

the truth that our God is a just God, and so we are safe in

considering that not only does he notpunish one man for the

sins of another, but also that he does notpunish any whose lives

have not conformed to his divine will, if the demands of his will,

or the name of Jesus did not reach their ears during their

lifetimes. Paul confirms this by saying, where no law is, there

is no transgression.10

This is a general principle; a maxim of common justice and

of common sense. Law is a rule of conduct. If no such rule is

given and known, there can be no crime. Law expresses what

may be done, and what may not be done. If there is no command

to pursue a certain course, no injunction to forbid certain

conduct, then all actions will be innocent.

10 Romans 4:15

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Paul pointedly said in another place, sin is not imputed

when there is no law.11

Think, if you will, how many of those that are dead are inthe category of never having had opportunity to accept or reject

Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Imagine, if you can, how many of

these are your own ancestors, and contemplate the fate of those

whose image, talents, intellect, and other characteristics you

have inherited. What of them? Has God abandoned them?

They were just as alive, just as vital, just as pressed down with

lifes issues, and probably just as concerned as any now livingregarding mans place in the universe, and our relationship to

Deity.

If they had no real opportunity to respond to the prompting

of the Holy Spirit, nor ever heard of the Lord Jesus Christ, has

Almighty God, who is Loving and Merciful, cast them aside to

rot or be forever tormented in Hell as things of no significance?

Would that loving and merciful God we call Father, who

loved the world so dearly that he gave his only begotten Son that

whosoever believeth on him should not perish but have

everlasting life, cast them aside for something they didnt do

because they didnt know they had to do it and had no

opportunity to do it? Will God punish them for not knowing

about Jesus; for not calling on the name of him whose name theydid not hear through no delinquency on their part?

11 Romans 5:13

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Since they were deprived of opportunity to choose Jesus

Christ as their Lord and Saviour, how can they be justly

condemned? None but a malignant deity would impose a

penalty as severe as eternal damnation in the fires of Hell on theinnocent and the blameless. However, Almighty God, El

Shaddai, our Father in Heaven, will not!

Just as it is irrational to believe God will punish the

innocent, it is also absurd to suppose that before the earth was

formed, God capriciously appointed some to receive mortal

bodies, and of their number chose some by whim or caprice tobe sent to heaven, and some to be thrust down into Hell

regardless, of the of lives they led, and whether or not they were

obedient to his commandments? Such an antic god is

characteristic of the Olympian gods that used humanity as their

playthings for self-amusement, such as Omar Khayam had in

mind when he wrote complaining of the powerlessness of

humanity, that men and women were merely powerless and,

helpless pieces in the game He plays

Upon this chequer-board of Nights and Days

He hither and thither moves, and checks and

slays

Then one by one, back in the Closet lays12

12 The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam [Edward Fitzgeralds translation]

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Such a god is NOT the God of Heaven. Such a god is NOT

our Father in Heaven. Such a god is NOT the Father of our

spirits. Such a god is NOT the Father of Jesus Christ.

Predestinationists teach that if a person is consigned by

God to be saved then no amount of wickedness on his part will

bar his entrance into heaven. Conversely, they teach that a

person predestined to go to Hell cannot avoid that place even

though throughout his life he honours and loves God, knows

Jesus as his Lord and Saviour, and loves all men as he loves

himself. What a strange teaching this is. Pre-destination amatter quite divorced from pre-existence - is not a biblical

doctrine, and is only believed to be so in error. Pre-destination

has no place in Heavenly Fathers plan of salvation. That this is

so is confirmed by Jesus when he said:

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten

son,

that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but haveeverlasting life.

Dare we ask of Jesus, Is that a promise, Lord?

When Jesus said whosoever believes in Gods only

begotten Son shall have everlasting life, he was saying,

Anyone and Everyone that believes in me will be saved.

By this statement Jesus Christ, spurned the Heresy that

some are elected to be saved and other are elected to spend

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eternity out of the sight of God and Jesus, and are assigned

according to a whim of God, not on merit or fault. In whatever

place we stand on these issues our own understanding of Holy

Scripture must be strictly in accord with what is taught by theSon of God.

Paul wrote:

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be

conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first

born among many brethren.13

Job said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and

naked shall IRETURN THITHER: the LORD gave, and the LORD

hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.14

No one, including Job, could return to the Lord if he had

not first been with the Lord. The preacher, Ecclesiastes, talks of

what happens to us at death.

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the

spirit shall return unto God who gave it.15

The spirit of man can not return to God at death unless it

was with God before a man was born. The mighty Jehovah said

to Jeremiah,

13 Romans 8:2914 Job 1:2115 Ecclesiastes 12:7

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http://kjv/Job/1/http://kjv/Job/1/


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Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before

thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, [and] I

ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.16

Paul wrote in Romans,

God hath not cast away his people, which he foreknew.17

We are bound to ask, whom did God foreknow? Did he

foreknow one or two of us, or perhaps a few hundreds of us, or

thousands of us, or millions of us, or all the millions of millions

of spirits that he sent and will send to earth to be clothed in

mortality, and by accepting the atonement of the Saviour Jesus

Christ, be saved and exalted? To whom and how many did Paul

refer when he said,

God hath not cast away his people, which he foreknew.

It is right and reasonable to believe that Almighty God, theomniscient, the all-knowing, knew each and all of us before we

were born as mortals. It is, then, equally proper to believe that

our destinies are to be made like unto Jesus Christ, whom God

exalted, and who shares the throne of his Father. Paul moves us

towards this conclusion by calling God, the Father of Spirits.18

Paul also indicates something that most Christians andcommentators pass over in silence.

16 Jeremiah 1:517 Romans 11:218 Hebrews 12:9

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God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in

time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last

days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of

all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being thebrightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and

upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by

himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the

Majesty on high; Being made so much better than the angels,

as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than

they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art

my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be tohim a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the

world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. And

of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his

ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne,

O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the

sceptre of thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, andhated iniquity; therefore, God, even thy God, hath anointed thee

with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation

of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands They

shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as

doth a garment; And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, andthey shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall

not fail. But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on

my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? Are

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they the angels - not all ministering spirits, sent forth to

minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?19

From these sublime words, it is perfectly clear that theforeknown who were consigned to come to this earth as mortals

were predestined to become perfected in the image and likeness

of the Son of God. This understanding gives sense to the

passage in Hebrews, because it is true.

Mankind is created and clothed with a mortal body as

lodging for his eternal spirit that is in the likeness of the Son ofGod. This was decreed in the very beginning.

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our

likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,

and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the

earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the

earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of

God created he him; male and female created he them.20

What was not decreed is that a portion of those created in

the image and likeness of God were elected to share the

damnation of the sons of perdition, while others were chosen to

be saved.

