Baptism for the dead

Baptism for the dead, vicarious baptism or proxy baptism is a religious practice of a living person on behalf of an individual who is dead; the living person is acting as the deceased person's. So it is with this practice, an individual is baptized to give those beyond the grave the opportunity of baptism by proxy. It has been practiced since 1840 in, where it is also called temple baptism because it is performed only in dedicated. Advocates of this practice believe it is referred to in The (1 Cor. 15:29); it was forbidden by the  in the  as an aberrant practice of heretical groups, and is not practiced in modern mainstream Christianity. Baptism for the dead is also practiced by several other groups in the.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
In the practice of, a living person, acting as proxy, is baptized by immersion on behalf of a deceased person of the same gender. The baptism ritual is as follows: after calling the living proxy by name, the person performing the baptism says, "Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ, I baptize you for and in behalf of [full name of deceased person], who is dead, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen." The proxy is then immersed briefly in the water. Baptism for the dead is a distinctive of the church and is based on the belief that  is a required ordinance for entry into the.

Community of Christ
Some members of the early (now known as the ) also believed in baptism for the dead, but it was never officially sanctioned by that organization. A revelation and two letters written by appertaining to baptism for the dead were removed from the RLDS  by a  in.

Other Latter Day Saint churches
Some adherents of the movement, which broke from the RLDS Church in the, still believe in the correctness of baptism for the dead, though it is not practiced in their churches. These adherents tend to believe that it will one day be sanctioned under the leadership of a new prophet, whom they expect will reunite the various Latter Day Saint factions under his leadership and correct what they feel is wrong in the. However, there are other members of the Restoration Branches that ardently disagree with this, rejecting the validity of the baptism for the dead doctrine completely.

Other Latter Day Saint denominations that accept baptism for the dead include the and. The Strangite Church performed baptisms for the dead during the in  and later during the  on. In both cases, the practice was specifically authorized by revelation given through. The Strangite Church no longer practices proxy baptism (due to lack of prophetic leadership at the current time), but belief in it is considered orthodox.

Cutlerite practice permits baptisms for the dead to be performed in baptismal fonts in Cutlerite meetinghouses (of which only two exist today, one in and the other in ). Though Cutlerites believe in the concept of temples, it is not required that baptisms for the dead be performed in one. The meetinghouse baptismal fonts are used for baptism of the livng and for the dead. Cutlerites have practiced baptisms for the dead sporadically throughout their history (including during the early ), but it is not known if they still do so. As with the LDS Church and the Strangite Church, belief in this doctrine is considered orthodox.

Outside of Christianity
Outside of Christianity, proxy baptisms are practised by the of  and, by some of the Neo-Apostolic congregations of , and by some  religions.

Early History
Some scholars suggest that baptism for the dead was practiced by some early Christian groups, continuing until at least the late fourth century. , a Hebrew and early Christian scholar at, Utah writes:

That baptism for the dead was indeed practiced in some orthodox Christian circles is indicated by the decisions of two late fourth century councils. The fourth canon of the, held in, declares, "The Eucharist shall not be given to dead bodies, nor baptism conferred upon them." The ruling was confirmed four years later in the sixth canon of the.

Some argue that the fact that these two councils felt it necessary to explicitly forbid baptism for the dead shows that there must have been a significant group of people practicing some form of it, accompanied by opposition to it by the church's leadership. Others disagree with the classification of such groups as "orthodox", since the councils concluded that they were in fact unorthodox, at least with respect to that practice. linked this practice with the, who were considered unorthodox for this and other reasons.

According to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, " believed that referred to a custom of vicarious baptism (Res., 48c; Adv. Marc., 5.10). There is evidence that the early church knew such a practice. Epiphanius mentions a tradition that the custom obtained among the  (Haer., 28 6). And  states that it prevailed among the ."

The "early church" refers to the church shortly after the time of the apostles. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:29 "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?" Latter Day Saints believe this statement is an acknowledgment by Paul that baptism for the dead was both practiced and accepted. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia says that "commentators have offered between thirty and forty other interpretations, more or less strained, of the passage." Most of these other interpretations center around the notion that either Paul was merely trying to point out contradiction within practices unique to the Corinthians or that the wording describes something other than actual physical baptism. John Chrysostom suggests (in his 40th homily on I Corinthians) that this verse refers to the new believer's professed faith in the resurrection of the dead.

The concept of baptism for the dead, according to Elaine Pagels, was easily explained by gnostics. Since the gnostics argued that the text was allegory, their stance was that baptism for the dead refers to pneumatics (i.e. gnostics) taking the place of psychics (i.e. literalists), who were dead to gnosis. (See: .), a disciple of , wrote about the gnostics as being heretical in his work. The doctrines of were so similar to the gnostics that the church father Irenaeus in the 180s regarded Marcion as one of them. Eventually Marcion was excommunicated for his views. wrote about gnostics in his work indicating that there was another aberrant Christian sect who believed in baptism for the dead.  warned in his writings  against paganism and deviations from Christianity, mentioning baptism for the dead as a doctrine particular to gnostics.

