The Mormon Dilemma
ACCUSATION: Mormons believe that by being baptized on behalf of someone already dead, that person can be saved.
COMMON MORMON RESPONSE: The acts that occur inside our temples are sacred to us, and we are not at liberty to discuss them with anyone. Baptism for the dead is performed only for those people who never had a chance in this life to hear the Gospel, and thus they are hearing it now in the realm of the dead, and since the dead cannot be baptized, we are baptized in their place so they can receive the atonement of Christ. However, those who hear the Gospel in this life and reject it will not receive this second chance in the grave. But no one will be denied salvation on account of not receiving an opportunity.
MY THOUGHTS: The first response any faithful Mormon will give when you ask about their Temple ceremonies is that they can't talk about it. But that is ok because most of their practices are described in the Doctrine and Covenants. You can also read from their own writers about the purpose for baptisms for the dead.
So let's say "John Doe" lived and died in Africa in the 1700's and never heard the Gospel. Then His descendant, Frank Doe, who is a Mormon, is baptized for him today. Lucky John has no doubts, now that he has left this life, that the Mormon church is true...and since Frank is being baptized for him, of COURSE he's gonna accept the Gospel on the other side! I wish I was in John Doe's shoes. I wish nobody had ever told me about Jesus...that way after I die, someone else could be baptized for me later, and I wouldn't have to worry about which church or which doctrine was true, because once I'm in the grave, it doesn't matter anymore, and I'll get a second chance! In fact, just by preaching the Gospel to a person that rejects it, you automatically condemn him to punishment. It seems to me that it would be better to keep the Gospel a secret, and just be baptized for everyone in the world, so that everyone will accept the gospel on the other side and be saved. (Except for those heathens who write anti-Mormon literature!) So, when those Missionaries come knocking on your door, cover your ears and don't let them in!
Furthermore, Mormons claim the Bible proves baptism for the dead in 1 Corinthians 15:29. A careful study of that text reveals that the only person anyone was ever baptized for was Christ. The passage deals with the question of whether or not Christ had actually been resurrected, and Paul explains that if Christ was not resurrected, and if no one will ever be resurrected, then what good is it to be baptized for someone (Christ) who is still in the grave? The Mormon position is based on a misunderstanding of the Biblical passage.
RELATED SITES:
Jerald & Sandra Tanner
Recovery From Mormonism
Books on Mormonism
The Mormonism Research Ministry
Written by David F. Sims, doing my part to "turn the world upside down" (Acts 17:6)
All quotes taken from the New American Standard Bible, unless otherwise stated.
Back to Retaining the Standard Home
We do not necessarily endorse any web site outside of this one. All links are provided for your information only.