In each case their eternal states are held to have been pre-determined, whether they kept the commandments or not, and

whether they pleased Almighty God or not, and this would be

19 Hebrews 120 Genesis 1:26-27

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effective the moment when death claims them because of

nothing they have done, or not done. This belief is un-Godly,

un-biblical, and un-thinkable. It makes Jesus seem

untrustworthy, for out of his own mouth came the blessedassurance,

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten

son that whosoever believeth in his should not perish but have

everlasting life!21

What Biblical or historical support exists for believing thatNOprovision has been established by God or his Only Begotten

Son Jesus Christ that the dead who do not know Jesus Christ,

and who therefore have not taken him into their hearts, nor

claimed him as their Saviour, to extend to them in Gods Divine

and Infinite Love the possibility of full salvation just as surely as

he does those who have heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ, who

have accepted the invitation to come unto Christ, and that have

taken upon themselves the name of Jesus Christ?

If we deny that this blessed gift of love and mercy to the

dead as well as to living is a true doctrine of Jesus Christ, then

also we deny the mercy of a loving and just God to children who

die without baptism, and we deny the possibility of salvation to

the dead who had not the good fortune to hear the gospel of

Christ and who could not believe Jesus Christ as Saviourthrough no fault of their own. Some Christians insist that babies

that die unbaptised are consigned by God to burn in Hell

21 John 3:16

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because they were not baptised. We ask, for which of their sins

do they merit such condemnation? Despite there being no

support for this position in the Holy Bible, some Christians have

failed to understand how far-reaching the love and mercy of Godand Jesus Christ truly are. I heard a radio broadcast in which

Pastor Jason of Mesa, said:

There can be no salvation for those who die without

baptism, and those who believe otherwise are mistaken, because

Paul said that a man dies once and then comes the

judgement.22

The pastor assumes from that brief sentence the position

that judgement follows immediately on death and that there is no

time period between the death of an individual and the

assignment of eternal reward or eternal punishment at the Day of

Judgement. Yet, the Holy Bible speaks directly against his

contention, besides which, the doctrine of Salvation for the dead

was known, taught, approved, and not only practised but reliedon by the Earliest Christians, as revealed in extensive writings,

to which we shall shortly refer. As we have already seen, death

is overcome, but the barrier of sinfulness remains, and unless a

way is prepared for the consequences of our sins to be washed

away, then no one will ever approach God or dwell with him in

heaven. Yet, Jesus Christ showed the way in which the

consequences of our sins can be made to disappear, so that wecan enter the kingdom of heaven, and there dwell with God as

22 Religious Radio Broadcast

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his heirs, sharing the heirship with Jesus Christ. in this regard,

Jesus said:

Except a man be born again of the water and of the spirit,he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.23

Those that heard him understood exactly what he meant,

although Nicodemus is made to appear slow, so that John can

draw out the meaning of the words of Jesus. By water, here,

baptism is signified, as explained in Titus.

according to his mercy [Christ] saved us, by the

washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.24

John had preached before Jesus coming the requirement of

baptism of repentance to the people of Israel. John the Baptist,

was the forerunner or herald of the coming Christ, and went

before his face to prepare his way, give notice of his coming,

and bore testimony to him, which testimony the apostle hereproduces, as something that the Jews could not well reject and

deny, because John had too much integrity and honour, and was

accounted a great prophet by all the people as he prepared them

for the reception of the Messiah who was, even then, close by

them.

John taught the baptism of repentance to the people and notonly administered the ordinance of baptism by immersion, but

preached the doctrine of baptism by immersion for the remission

23 John 3:524 Titus 3:5

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of sins, requiring candidates to demonstrate repentance and

fruits suitable to signify that their hearts were given to the Christ

in faith, before the rite was administered to them, which is the

reason if is called the baptism of repentance.25

John did baptise in the wilderness, and preach the

baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.26

Baptism was practised by the Jews in ritual purification,

and more formally when receiving a Gentile as a proselyte. It

was practised by John the Immerser among the Jews and Jesussays that it is an ordinance of his religion, and the sign and seal

of the renewing influences of his Spirit. He also re-emphasised

baptism when he said, "He that believeth and is baptised shall

be saved.27

It is clear from these references, and from the example of

the apostles,28 that they considered the ordinance of baptism by

immersion for the remission of sins a binding covenant on allthat professed to love the Lord Jesus and demonstrated their

faith in him as Messiah and Saviour. When Jesus taught

Nicodemus that unless a person was regenerated through

baptism by immersion and by their receiving the gift of the Holy

Ghost, they could neither see nor enter the kingdom of heaven,

he undoubtedly meant it to be clearly understood as affirming

that baptism by immersion for the remission of sins was the

25 See GillsExposition of the Bible, on Acts 13:2426 Mark 1:427 Mark 16:1628 See, Act 2:38, Acts 2:41; Acts 8:12-13, Acts 8:36, Acts 8:38; Acts 9:18; Acts 10:47-48; Acts 16:15, Acts 16:33;Acts 18:8; Acts 22:16; Galatians 3:27

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regular, uniform, and only way of entering into his Church, and,

ultimately, heaven. He meant it also to be understood that it was

the appropriate and only mode of making a proper profession of

the Christian religion, and that a man who neglected this, oncethe duty had been made known and explained to him, was

wilfully neglecting to obey a direct command of God.

There is an unpleasant truth to be faced which is, that those

who do not hear the name of Jesus and his call to discipleship

during their lifetimes, can not respond as those that do.Therefore they live and die unbaptised. However, it is not their

fault and so cannot be laid to their charge. They have done no

wrong, have not offended the Saviour, and have not refused to

obey Jesus because they lived and died without ever hearing his

name. Infants that die are in the same situation, but Jesus Christ

confirmed their innocence when he said,

Suffer the little ones to come unto me and forbid them not,for of such is the kingdom of heaven.29

One commentator says of that passage:

Of such is the kingdom of heaven - Or, the kingdom of

heaven is composed of such. This appears to be the best sense of

the passage, and utterly ruins the whole inhuman diabolicsystem of what is called non-elect infants' damnation; a doctrine

which must have sprung from Moloch,30 and can only be

29 Matthew 19:1430 King - the name of the national god of the Ammonites, to whom children were sacrificed by fire.

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defended by a heart in which he dwells. [] Christ loves little

children because he loves simplicity and innocence.31

How can those that die before knowing Jesus Christ be born again of the water and of the spirit? There are untold

multitudes that live and die without hearing the name of Jesus,

who cannot conform to the baptismal rite of admission into the

church of Jesus Christ, which is the vessel of salvation, the ark

of our hope for salvation through Jesus Christ? What, if any,

provision has our Father in Heaven made for them?

