Connie:

Mormons (a nickname for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) believe that baptism is a necessary ordinance for exaltation. It is the gate, if you will, by which one enters into God’s kingdom. In John 3:5, Jesus said, “Except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

However, there have been many people who, without fault of their own, have lived on the earth without being baptized. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints are, therefore, baptized on behalf of deceased persons who never had that ordinance performed while they lived on earth – believing that everyone needs the opportunity to choose to enter God’s kingdom. Those deceased persons are then able to either accept or reject that baptism.

Mike:

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, when I have a Christian question, I often refer to the scriptures for guidance. For example, I have referred to the King James version of the Bible for scriptural reference to work for the dead performed in ancient days. Then, I have referred to a simple explanation given by a leader in the Mormon (LDS) church, Elder Bruce R. McConkie, on the matter of work for the dead. You may also refer to the recent blog submitted by Gargantuan with LDS.net at through this link Blogs » Doing for Our Kindred Dead What they Cannot do » LDS Social Network., Blessings, Michael

Christian (Biblical) references to Work for the dead and Baptism for the dead, and Elder Bruce R. McConkie’s explanation for Baptism for the dead.

1Peter 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;
20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

1Cor 15:29
29 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?

Doctrinal notes were taken from the book Mormon Doctrine, Elder Bruce R. McConkie;Bookcraft, first and second editions, 1958 and 1966.

“Based on the eternal principal of vicarious service, the Lord has ordained baptism for the dead as the means whereby all his worthy children of all ages can become heirs of salvation in his kingdom. Baptism is the gate to the celestial kingdom, and except a man be [is] born again of water and of the Spirit he cannot gain an inheritance in that heavenly world. (John 3:3-5) Obviously, during the frequent periods of apostate darkness when the gospel light does not shine, and also in those geographical areas where legal [priesthood] administrators are not found, hosts of people live and die without ever entering in at the gate of baptism so as to be on the path leading to eternal life. For them a just God has ordained baptism for the dead, a vicarious-proxy labor. (Doctrine & Covenants 124: 28-36; 127; 128; and 1st Corinthians 15:29.)

Baptisms for the dead were not performed in pre-meridian dispensations. But since our Lord preached to the spirits in prison, organizing his kingdom among them, these and other vicarious temple ordinances have been performed. The dispensation of the fullness of times [or present time] is the great era of vicarious ordinance work, a work will continue during the millennial era until it has been performed for every living soul entitled to receive it.” (Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 2 pp.100-196.)

Terrie

When Jesus was baptized, He set the example for everyone else. Even though He had no sins from which to repent, He still understood one must be baptized to be saved, and so He insisted His cousin baptize Him. In John 3:5, Jesus Christ said, “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 (John 3:5). Clearly, baptism is not optional for those who want to be saved, just as accepting Jesus Christ as your Savior is not optional for salvation. However, there are many people who lived and died never having heard of Jesus Christ, who died prior to Jesus’ ministry (including many of the Biblical prophets) or whose lives were such that they never had a real chance to gain a testimony of Jesus Christ.

Mormons believe strongly that God is loving and fair. We see Him as our Father in Heaven, and a loving father would never intentionally set up a child to fail or punish him for something beyond his control. After all, it is God who chose when and where we would be born and what experiences we would have in our lifetime. What kind of father would place a child in a situation where he couldn’t possibly be saved? God loves us too much for that. But if you must be baptized and baptism can only happen on earth, what hope does a person have who didn’t get the opportunity in this life?

The Bible gives us the answer in a verse many scripture experts have admitted to not understanding and that many other skip over.

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) Paul asked this question in the process of trying to convince his listeners of the truthfulness of the resurrection. He didn’t bother to explain the term, which demonstrates that everyone already knew what it was. He logically asked them why they were doing baptisms for the dead if they didn’t believe there was a resurrection. The fact that they carried out the required ordinance proved they did believe in the resurrection, but were, for whatever reason, denying they did.

Is it too late after death? Jesus apparently didn’t think so. “By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison (1 Peter 3:19).” Jesus personally taught the gospel to those who had died without accepting it. He must have seen a reason for doing so. What was that reason? “For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit (1 Peter 4:6). The reason, Peter explains is so they can be judged in the way those still alive are, even though they are only spirits at the moment.

When Jesus took our sins on Himself and died for us, He carried out a vicarious, proxy ordinance. He demonstrated proxy ordinances are acceptable to God. Baptism for the dead is a vicarious or proxy ordinance. A living person who has previously been baptized can be baptized for a dead ancestor.

