Refusing baptism for the dead

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This page is based on an answer to a question submitted to the FAIR web site, or a frequently asked question.

Contents

Question

I don't want proxy baptisms or other LDS temple work performed for my deceased family. What can I do to "undo" such baptisms and temple work?

Answer

In the case of individuals who have recently died, members are encouraged to be considerate of the feelings of the closest living relatives:

If the person was born within the last ninety-five years, obtain permission for the ordinances from the person’s closest living relative. This relative often wishes to receive the ordinances in behalf of the deceased or designate someone to receive them. In some instances, the relative may wish to postpone the performance of the ordinances. Also, be aware that acting in conflict with the wishes of the closest living relative can result in bad feelings toward you and the Church.[1]

There is no ceremony for "undoing" a proxy baptism for the dead.

In Mormon ritual and practice, such a baptism does not in and of itself have any efficacy unless and until it is accepted by the person on whose behalf the ordinance is performed. We believe in complete freedom of the will even in the hereafter. Therefore, if the person for whom the ordinance is performed does not choose to accept it, the ordinance is meaningless. Baptisms for the dead are not understood in the same sense as convert baptisms for the living.

Thus, vicarious baptism is completely meaningless unless a deceased person accepts that baptism. An unaccepted baptism no more makes a deceased person a "Mormon" than a rejected invitation to join the Church does.

Non-members who do not believe that the Church is true should have nothing to fear. If the Church his false, then members are simply wasting their time, but can have no influence whatever on the dead.

On the other hand, if the Church is true, such baptisms can still have no affect on the dead, unless the dead decide otherwise.

Endnotes

  1. [back]  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Step 2: Find Out Which Ancestors Need Temple Ordinances,” A Member’s Guide to Temple and Family History Work: Ordinances and Covenants (Salt Lake City, Utah: Intellectual Reserve, Inc., 1993), 13. off-site

Further reading

FAIR wiki articles

Vicarious baptism for the dead wiki articles
Wiki temple articles

FAIR web site

Vicarious baptism for the dead FAIR articles
  • FAIR Topical Guide: Salvation for the Dead FAIR link
  • FAIR Topical Guide: Temples and temple work FAIR link
FAIR temple articles
  • FAIR Topical Guide: Changes in temple ceremony FAIR link
  • FAIR Topical Guide: Temples and temple work FAIR link

External links

Vicarious baptism for the dead on-line articles
  • Susan Easton Black, "A Voice of Gladness [Restoration of Baptism for the Dead]," Ensign (February 2004): 35. off-site
  • D. Todd Christofferson, "The Redemption of the Dead and the Testimony of Jesus," Ensign (November 2000): 9.; citing “Excerpts from Recent Addresses of President Gordon B. Hinckley,” Ensign (Jan. 1998): 73. off-site
  • Elma W. Fugal, "Salvation of the Dead," Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow, (New York, Macmillan Publishing, 1992), 3:1257–1259. ISBN 002904040X. off-site off-site direct off-site
  • Hugh W. Nibley, "Baptism for the Dead in Ancient Times," Improvement Era (1948, 1949): multiple, see link. GospeLink off-site
  • Daniel C. Peterson and Stephen D. Ricks, "Comparing LDS Beliefs with First-Century Christianity, (Provo, Utah: FARMS, no date). off-site
  • John A. Tvedtnes, "Proxy Baptism," Ensign (February 1977): 86. off-site
On-line temple materials
  • Donald Q. Cannon, Larry E. Dahl, and John W. Welch, "The Restoration of Major Doctrines through Joseph Smith: Priesthood, the Word of God, and the Temple," Ensign (February 1989): 7. off-site
  • Robert L. Millet, "Was baptism for the dead a non-Christian practice in New Testament times (see 1 Cor. 15:29), or was it a practice of the Church of Jesus Christ, as it is today?," Ensign (August 1987): 19. off-site
  • Mormon Monastery, "Historical Changes Relating to Temples," off-site
  • David L. Paulsen and Cory G. Walker, "Work, Worship, and Grace: Review of The Mormon Culture of Salvation: Force, Grace and Glory by Douglas J. Davies," FARMS Review 18/2 (2006): 83–177. off-site PDF link wiki
  • Stephen D. Ricks, "Dexiosis and Dextrarum Iunctio: The Sacred Handclasp in the Classical and Early Christian World," FARMS Review 18/1 (2006): 431–436. off-site PDF link wiki

Printed material

Vicarious baptism for the dead printed materials
  • Richard L. Anderson, "Baptism for the Dead," in Richard L. Anderson, Understanding Paul (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1983), 403-13.
  • Alexander L. Baugh, “‘For This Ordinance Belongeth to My House’: The Practice of Baptism for the Dead Outside the Nauvoo Temple,” Mormon Historical Studies 3/1 (Spring 2002): 47–58.
  • H. David Burton, "Baptism for the Dead," Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow, (New York, Macmillan Publishing, 1992), 1:95–96. ISBN 002904040X. off-site off-site
  • Larry E. Dahl and Donald Q. Cannon, eds., Encyclopedia of Joseph Smith's Teachings (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1997), 69–(((end}}}. ISBN 1570086729. ISBN 978-1570086724.
  • Richard O. Cowan, "Instructions on Baptism for the Dead (D&C 127 and 128)," in Robert L. Millet and Kent P. Jackson, eds., Studies in Scripture, Vol. 1: The Doctrine and Covenants (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1989), 490–495. ISBN 087579274X. ISBN 978-0875792743. ISBN 0934126607. ISBN 978-0934126601
  • Hugh W. Nibley, Mormonism and Early Christianity (Vol. 4 of Collected Works of Hugh Nibley), edited by Todd Compton and Stephen D. Ricks, (Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book Company ; Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1987), 100–49. ISBN 0875791271. off-site GospeLink See article "Baptism for the Dead in Ancient Times."
  • Krister Stendahl, "Ancient Sources [Baptism for the Dead]," Encyclopedia of Mormonism, 4 vols., edited by Daniel H. Ludlow, (New York, Macmillan Publishing, 1992), 1:97. ISBN 002904040X. off-site
  • John A. Tvedtnes, “Baptism for the Dead: The Coptic Rationale,” in Special Papers of the Society for Early Historic Archaeology, no. 2 (1989).
Temple printed materials
  • Matthew B. Brown, The Gate of Heaven: Insight on the Doctrines and Symbols of the Temple (American Fork, UT: Covenant, 1999). ISBN 1577345118. ISBN 978-1577345114.
  • Matthew B. Brown, Symbols in Stone: Symbolism on the Early Temples of the Restoration, 2d ed., (American Fork, UT: Covenant, 1997).
  • William J. Hamblin and David Seely, Solomon's Temple: Myth and History (London: Thames and Hudson, 2007), Chapter 3. ISBN 0500251339.
  • Hugh W. Nibley, The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment, 2nd edition, (Vol. 16 of the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley), edited by John Gee and Michael D. Rhodes, (Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book Company ; Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 2005), 1. ISBN 159038539X. 1st edition GospeLink
  • Hugh W. Nibley, Temple and Cosmos: Beyond This Ignorant Present (Vol. 12 of the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley), edited by Don E. Norton, (Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book Company ; Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1992), 1. ISBN 0875795234. GospeLink
  • Boyd K. Packer, The Holy Temple (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1980), 1. ISBN 0884944115.
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