Christendom has searched in vain for an answer to this questionthat personifies and combines the love, mercy, and grace of a

just God in its execution. And still they search. But, not all.

For many, the threat of eternal torture in a place of

damnation is the reality they preach because they misunderstand

the Bibles teachings, and have led slide away the original

teachings that the Early Christian Church embraced for several

centuries. Yet, there are Christian ministers who search deepinto their souls and long for answers to the question of the

eternal torment of the innocent, and having done so continue to

search the nature and character of the God they worship in the

name of His Son Jesus Christ.

Dr Torrey, a noted evangelist and pastor, wrote:

"Not merely throughout an age, but throughout all ages. It

is a picture not merely of years tumbling upon years, but of ages

31Clarke's Commentary on the Bible

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tumbling upon ages in endless succession. It is not in a single

instance used of a limited period. Nothing could more plainly

or graphically picture absolute endlessness. The future state of

those who reject the redemption offered them in Christ is plainlydeclared to be a state of conscious, unutterable, endless torment

and anguish. This conception is an awful and appalling one. It

is however the Scriptural conception and also a reasonable one

when we come to see the appalling nature of sin."32

That was Doctor Torreys conclusion, but note that he

restricted it to those who reject the redemption offered them inChrist. To reject the offer, it must first be made. If it was not

made, then it cannot be rejected, and that such a doom was never

intended for those who have NOThad the redemption in Christ

offered to them is evident from the saying of the Prophet Isaiah,

who wrote:

The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all

the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvationof our God.33

This prophecy that all the ends of the earth shall see the

salvation of Israels God has yet to be fulfilled, even as millions

live and die without hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ or

coming to know Jesus Christ as their Saviour, and so they are

not offered the redemption nor catch sight of the salvation of theLiving God.

32 Torrey, What the Bible Teaches, Pages 110-11133 Isaiah 52:10

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It is a continuing tragedy to know that historic Christianity

has almost unanimously consigned innocents to damnation and

endless torture in the raging fires of Hell. That is not what God

has led us to expect from Him. Through the prophet Isaiah, Godsaid,

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that

bringeth good tidings, that publish peace; that bringeth good

tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion,

Thy God reigneth!34

This announcement set the tone for the expectations held

by the faithful, and, when the time was right, the gospel of Jesus

Christ replaced the Mosaic Law, in order to lift, enlighten, and

make joyful all who entered into the new covenant under the

gospel of Jesus Christ and were made partakers of redemption

and salvation through his infinite atonement.

When Jesus began his mortal ministry, the hope of some ofhis contemporaries was that he would deliver them from the

military and civil occupation of the Roman Empire. Israel had

long been promised deliverance from enemies, and such

victories they considered as salvation. But, Almighty God did

not send his Son to liberate his children from the armies that

occupied their lands. Jesus taught, My kingdom is not of this

world35

He explained at length that he was sent by the Fatherto free Gods people, beginning with the Jews, from the thrall of

Lucifer, the enemy of all mankind, who desires men to turn from

34 Isaiah 52:735 John 18:6

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God, to serve him, and to ensure their eternal misery. To

achieve this Satan panders to and tempts us through our earthly

appetites, ungodly ambitions, and encourages us to sin. When

we yield to the enticings of Satan we displease God, pleaseSatan, and our sinfulness creates an abyss or gulf between God

and us that no human being has the power to bridge.

Knowing that we would stand in need of saving from the

consequences of our sins, that is permanent separation from

God, our Heavenly Father prepared a Saviour before the

foundations of our world were set in place, and, in due time,commissioned and sent his only begotten Son Jesus Christ to

save us from the bondage of Satan and tyranny of death, to

which twin terrors each mortal is subject.

[Christ] was chosen before the foundation of the world,

but was manifest in these last times for you,36

By his Infinite Atonement by the shedding of his innocentblood on the cross of Calvary, Jesus paid the price that enables

us through repentance to be absolved of our personal sins,

cleansed by the washing of baptism, and forgiven. Thus the

abyss that separates us from God is bridged, and now cleansed

with the blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, we are able to

approach God, endure his glorious Presence, and the presence

and glory of His Only Begotten Son, forever.

36 1 Peter 1:20

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This is the means our Father in Heaven has provided

through which all his children whosoever believeth in Jesus

Christ will return to dwell in his presence forever. Unaided,

none has the power to overcome sinfulness, or to raisethemselves from death by reuniting their mortal body with their

eternal spirit in the resurrection, and none has the ability or

authority to exalting themselves to the promised positions of

being made joint heirs with Christ of all that the Father hath.

How, then, can they be saved? The Holy Bible teaches the

momentous truth that Jesus was chosen in his pre-mortalexistence to be the Saviour and Redeemer. Hear the words of

Simon Peter:

if ye call on the Father, who without respect of

persons judgeth according to every man's work, then pass the

time of your sojourning here in fear: Forasmuch as ye know

that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, such as

silver and gold, from your futile rituals received by tradition from your fathers; But you are redeemed with the precious

blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world,

and who was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do

believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him

glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.37

John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and said:

37 1 Peter 1:16-21

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Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the

world."38

The remarkable theologian, Origen, said:

His taking away sin is still going on, He is continually

taking it away from all of us, and will do so until sin be

altogether taken away from the whole world, and the Saviour

deliver the kingdom prepared and completed to the Father, a

kingdom in which no sin is left at all, and which, therefore, is

ready to accept the Father as its king, and which on the otherhand is waiting to receive all God has to bestow, fully, and in

every part, at that time when the saying is fulfilled, "That God

may be all in all."39

Angels proclaimed Jesus as Saviour at the hour of his

birth:

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding inthe field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the

angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord

shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the

angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good

tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you

is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ

the Lord.40

38 John 1:2939 Origens Commentary on Saint Johns Gospel40 Luke 2:8-11

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Samaritan villagers heard Jesus preach, and knew him as

their Saviour.

we have heard him ourselves, and know that this isindeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.41

Peter witnessed to the unconverted in Jerusalem that Jesus

had been put to death by crucifixion, and that after his execution

had been raised from the dead:

The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew andhanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to

be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and

forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things;

and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them

that obey him.42

Paul, referring to resurrection, called Jesus the Saviour.

our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we

look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change

our vile body, that it may be made like unto his glorious body.43

Which adds the promise that Christians will be raised to be

even as Jesus Christ is. This leads us directly to our next

consideration of the promises of God in the Holy Bible. Weremember with gratitude and praise that it was God the Father

41 John 4:4242 Acts 5:30-3243 Philippians 3:21

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who chose Jesus to be the Messiah, Redeemer, Saviour,

according to the scripture.

John the beloved Apostle wrote:

we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the

Son to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess

that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he

dwelleth in God. And we have known and believed the love that

God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in lovedwelleth in God, and God in him.44

Hear again the words of Peter so that the truth will sink

deeper into our hearts and souls:

ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as

silver and gold, from your vain conversation received bytradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of

Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who

verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but

was manifest in these last times for you, Who by him do believe

in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory;

that your faith and hope might be in God.45

Having heard these inspired apostles, we ask, Is Jesus a

Saviour who saves, or are some beyond the reach of his

44 1 John 4:14-1645 1 Peter 1:19-21

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atonement and, therefore, beyond his salvation? I repeat what

Jesus said:

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be bornagain, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus, not

understanding, saith unto him, How can a man be born when he

is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb,

and be born? Jesus answered, 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 which is born of the flesh is

flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel notthat I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.46

How could those to whom Jesus preached that were

described as spirits in prison obtain the benefits that came

through the baptism of repentance and regeneration? That such

baptism was essential to the souls of men being admitted to the

kingdom of heaven is beyond doubt. Hear again the words ofJesus Christ on the matter:

Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot

enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is

flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not

that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

46 John 3:3-7

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This promise of cleansing through the rite of baptism is

foretold by the prophet Isaiah:

Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your

doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil.47 [] "Come

now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your

sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be

red like crimson, they shall be as wool.48

Paul refers to the regeneration and cleansing that occurs at

baptism as becoming a new creature.

if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature49

This acknowledges that when we are baptised we are re-

created, transformed, and we are born again and pronounced as

innocent as new born babies by an act of God. All that are bornagain by the washing of regeneration are declared innocent. The

stains of our sins are taken from us, after which God and heaven

are not only in sight, but also within our reach, and our place in

that kingdom is assured because God and his Christ have so

ordered.

47 Isaiah 1:1648 Isaiah 1:1849 2 Corinthians 5:17

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By this means, the barrier built between God and us as a

result of our disobedience to God is removed. As Jesus Christ

has already removed the barrier of Death for us, there is no

further hindrance to our salvation in Gods kingdom, if wecontinue to walk in faith and endure to the end, as Jesus has

promised.

He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be

saved.50

Moreover, Paul affirms the same.

if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown

him, he will also disown us51

To return to the question of what does happen to those who

live and die on the earth but have not accepted Jesus Christ,

either because they were not moved by the messengers of the

Good News, or because they lived in times and places where thename of Jesus Christ and the Good News about him did not

penetrate, it is a proper question to ask. It is also a vitally

important question to which we must know Gods answer,

especially for those that have lost loved ones in circumstances

that denied them the opportunity of salvation, as many have

asked out of sober concern for their kindred dead.

50 Matthew 24:1351 2 Timothy 2:12, New International Version (1984)

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During the second journey of Saint Boniface to Rome,

Christian missionary Saint Willibrord tried to convert King

Radbod of Friesland also called Frisia. Willibrord did not

succeed because Radbod refused initiation into Christianity afterenquiring whether he would meet his ancestors in heaven. The

saint informed him that none of them would enter Heaven

because they had not believed in Christ, had not been baptised,

and as a result, they were in the eternal torment of Hell.

Radbods love of his family would not let him abandon his

ancestors, and so he refused baptism on account that the

Christian God must be a monster. That was Willibrords answerto this vital question. But, what is Gods answer to it?

Unless we are asked to believe the unbelievable, namely,

that there were some God-created spirits of humankind in the

pre-existence whom God did not foreknow, then we can reach

no other conclusion than that it was Gods purpose to have all

humanity those that he foreknew conformed to the image of

his Only Begotten Son, as the scriptures affirm.

The Psalmist asked and answered this significant question:

Q: Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who

shall stand in his holy place?

A: He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hathnot lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He

shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness

from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them

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that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Lift up your heads, O

ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of

glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD

strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye

everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is

this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory.52

How do we that have sinned, get clean hands, and a pure

heart? A little while ago we touched on the words of Jesuswhen he announced the eternal truth that love for God so

loved the world was God the Fathers motivation to send His

Only Begotten Son to dwell on earth so that all who believed in

him would be saved and be granted Eternal Life. In connection

with this, Jesus introduced the Christian rite of baptism by

immersion for the remission of sins. That is how believers

having come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and

redeemer responded to his instruction.

Jesus testified,

This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for

many for the remission of sins.53

John the Baptist taught that access to his cleansing blood ofChrist was available by having faith in Jesus and then submitting

to baptism.

52 Psalms 24:3-1053 Matthew 26:28

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And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching

the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins54

This teaching was continued by Peter on the day of

Pentecost.

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptised every

one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of

sins55

As it was after Christ, so it had been prior to the beginning

of the mortal ministry of Jesus. We have already seen that,

John [the Baptist] did baptise in the wilderness, and

preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.56

Taking their lead from John the Baptist, Jesus, and the

Apostles, some Christians believe that water baptism for theremission of sins is essential to salvation, which is what Jesus

words lead us to conclude. No man can be saved in his sins, but

we are all saved from our sins if we submit to baptism by

immersion in water as Christ directed. Yet, there are some that

say Jesus was not referring to water baptism. Nonetheless, it is

unambiguously conclusive from the New Testament that

baptism by immersion for the forgiveness of sins is what the

54 Luke 3:355 Acts 2:3856 Mark 1:4

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early Christian Church believed, taught, and practised. Jesus

told the Apostles as he gave them the Great commission,

He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved; but hethat believeth not shall be damned.57

Those that do not believe, will not have faith. Therefore,

they will not submit to baptism. Therefore, they will not be

saved.

The Bible makes it clear beyond doubt that true Christiandoctrine taught by Christ is that baptism must be preceded by

adequate preparation and also by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

That is what was taught in the days of Christ by Christ, and in

the apostolic and sub-apostolic periods by the Apostles and their

successors. There was no variation in this formula: He that

believeth and is baptised shall be saved.

In later years, this scriptural belief based solidly on thewords of Jesus Christ was allowed to weaken and decline, and

baptism came to be regarded as a non-essential rite, the

application of which depended little, if at all, on the candidate's

appreciation or conception of its purpose. Concerning the early

Christian Churchs belief in the essential nature of water

baptism by immersion for salvation, we will look at some

outstanding evidence:

57 Mark 16:16

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Rev Farrar, said:

"In the first ages of Christianity, men and women were

baptised on a profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ."58

John Calvin insisted:

"But as Christ enjoins themto teach before baptising, and

desires that none but believers shall be admitted to baptism,59 it

would appear that baptism is not properly administered unlessit is preceded by faith. [] In the apostolic age no one is found

to have been admitted to baptism without a previous profession

of faith and repentance."

Arnobius taught:

"You are not first baptised and then begin to receive thefaith, and have a desire; but when you are to be baptised you

make known your will to the teacher, and make a full confession

of your faith with your own mouth. "60

Saurian said:

58 Canon Dean Farrar Anglican Divine, and author of The Life of Christ59 Mark 16:15-1660 A Christian of the latter half of the third century

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"In the primitive church, instruction preceded baptism,

agreeable to the order of Jesus Christ'Go, teach all nations,

baptising them,' etc.61

Salmasius agreed wholeheartedly with the others:

In the first two centuries no one was baptised, except,

being instructed in the faith and acquainted with the doctrine of

Christ, he was able to profess himself a believer; because of

those words, 'He that believeth and is baptised.62

Now what provision has been made that those who died not

knowing of Jesus Christ could hear of him, and then, having

accepted him as their Saviour can have the rite of water baptism

performed for them in their behalf by living proxies?

In October 1840, the Prophet Joseph Smith wrote to the TwelveApostles, introducing them to the former Christian practice of

baptism for the dead leading to salvation for the dead:

"I cannot in this letter give you all the information you may

desire on the subject; but aside from knowledge independent of

the Bible, I would say that it was certainly practised by the

ancient churches."63

61 A French Protestant, that lived 1677-173062 A French author, lived 1588-165363 History of the Church, 4:231

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Although the prophet's "knowledge independent of the Bible"

was revelatory in nature, Latter-day Saint scholars such as Hugh

Nibley and John Tvedtnes have found extra-canonical texts

indicating that the early Christian Church certainly performedbaptisms for the dead.64

In recent times, the authors of The Interpretation of the

New Testament 1861 1986,Dr Stephen Neill and Rev Tom

Wright, have this to say about the centrality of baptism by

immersion to New Testament Christianity:

[T]hose early believers of a period which recognises no

condition other than that of faith, and no means other than the

Word have no historical existence at all. If there is one thing

more certain than another about these early churches, it is that

admission to them was by faith and baptism. The New

Testament knows nothing of membership in the Church by faith

alone, without the accompanying act of obedience andconfession.

The Epistle to the Romans was probably written in AD

56, that is less than thirty years after the death of Christ; Paul

takes it for granted that all his readers will have been baptised,

and that the extraordinarily high and realistic doctrine of

baptism which he presents to them is the familiar tradition ofthe Church and not a strange new doctrine which he has himself

64Hugh Nibley, "Baptism for the Dead in Ancient Times," in Mormonism and Early Christianity (Salt Lake City:

Deseret Book and FARMS, 1987), 100167; John A. Tvedtnes, "Baptism for the Dead in Early Christianity," in TheTemple in Time and Eternity, ed. Donald W. Parry and Stephen D. Ricks (Provo, UT: FARMS, 1999), 5578

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thought up under the influence of some Hellenistic tradition or

other.

Whether we like it or not, from the very beginning theChristian Church, which had grown out of the Jewish Church,

had its institutional element. We may say, if we wish, that

baptism was merely the outward expression of a living faith,

and that faith was the all-important thing. This is true, but it

does not alter the fact that, until faith had found its expression

in baptism, the believer was not a member of the Christian

community, the body of Christ.65

Non sacramental Christianity, as is to be found today in

almost all the Protestant churches of the continent of Europe, is

an invention of the rationalistic nineteenth-century; it has little

to do with the Christianity of the New Testament and cannot be

made to square with it.66

As faith and baptism are and always were central to the

New Testament Church of Jesus Christ, if we would be true

followers or disciples of Jesus Christ we should take his

teaching as the correct mode or rite of admission into the

Christian Church. And, having done so, we are then again

compelled to ask what happens to those that live and die without

having had the good fortune to render obedience to Jesus Christand his requirements, which are, first faith in him, and, second,

submission to water baptism for the remission of sins which are

65 Neill & Wright p. 20266 Ibid. p. 202

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obligatory for entrance into the Church of Jesus Christ, and as

precursors to our entering the kingdom of heaven?

With that question before our eyes, let us first look at howthe fate of unbaptised children has been reviewed recently by the

Roman Catholic Church. In 2006, the Catholic News Service of

the Vatican, carried this item:

To hope that babies who die without being baptised will go

to heaven makes more sense than the idea that they go to limbo,

says a group of papally appointed theologians. While no onecan be certain of the fate of unbaptised babies who die,

Christians can and should trust that God will welcome those

babies into heaven, said members of the International

Theological Commission.

Father Paul McPartlan, a member of the International

Theological Commission and a professor at The Catholic

University of America in Washington said,

"We cannot say we know with certainty what will happen

to unbaptised babies, but we have good grounds to hope that

God in his mercy and love looks after these children and brings

them to salvation."

Christianity has had the answer for two thousand years, buthas neglected to maintain the doctrine of salvation for the dead

contained in the Bible, having, it seems, been led astray by

uninspired theologians that lost the vision of the character of

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God and the extent of his mercy, and the extent to which the

atonement of Jesus Christ could reach. One of the earliest extant

Christian poems tells of Jesus Christ going to the underworld to

preach to the dead, those that Peter calls spirits in prison.

"And the dead say to him, 'Open the gate to us!'"

whereupon the Lord, "heeding their faith,"gives them the seal

of baptism.

Baptism for the dead, then, was, to use a mediaeval

expression, the key to the gates of hell, which no church claimedto possess until the nineteenth century, so the gates remained

shut fast against those souls of whose salvation early Christians

had been so certain.

Paul strongly teaches that the inheritance with which the

faithful are endowed is just that which God has given to His Son

Jesus Christ:

Therefore, I endure all things for the elect's sakes that they

may also obtain the salvation, which is in Christ Jesus with

eternal glory. It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him,

we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with

him67.

Today, we are fortunate to have access to many ancient andvaluable texts that Christian scholars have traditionally passed

over in silence, or else have interpreted autocratically to fit their

67 2 Timothy 2:10-12

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own views. Although the subject of salvation for the dead has

meant little to ecclesiastical historians in the past, in recent years

a surprising amount of evidence has been uncovered, so that this

central teaching of New testament Christianity can no longer beignored, and Christian scholars and theologians are returning to

the Word of God to find different answers than those they have

been accustomed to giving on the subject of salvation for the

unshriven dead .

A Coptic papyrus was found in 1895 In Egypt chronicling

the post-resurrection teachings of Christ to the Apostles. Noless an authority than Adolf von Harnack a German theologian

and leading ecclesiastical historian, said that this was not " a

provincial production of the Egyptian Church" nor a brainchild

of the Gnostics, but an authentic statement of certain important

doctrines of salvation and resurrection common to the whole

Christian church at a very early date.