LDS Church doctrine


Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that baptism is a prerequisite for entry into the kingdom of God as stated by in : "Except that a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God".

The LDS Church teaches that performing baptisms for the dead allows this saving to be offered to those who have died without accepting or knowing Jesus Christ or his teachings during their mortal lives. It is taught that this is the method by which all who have lived upon the earth will have the opportunity to receive baptism and to thereby enter the Kingdom of God.

The LDS Church teaches that those in the afterlife who have been baptized by proxy are free to accept or reject the ordinance done on their behalf. Baptism on behalf of a deceased individual is not binding if that individual chooses to reject it in the afterlife.

Any member of the LDS church, male or female, who is at least 12 years old and holds a current temple recommend may act as a proxy in this ordinance. Men must also hold the prior to entering the temple. A man must act as proxy for a deceased man, and a woman must act as proxy for a deceased woman. The concept of a spiritual proxy is compared by some in the LDS Church to the belief that Jesus acted as proxy for every human when he atoned for the sins of the world.

Only an adult male holder of the who has undergone the  ordinance may perform baptisms for the dead.

Origin
According to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the practice of baptism for the dead is based on a revelation received by the prophet. He first taught the doctrine at the sermon of a deceased member of the Church,. In a letter written on, , to the of the Church (who were on a mission in the  at the time), Smith refers to the passage in  (KJV): I presume the doctrine of "baptism for the dead" has ere this reached your ears, and may have raised some inquiries in your minds respecting the same. I cannot in this letter give you all the information you may desire on the subject; but aside from knowledge independent of the, I would say that it was certainly practiced by the ancient churches; and endeavors to prove the doctrine of the resurrection from the same, and says, "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?"

LDS Church expands further upon this doctrine and states that such baptisms are to be performed in. Vicarious baptism is performed in connection with other vicarious ordinances in temples of the LDS Church, such as the and.

Initially, women could be baptized for dead men, and vice versa; this, however, was changed in order to ensure that the person being baptized for a dead man could also be ordained on their behalf to the priesthood.

Genealogy and baptism
The LDS church holds that deceased persons who have not accepted or had the opportunity to accept the gospel of Christ in this life will have the opportunity to accept the gospel in the afterlife. As all must follow Jesus Christ, they must also receive all the ordinances that a living person is expected to receive, including baptism. For this reason, members of the LDS Church are encouraged to seek out their. This genealogy research is then used as the basis of research in the Church's efforts to perform temple ordinances for as many deceased persons as possible. As a part of these efforts, Mormons have performed temple ordinances on behalf of a number of high profile people. Of particular interest are: the of the U.S.,  of the U.S.,, , and others.

Vicarious baptism does not mean that the decedent is forced to accept the ordinance performed for him or her or that the deceased becomes a member of the LDS Church; it merely means that the decedent has the option to accept the ordinance and the benefits which the Latter-day Saints claim baptism provides. (See .)

While members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints consider it a great service to perform vicarious ordinances for the deceased, some non-members have taken offense. To be sensitive to the issue of proxy baptizing for non-Mormons that are not related to Church members, the Church in recent years has published a general policy of only performing temple ordinances for direct ancestors of Church members. For example, the Church is in the process of removing sensitive names (such as Jewish Holocaust victims) from its. of the Church's stated that removing the names is an "ongoing, labor intensive process requiring name-by-name research ... When the Church is made aware of documented concerns, action is taken ... Plans are underway to refine this process."

Christian opposition
Some members of the LDS Church see significant parallels between the Baptism for the Dead and the s and read for the dead in some churches (e.g. ), both historical and modern. Others see similarities to other doctrines associated with. However, these parallels are disputed by non-Mormons and Mormons.

Other Christian denominations generally do not accept the Latter-day Saint interpretation of baptism for the dead contemplated in, and no other contemporary Christian church practices such an ordinance. These Christians interpret that in this chapter Paul is arguing, to Christians in Corinth, against those who do not believe in the bodily resurrection. While there are different approaches taken to interpreting the meaning of this scripture, some mainstream Christians believe Paul was merely demonstrating the logical contradiction between the practices of these local Christians and their lack of belief in the resurrection without giving any approval of the action. Others believe that "the dead," though plural in the original Greek, refers to Christ (rendering the interpretation of the verse as "why are you baptized for [one of] the dead, [Jesus], if the dead rise not at all?"), or to the symbol of Baptism - the death, burial and resurrection of the individual as they begin their new life as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Other scholars are not exactly sure about what Paul meant by the comments (see links below).

Another counter-argument to baptism for the dead is that there is little or no record (or incomplete, or disputed) of any mainstream Christian denomination historically practicing it, and therefore it fails the test set forth by Saint, that Christians should believe that which "has been believed by all Christians in all places at all times."

Some Christians dismiss this practice because they believe salvation is not dependent on baptism at all and that Christ's example of being baptized by John the Baptist is irrelevant to one's own personal salvation. If baptism is not important, then baptism on behalf of the dead is irrelevant and unneeded. The practice of baptism for the dead also appears to some Christians to abrogate the individual's personal responsibility.