It is critical to note this does not make the person a Mormon. Mormons are very strong believers in agency, the right to choose. In fact, agency was an essential part of God’s plan and taking it away from us was an essential part of Satan’s proposal. For that reason, accepting the gospel must be a personal choice. It is not a second chance–if the person had a legitimate chance on earth, God will not accept the vicarious baptism. However, we are not permitted to judge who did or did not receive that chance–we can’t know if the spirit ever really testified to the person. So we do this work for all our ancestors, as a gift to them. When the work is done, the dead person, who has been learning the gospel in Heaven (think of it as an orientation course) is permitted to choose whether or not to accept. Sadly, even knowing it is true, as they will then, many will still choose to reject it for various reasons, just as people have always chosen to reject things they knew to be true. If the person rejects the gift, it is as if it never happened. Mormons do not list the people for whom ordinances are done as members, because we do not know who accepted and who rejected.

I asked my non-Mormon father if I could do his work after his death. He said that if it was all false, it wouldn’t make any difference at all that it was done because God would ignore it, as He ignores anything false. However, if it was true, he’d be desperate for the opportunity, so he felt he had nothing to lose. Without the ordinance, his agency would be taken from him.

Baptism for the dead is a gift of love from one family member to another and it is one of the reasons I knew the church had to be true. It assured me God really does love all His children, not just the ones fortunate enough to be placed in the right place at the right time.

Terrie Lynn Bittner

The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.

The name of the report demonstrates the basic results of the study: Mormons in America: Certain in Their Beliefs, Uncertain of Their Place in Society,” Mormons in the study showed some concern over how they are viewed. They don’t want to be just like everyone else, but they do want their beliefs treated with dignity and respect.

To this end, as the title suggests, many Mormons are unsure of their acceptance in society. Half felt evangelical Christians were usually unfriendly to them. 54 percent felt media portrayals were damaging to their faith and 62 percent felt Americans don’t know much about them. Although two-thirds of Mormons don’t believe most Americans see them as part of the mainstream, 63 percent feel that their level of acceptance is improving.

The other part of the study’s title reveals that Mormons themselves have very sure testimonies of their beliefs. 97 percent of Mormons describe their religion as a Christian religion. 74 percent were raised in the Mormon faith and 65 percent have current temple recommends. This last statistic is important because a temple recommend requires a member to have belonged to the church for at least a year and to have a strong testimony of several key doctrines. In addition, they have to be living a moral and spiritual lifestyle. As a result, it is one indicator of a person’s commitment to his or her religion.

Deseret News, which summarized the lengthy report, said:

“In terms of religious beliefs and practices, the survey makes it clear that Mormons are highly religious — again, not a big surprise. Eighty-two percent say that religion is very important in their lives, and 77 percent say they believe wholeheartedly in all of the church’s teachings. Fully 83 percent say they pray every day, 79 percent say they donate 10 percent of their earnings to the church in tithing and 77 percent say they attend church at least once a week. According to Pew, “Mormons exhibit higher levels of religious commitment than many other religious groups, including white evangelical Protestants.”

Looking at basic, core religious beliefs, 98 percent say they believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 94 percent believe the president of the LDS Church is a prophet of God, 95 percent believe that families can be bound together eternally in temple ceremonies, 94 percent believe that God the Father and Jesus Christ are separate, physical beings and 91 percent believe that the Book of Mormon was written by ancient prophets.

Clearly, Mormons are believers.” (See ‘Mormons in America’ Pew survey explores beliefs, attitudes of LDS Church members, By Joseph Walker, Deseret News; Published: Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012 10:00 p.m. MST.)

Despite facing the ordinary trials of life, 87 percent of Mormons say they are satisfied with life, a figure higher than that of the general public. However, they also feel a strong responsibility to help others achieve better lives. 73 percent said that helping the poor was an essential element of Mormonism.

The study, and previous Pew studies in which Mormons were ranked against other religions, demonstrate that the Mormons are doing something right. The religion creates a high level of faith and morality. Mormons are well-known for their commitment to living clean, moral lives and for being happy while they do it. In a world that claims we can’t enjoy life without being immoral, Mormons are proving that morality is rewarding and joyous.

Terrie Lynn Bittner

The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.

Labels like cult or non-Christian are common techniques designed to play on the emotions. Those who encourage name-calling don’t want their own followers to think. An emotionally loaded term like Mormon cult helps many people to simply feel something and stops them from taking the time to research or even think it through. Some who were taught this admitted they didn’t know why they used the term or even what it really meant.

If you’ve never looked up the word in a real dictionary, take a moment to do so. A quick visit to the Oxford Dictionary shows us what a cult is. In real dictionaries, the most common usage for a word is the first one. The further down the list the term is, the less common the definition is.

The first definition—the most common usage—is: “a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object.” Does this describe Mormonism? Mormons do not worship objects. They worship God and Jesus Christ. If those people are accepted as particular figures, then they are part of a cult, but so is every other Christian religion. Contrary to popular gossip, Mormons do not worship either Mormon or Joseph Smith. Both these men were prophets, just as were Moses and Noah in the Old Testament. They are treated the same way we treat Biblical prophets—we honor and respect them, but do not worship them, anymore than members of other Christian and Jewish religions worship Noah.

The most common definition of a cult, then, either does not apply to Mormons or it applies to all Christian religions, depending on what you accept as the figure a cult worships. Mormon cult” is an inaccurate term according to this definition.

The second definition of cult is, “a relatively small group of people having religious beliefs or practices regarded by others as strange or sinister.” With more than 14 million people worldwide, the religion of the Mormon people is hardly small. There are approximately as many Mormons in the United States as there are Jewish people. The first part of this definition also makes the term “Mormon cult” invalid. The second part of this is that the cult must have beliefs that others consider strange or sinister. This, of course, is a subjective statement that can be applied to any religion—or any person. What seems very normal to one person seems weird or sinister to another. Every religion has aspects others see as weird or sinister—communion, tithing, angels, even belief in a Savior. Many religions have martyrs who chose to die rather than to deny their faith. Non-religious people often find it sinister that religious people are taught this is a worthwhile decision, while religious people find it inspirational. Many social issues accepted as natural to some religions seem weird or sinister to others—issues related to abortion, immigration, or the definition of marriage for instance. This definition is generally useless in terms of defining a cult.

The final and least common definition of a cult in this dictionary is: “A misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing.” Mormons don’t worship things, so this definition does not apply. As for the misplaced or excessive admiration, this again is a generic statement and subject to personal opinion. This statement would only create a Mormon cult if the person referred to is Jesus Christ, but of course Mormons—and other Christians—don’t consider their belief in Jesus Christ excessive or misplaced.

In an article on the CNN website, Richard Mouw, president of the Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, addressed this subject. Fuller is an evangelical Christian seminary. He explained that he has studied cults extensively and also meets regularly with a closed-door group of Mormons, including Mormon apostles and an equal number of evangelical leaders. While Mormons and evangelicals have many theological differences, he has found the differences aren’t as large as he once thought.

Mouw does not believe there is a Mormon cult. As one example, he says cults do not participate in respectful discussions of religious issues and feel only they benefit from God’s favor. His participation in the religious group is, he says, one sign Mormons are not a cult. They enjoy learning about other religions and discussing the issues. They also quote and study religious leaders of other faiths. (If you read through speeches by Mormon leaders, you’ll see quotes from rabbis, Mother Theresa, and leaders from many religious faiths.)

He says cults do not promote scholarship or have universities and law schools that allow them to participate in the world’s discovery of information. He reminds his readers that Brigham Young University, owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is a world-class university. In addition, many of the church’s top leaders have advanced degrees from ivy league universities. They are not afraid of knowledge and education.

Mouw showed some of his students a video of a Mormon apostle speaking on the last week of Jesus Christ’s life and on the atonement. (The video can be viewed at the end of this article.) The students admitted that they would have thought he was an evangelical minister had they not known he was a Mormon. There was nothing uncomfortable, strange, or referring to a “different Jesus” in his speech.

Read My Take: This evangelical says Mormonism isn’t a cult.

When researching a religion, it is important to follow Jesus’ counsel to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Mouw said he has been asked if evangelicalism is a cult. No one wants his or her religion referred to that way, especially if it’s not true. We need to treat the religions of others the way we want others to treat our own religion.

One step to doing this is to do accurate research. Learn how to validate sources and recognize bias. If you read an article that says Mormons worship Joseph Smith, for instance, and then you discover that isn’t true (it isn’t true!), then you know the author is not a knowledgeable or trustworthy source. If someone were going to learn about you, would you ask them to go only to your enemies and those who want to destroy you for their information? Of course not. You’d want them to talk to you. When researching any religion, go to the religion’s own sources, ones its members would consider valid. This is, presumably, how you research your own religion, so it should be how you research other religions.

Visit Mormon.org or LDS.org for official information. Mormon.org is designed for people who are not Mormon and want to learn the basics. LDS.org is for Mormons, although nearly everything is accessible, including the student and teacher manuals for the actual classes taught at church and the official magazine. Only congregational websites are excluded, to protect the privacy of the members, and sections for people who hold a specific church job—but even Mormons can’t get into those unless they currently hold those positions.

Another step is to use inclusive language. Using insulting nicknames or terms is un-Christ-like. Speak using respectful terminology and show the kind of respect to others about their beliefs you want others to show for yours. Accept the way others describe themselves. Deciding who is and is not a Christian is God’s prerogative and so our job is to simply accept the self-definition of each group. We don’t have to agree with each doctrine, but we do need to respect how they see themselves.

“Mormon cult” is an inaccurate term, as a review of dictionary definitions shows. It is nothing more than a way to manipulate emotions and prevent listeners from doing what God has told us to do in order to find out which church is God’s church: Pray (James 1:5, New Testament.)

Watch the video that looked like an evangelical sermon to some evangelical theology students.

Terrie Lynn Bittner

The late Terrie Lynn Bittner—beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend—was the author of two homeschooling books and numerous articles, including several that appeared in Latter-day Saint magazines. She became a member of the Church at the age of 17 and began sharing her faith online in 1992.