Carl Schmidt, then second only to Harnack in hisknowledge of early Christian documents, produced a number of

ancient fragments, matching the Coptic text word for word in a

half dozen languages and showing it to be derived from the

Greek original of an apostolic general epistle which had enjoyed

universal influence and popularity in the church as early as the

second century Christian. The subject of this epistle was

salvation for the dead, a doctrine which, as Schmidtdemonstrated, wasbelieved in the early church to have been the

main theme of Christ's teaching after the resurrection.

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As the early texts were compared with each other and with

the declarations of the oldest Church writers, it became evident

that the major emphasis of early Christian doctrine was not on

the Blut und Kreuztheologie of later times, but on the work ofJesus as a teacher whose instructions marked the way of eternal

progress for the living and the dead according to a pattern first

followed by Adam, to whom the texts attribute an importance

out of all proportion to the teachings of the later Christian

Church.

This new light on the earliest Christian teachings wasreceived without enthusiasm or acceptance by those, who for

obvious reasons, maintained discreet and telling silences about

the discoveries that called for total accommodation of the newly

discovered teachings of Christ at the expense of what had

become traditional patterns and concepts. For all Christians, the

new findings should have been warmly welcomed and

thoroughly embraced since they prove the zealous interest of the

Saints of the Primitive Christian Church regarding salvation ofthe dead, just as it fires the enthusiasm of the Saints of these

latter days.

The first appearance in any Creed of the article relating to

the "descent into hell," was in AD 359. The descent was

generally believed by the Church before that date. It was putforward at the Council of Ariminum, and the following words

may be quoted as showing the thoughts then connected with the

article. Christ is spoken of thus:

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He (Christ) was crucified and died and descended to the

parts below the earth, and there fulfilled His ministry, before

whom the keepers of the gates of Hades trembled.

We turn to writings of early Christians dealing with beliefs

and practices associated with salvation and baptism for the dead

in the early Christian Church, so that we can know how New

Testament Saints would have answered the question, What is

to become of the righteous dead who have never been

baptised?

Justin Martyr, born in AD 89, or perhaps a few years later,

being a believer in the salvation of the dead, took occasion to

accuse the Jews of mutilating a prophecy of Jeremiah, about

Christ preaching salvation to the dead.

Similarly, [the Jews] have removed the following words

from the writings of the same Jeremiah: The Lord God, theHoly One of Israel, remembered His dead who slept in their

graves, and He descended to preach to them His salvation68

Yet, we note a Jewish text describing the Messiahs visit to hell

to liberate the sinners in prison:

R[abbi]. Joshua, son of Levi, tells further: "I asked theMessiah to allow me to look into Hell, but he did not allow me,

as the righteous should never behold Hell." So I sent to the

68 Cited by Irenaeus in Adv. Haer. 3.20 (attributed to Isaiah); 4.22; and Preaching 78

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angel called Komm that he might describe Hell for me. But it

was impossible, for at that moment R. Ishmael, the high priest,

and R. Simeon, son of Gamaliel, and ten just men were killed,

and the news reached us, so I could not go with the angel. Iwent afterwards with the angel Kipod and the light went with

me up to the gates of Hell, and the Messiah came with me, and

they [the gates] were open. The sinners who were there saw the

light of the Messiah, and rejoiced, and said to one another: This

will bring us out from here."69

How ironic that a Jewish text could express belief in the

Messiah's visit to the spirit prison that a modern Christian

denies.

Irenaeus, who was a bishop in AD 177, says that the Lord

descended into the regions beneath the earth, preaching His

advent there also, and the remission of sins, ready for those who

believe in Him, and enumerates as receiving remission of theirsins, all who had hopes towards Him, who proclaimed His

advent and submitted it to His dispensations,.

Irenaeus also wrote:

Christ did not come for the sole benefit of those who

believed in him at the time of Tiberius Caesar, nor has theFather a plan for those only who happen to be living today; but

69Revelation of R. Joshua Ben Levi (paragraph 20), English translation by Moses Gaster, "Hebrew Visions of Hell

and Paradise," in Folklore, Magic, Mediaeval Romance, Hebrew Apocrypha, and Samaritan Archaeology (1928;

reprint, New York: Ktav, 1971), 1:148, cited by John A Tvedtnes review ofDoes the Bible Teach Salvation for theDead? A Survey of the Evidence, Part I,by Luke P. Wilson, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, 1998

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it is for all the human family (propter omnes omnino homines)

who from the beginning by righteousness pleased God and

feared him in their generations, and dealt justly and religiously

with their neighbours, and yearned to see Christ and hear hisvoice. 70

Origen, born in AD 185, had occasion to reply to one

Celsus who opposed the declared "descent into hell" of the

Saviour, by asking:

"You will not surely say that Christ, when he failed topersuade the living, went down to Hades to persuade those who

dwell there?"

Origen meets the question without hesitation:

We say, whether it pleases (Celsus) or no, that (Christ's)

soul, stript of the body, did there hold converse with other souls

that were in like manner stript, that He might there convertthose that were capable of instruction or were otherwise, in

ways known to Him, fit for it.71

Said Clement of Alexandria:

It is not right to condemn some without trial, and only

give credit for righteousness to others who lived after thecoming of the Lord.72Certainly one righteous man is not

70Contra Haereses (Against Heresies) IV, 22, 2, in PG 7:1047, 259.

71 Origen Contra Celsus72

Clement of Alexandria, Stromata VI, 6, in PG 9:272.

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different from another as far as righteousness goes. . . . For God

is not the God of the Jew alone but of all men. . . . Those who

live righteously before the law are to be counted as faithful and

reckoned among the just. . . . God is good and Christ is mightyto save, according to principles of justice and equality, those

who turn to him, whether here or in the next world.73

Tertullian said:

But inasmuch as some are also baptised for the dead, we

will see whether there be a good reason for this. Now it iscertain that they adopted this [baptising for the dead] with such

a presumption as made them suppose that the vicarious baptism

would be beneficial to the flesh of another in anticipation of the

resurrection.74

St. Bruno noted the fervour of primitive Christians to secure

the salvation of a father or mother who had died without

hearing the gospel.75

Ignatius said of the ancient prophets:

They too have proclaimed the gospel, and hoped for him

[Christ] and waited for him. Believing in him they were saved,

through union with Jesus Christ, being worthy of love and

admiration, holy men [saints], borne witness to by Jesus Christ

73 Ibid. VI, 6, in PG 9:26974 Tertullian, On the Resurrection of the Flesh, Chap. 48; ANF 3, page 58175

Expositio in Epistolam I ad Corinthios (Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians) 15, in PL 153:209

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and counted among those who share our common hope in the

gospel.76

Other Fathers of the early Christian Church supported thedoctrine of salvation for the dead. However, the testimony we

have cited will convince all Christians that are not willing to

remain ignorant of the truth that God so loved His children that

he sent Christ to save them, both in this world and in the next.

Therefore, we are forced to the conclusion that the inspired

word of God teaches, and the early Church Fathers taught thatGod and Christ continue to care for the souls of humanity after

they have died, and expend missionary efforts such as that in

which the Saviour busied himself in his all-encompassing

ministry, in which he taught the dead, secured the keys of death,

and accomplished the deliverance of those who were bound, and

that the judgement on this subject that prevailed among the

apostles and their successors confirms the truth of the Scriptures

in regard to the early Christian doctrine of salvation for the dead.The fact of Jesus Christ's going to what Peter called spirit

prison, and the redemptive purpose of that visit is taught by

them with the greatest confidence.

Sadly, as the Christian years rolled into centuries, doctrinal

wars claimed the attention of the rulers of the Church, and the

question of salvation for the dead and the concomitant baptismfor the dead began to confuse the doctors of medival

Christianity who, apparently lacking our knowledge of earlier

76 Ignatius, Epistola ad Philadelphenses (Epistle to the Philadelphians) 5, in PG 5:701

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times, were forced to choose between a weak law that allowed

the unbaptised to enter heaven, and a cruel God who condemned

the innocent. Surprisingly, they chose to believe in a cruel God.

How fortunate that in this final dispensation of the Gospel

it was revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith that,

The Lord ordained and prepared before the foundation of

the world, for the salvation of the dead who should die without a

knowledge of the gospel77

Since Joseph Smiths time, more and more Christian

ministers have come to terms with the need for understanding

and restoring, the original Christian doctrine of salvation for the

dead, so that they can more ably satisfy their belief in Gods

divine justice.

John Frederick Denison Maurice, professor of theologyat King's College, London, was dismissed from his

professorship because of his alleged unsound theology in regard

to eternal punishment published in 1853 in his Theological

Essays.78 Maurice taught that the revelations of God's love to us

in the gospel are incompatible with his permitting any of the

creatures he has loved to be consigned to never-ending torment.

On his deathbed in 1872, one of his comrades in the ministrybroke the sad news that he would no longer preach the gospel. It

is said that he mustered all the energy at his command and,

77Doctrine and Covenants 128:5

78 Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, vol. 17, p. 910

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rising in his bed, avowed, If I can no longer preach the gospel

here, I will preach it in other worlds.

Henry Ward Beecher, the most influential American

clergyman of his time (1813-87), delivered a lecture in

Nashville, Tennessee, titled, What Christianity Has Done to

Civilise the World, in which he asked:

What has Africa done for the world? She has never

produced a sage, a philosopher, a poet nor a prophet, and whynot? Because the name of Christ and the influence of

Christianity are scarcely known in her dark regions.

Millions of her children have lived and passed away

without hearing the truth. What will become of them?

Will they be forever damned? No, not if my God reigns, for

they will hear the gospel in the spirit world!

A Latter-day Saint elder was present, and, at the conclusion

of the lecture, stepped up to the platform and said:

"Mr. Beecher, I have been much interested in your lecture

and would like to ask you a question. Jesus said to Nicodemus,

'Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enterinto the kingdom of God.'

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Now, how is it possible for a man to be baptised in water

when his body has already crumbled in the earth?"

The great preacher looked at the interrogator for a momentand then said:

"Young man, where do you hail from?"

"From the West."

"From what part of the West?"

"From Salt Lake City,"answered the Elder.

"Oh,"said Mr. Beecher, then you may answer your ownquestion. Good evening, and walked away.

Mr. Beecher probably had read enough on the subject of

baptism for the dead to know that such a doctrine must be

coupled with preaching to the spirits of the dead.

Prof. A. Hinderkoper, a German writer, says: "In thesecond and third centuries every branch and division of the

Christian church, so far as their record enables us to judge,

believed that Christ preached to the departed spirits."

Dr. S. Parkes Cadman, discussed the following question

over the radio for millions of listeners:

QuestionWhat, in your opinion, becomes of those souls

who in this life had no opportunity of accepting or rejecting the

truth as it is found in the Gospels?

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AnswerThose who never heard the name of Jesus since

human beings first appeared on the earth constitute the vast

majority who have lived and died here. Moreover, hundreds ofmillions now living are in the same condition. Imagination

cannot conceive their endless array.

Even today, multitudes exist in Christian lands that

because of the circumstances of their location, birth, and

upbringing are in many cases as ignorant of the New Testament

faith as were ancient Greek pagans who never heard of Christ.

Think also of the host of innocent children who die before

attaining reasonable responsibility for their own lives.

Even when dimly understood, your question would be

unbearably oppressive if none except those who have

intelligently and voluntarily believed in Christ are hereafter

admitted to the Divine Presence.

If, as we are taught to believe, the incalculable myriads of

human beings who have occupied or, now occupy this life, exist

for eternity, and must spend it somewhere, how can we limit the

redemptive efficacy of divine love to the brief span of man's

mortal existence here?

Consider the issue as it affects the fate of those near and

dear to you. Then apply its significance to all mankind. It is

our consolation and hope that since God is the Father of us all,

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not one soul is lost to His sight, and none because of less

importance to Him.

"His mercy endureth forever."79

The creeds which confine the operations of that mercy to

the life that now is, do injustice to its saving virtue, and injure

the cause in behalf of which they were set up.80

Doctor Cadman knew what the Bible taught, but could notfind that teaching in the Churches of his time, because it was

found in none except in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-

day Saints, and they have been bitterly persecuted for teaching

what is in the Bible.

Oepke said,

All interpretations [of 1 Corinthians 15:29] which seek toevade vicarious baptism for the dead ... are misleading81

Jeffrey A Trumbower, not a Latter-day Saint, has expanded the

body of work by identifying the belief and practice of salvation

for the dead in the early Christian Church, including proxy

baptism and prayers for the dead.82

79 This phrase appears at least 20 times in the Old Testament80 Dr Cadman was a famous radio preacher and former president of the Federated Council of Churches of America81 Ooepke, TDNT 1, page 542, note 6382

Jeffrey A. Trumbower, Rescue for the Dead: The Posthumous Salvation of Non-Christians in Early Christianity,

Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.

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We must not suppose that salvation for the dead was a

novel teaching of the Christian Church of Christ in the meridian

of time. It was considered a given in the Old Testament.

Centuries before Christ came in the flesh, prophets rejoiced inthe knowledge that through Him would salvation be effected for

the dead as well as to the living. Speaking of the fate of the

proud and haughty, Isaiah declares:

"And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are

gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after

many days shall they be visited."

The same prophet testifies concerning the work of the

coming Redeemer, that he will,

" open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the

prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house."

David, singing to the music of inspiration concerning theredemption from the grave, exclaims:

"Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my

flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in

hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Thou wilt shew me the path of life; in thy presence is fulness of

joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."

Why should anyone knowing God doubt that his provision

for the redemption of the dead was brought about in strict

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harmony with the Law of God, whose Law is written in justice,

framed in mercy, and administered with love? According to

Gods word it is impossible for any spirit, whether in the flesh or

disembodied, to obtain promise of eternal glory except under thecondition of obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.

Accordingly, as baptism is essential to the salvation of the

living, it is likewise indispensable to the dead. This was known

by the Saints of old, and the Christian doctrine of baptism for

the dead was taught, believed, and practised by them.

In a letter addressed to the church at Corinth, Paulexpounded the principles of the resurrection, and the order or

precedence whereby the bodies of the dead are to come forth

from the graves,

Christ the firstfruits, and afterward they that are

Christ's,83 and as proof that this doctrine of the resurrection

was included in the Gospel as they had received it, the apostle

then asks them: "Else what shall they do which are baptised forthe dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptised

for the dead?"84

These words are unambiguous, and the fact that they are

presented without explanation or comment manifests

unequivocally that the principle of baptism for the dead was

understood by the Christian people to whom the letter wasaddressed. Here Saint Paul discloses the imperative vicarious

work where the living minister in behalf of those that are dead,

83 1 Corinthians 15:2384 1 Corinthians 15:29

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with descendants doing for their forbears what is beyond the

power of their ancestors to do for themselves. Many different

interpretations have been presented in attempts to answer this

simple question asked by Paul, yet, the simple and earneststudent of scripture has no difficulty grasping the meaning.

In the closing sentences of the Old Testament, the prophet

Malachi predicted the great work to be carried on in behalf of

the dead during the latter days:

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before thecoming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall

turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the

children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a

curse.85

It is believed by some Bible students that this prophecy

referred to the birth and ministry of John the Baptist, upon

whom rested the spirit and power of Elias, as the angel hadforetold. However, there is no record that Elijah ministered to

John, and the results of the Baptists ministry do not allow the

conclusions that in John the prophecy was fully realised.

One of the great principles underlying the doctrine of

salvation for the dead is that of the dependence of the fathers on

their children, of ancestors and posterity, so that when the heartsof the children are turned to their unbaptised fathers and

forefathers, they can set in train the events that will ultimately

85 Malachi 4:5

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lead to their salvation. As had Malachi, the Prophet Joseph

Smith taught that unless attachments were established between

the departed fathers and the living children, the earth would be

smitten with a curse. That curse would be the withholding ofsalvation to the unbaptised dead. What greater curse could be

visited on the human race?

In the unlimited mercy of God, those of his mortal children

that have taken upon themselves the name of Christ and that

bear the responsibilities imposed thereby, become saviours to

the house of their fathers through vicarious sacred actsperformed by proxy baptisms on behalf of their kindred dead, as

typical of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the

Saviour and Redeemer of all that come to have faith in him,

whether they are living or have lived and are now departed.86 In

this way, they fulfil the prophecy of Obadiah, that saviours

shall come up on mount Zion87

Obadiah prophesies that deliverance and holiness will standon Zions Mount, and through their intervening ministry,

following the example set by Jesus Christ, the house of Israel

shall receive its divine inheritance.

The salvation and holiness of the gospel of Jesus Christ is

to be spread throughout the world, the conversion of Gentiles,

and the restoration of Gods People are to be brought to pass,and, therefore, The God of Israel calls Latter-day Israel to

86 Professor Hugh Nibley87 Obadiah 1:21

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overthrow evil, and to establish of the Church of Jesus Christ, to

which all the prophets have borne witness.

When Christ shall come in glory, then the kingdom and theearth shall be the Lord's, but none that exalt themselves against

the Lord shall prosper, but shall be brought down, so none that

wait upon the Lord, and put their trust in him, shall ever be

dismayed. Just as the word of God saves us, so those that teach

the Gospel of Christ to others are called Saviours on Mount

Zion, in which role, much of their work as saviours will be for

their own kindred dead.

Isaiah uses to inspired poesy when, speaking of those that

honour the Lord by honouring the Sabbath Day, he employs a

beautiful illustration showing that the observance of the law of

God leads to happiness.

Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will

cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feedthee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the

LORD hath spoken it.88

As we read these words, we must remember that the

heritage of Jacob is to be exalted. Some have written that the

heritage of Jacob is to inhabit the land of their inheritance,

Canaan. The author of the Book of Hebrews, speaking of therighteous patriarchs, opens a wider vista, saying:

88 Isaiah 58:14

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These all died in faith, not having received the promises,

but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and

embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and

pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declareplainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been

mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might

have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a

better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not

ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a

city.89

That better country in which we seek inheritance is the

kingdom of God, and the city is the heavenly Jerusalem, the City

of our God, the place where God and his Christ dwell together.

Those that are admitted will be joint heirs with Christ of all that

the Father has, and will share the glory that Jesus Christ shares

with his Father. That glorious exaltation that we share as heirs

with Christ is truly the heritage of Jacob.

Christian Ministers of different sects have read the remarks

of Paul upon the resurrection of the dead. Too often their words

leave us wondering why they are content to accept the notion

that the dead are left in the bizarre position and seem satisfied to

leave them in it, and why they believe that millions of millions

who have not heard the Gospel in the flesh should be shut offforever from hearing it. A convert to The Church of Jesus

89 Hebrews 11:14-16

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Christ of Latter-day Saints spoke to a serious problem that had

concerned his family:

We asked our ministers regarding the turning the heartsof the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to

the fathers, and were surprised because they could not explain

this matter. But when the humble Latter-day Saint Elder sat by

our fireside teaching the Gospel to us, we learned that in heaven

we had a father and a mother. This principle had been revealed

to the world through an unlearned youth, but the wise and

learned did not understand it.

It was revealed through the Prophet Joseph Smith that God

would not condemn the dead without according to them the

same opportunities and rights which the living enjoyed.

This principle won our hearts to an extent that no other

doctrine had done. The primary principles of the Gospel were

not so entirely new to us, but when we learned the doctrine ofsalvation for the dead our hearts were gladdened, and we said

in joy, "God is indeed just."

Those not familiar with the religion of the Latter-day Saints

often ask,

"Where do you find evidence of the truth of the doctrinethat the dead have the Gospel and the opportunity of

baptism & salvation for the dead

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