Holocaust victim controversy
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints vicariously baptizes people regardless of race, sex, or creed. This includes both victims and perpetrators of, including. Some ish survivors of and their supporters have objected to this practice.

The church urges members to submit only the names of their own ancestors for these type of ordinances, and not celebrities or Holocaust victims. If the names are not submitted by a direct descendant then a surviving family member's permission should be obtained for baptisms performed for people who died recently (usually within 50-75 years). These guidelines are not always followed, as in the case of Catholic s, s, and various historical figures with no existing family members. Efforts by the church to respect the wishes of living descendants have included asking them for the deceased person's details and explaining why they are requested. Latter-day Saint, describes an example: For a number of years the Church had negotiated with the government of Israel for permission to microfilm the archives of that nation. These records, including many carefully kept genealogies, are priceless records of the human family and have a tie to great events in the history of the world. The officials had learned all they wanted to know about the Church storage procedures and were impressed. They insisted however that someone be sent to talk to them about the doctrine relating to our desire for their records. They wanted to know why we wanted their records. In 1977 I received the assignment to go to Israel and meet with their official archivists and scholars on the matter ... I explained to them our great interest in the Old Testament and our kinship with Israel. We talked of family, of patriarchal lineage and blessings. We talked of the doctrine of agency. But all of these things were not central to the point. It might seem that in order to obtain a favorable decision we would have to be "diplomatic" and not mention ordinances--especially baptism. But we were on the Lord's errand, and so I told them—plainly, bluntly—that we desired their records in order to provide baptism, Christian baptism, for their forebears and for ours. The reaction was immediate and intense. The meeting thereafter was most interesting! We came away uncertain as to the outcome. But we were on the Lord's errand. We were serving the work of redemption for the dead. We had told the truth without any shade of misrepresentation. In due time the answer came. We received approval to microfilm and preserve those records which were sanctified by the suffering of our brethren of the house of Israel.

Despite these rules, some members of the church have submitted the names of Catholic popes and saints, Holocaust victims, Adolf Hitler and other prominent s for vicarious baptism without adequate permission. In December 2002, independent researcher published a report showing that, following a 1995 promise from the church to remove Jewish Nazi victims from its, the church's database included the names of about 19,000 who had a 40 to 50 percent chance of having "the potential to be Holocaust victims ... in Russia, Poland, France, and Austria." Genealogist conducted a search of the International Genealogical Index, and discovered that many well known Jews had been vicariously baptized, including, , and , without a system in place to ensure permissions were obtained.

Church official D. Todd Christofferson told the  that it was not feasible for the church to continuously monitor the archives to ensure that no new Jewish names appear. And that the agreement in 1995 did not place this type of responsibility on the centralized church leadership.

Jewish groups such as the, which operates the Museum of Tolerance in , opposed the vicarious baptism of Holocaust perpetrators and victims in the mid 1990s and again in the 2000s when they discovered the practice was continuing. Simon Wiesenthal himself had been baptised after his death. They said the practice was insulting and an affront to who died because of their religion. Rabbi of the center said: "If these people did not contact the Mormons themselves, the adage should be: Don't call me, I'll call you. With the greatest of respect to them, we do not think they are the exclusive arbitrators of who is saved." Aaron Breitbart, a researcher with the Center believes the church was showing insensitivity to the living and their dead ancestors. "They did not get baptized when they were alive and they had a choice, and doing so after they are dead is beyond the ethical bounds." Associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Abraham Cooper, complained that infamous figures such as and  appeared on LDS genealogical records at all: "Whether official or not, the fact remains that this is exactly the kind of activity that enraged and hurt, really, so many victims of the Holocaust and caused alarm in the Jewish community. Whatever framework in which it is presented, the notion of performing these sort of rites for Hitler, Himmler and other Nazis . . . is beyond [understanding]."

In a 2005 statement responding to such concerns, Marlin K. Jensen, executive director of the LDS Church Family and Church History Department said: "It is important to stress that the freedom of choice remains a prevailing concept behind baptism for the dead. No ordinance is administered by compulsion. The freedom of the recipient to accept or reject the ordinance is an overarching principle ... The result of a proxy baptism is not binding on the recipient, and no name is added to the membership rolls of the Church. There is no change in ethnic identity or heritage of the recipient or of the recipient's descendants."

In responding to the Marcionite's baptism for the dead, anticipated this application of the doctrine in Homily XV on I Corinthians: ''As thus, if this was Paul’s meaning wherefore did God threaten him that is not baptized? For it is impossible that any should not be baptized henceforth, this being once devised: and besides, the fault no longer lies with the dead, but with the living.... For if this be permitted, and there be no need of the mind of the receiver nor of his assent while he lives, what hinders both Greeks and Jews thus to become believers, other men after their decease doing these things in their stead?''

Links with a neutral viewpoint about baptism for the dead

 * Baptism for the Dead The BBC's Religion and Ethics report
 * Directions: Did Paul Baptize for the Dead? From Christianity Today
 * