Category: Baptism for the Dead
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Is Baptism for the Dead a Christian Practice?
By Christy DarlingtonWitnesses for Jesus, Inc. Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?(1 Corinthians 15:29) Mormon Position Latter-day Saints (Mormons) believe that water baptism by immersion “is the first saving ordinance of the gospel. . . . All…
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Did Early Christians Perform Baptism for the Dead?
Circular Arguments, Plagiarism, and Dubious Extrapolation: The Patristic Evidence for Baptism for the Dead and its Misuse by LDS Apologists and General Authorities. By Ronald V. Huggins, Th.D. There is evidence that some form of baptism of or for the dead was practiced by three early Christian heresies: the Marcionites, the Cerinthians, and the Montanists.…
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Baptism for the Dead and the Twelve Oxen Under the Baptismal Font
By Sandra Tanner In 1840 Joseph Smith declared that those who had died before hearing the LDS gospel could have vicarious baptisms done on their behalf. RLDS historian Roger D. Launius observed: Joseph Smith apparently first considered the propriety of baptism for the dead after reading the only biblical reference to it: “Else what shall…
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Joseph Smith Sermon: King Follett Discourse
In this funeral sermon (for Elder King Follett), Joseph Smith encourages mourners by explaining that God is simply a man of flesh and blood, who “became God” by his own righteous efforts, thus extrapolating that we too can attain exaltation by doing likewise. This typescript is derived from History of the Church, vol. 6, second…
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The Mormon Church Attempts to Conceal Temple Records for Adolf Hitler
By Helen Radkey On August 30, 1998, Don McAreavy, of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, wrote to the LDS Family History Library asking if LDS proxy temple work had been performed for Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun. McAreavy specifically wanted to know if temple ordinances had been performed for Hitler and Braun on September 28, 1993, in…
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The Changing World of Mormonism: Chapter 22
Temple Work [NOTE: On May 3, 1990, the New York Times made the startling announcement that the Mormon Church had changed some of its secret temple ceremony. The penalties, which played such a prominent part in the ritual, have now been completely removed and other important changes have been made. In our book, Evolution of the Mormon Temple Ceremony:…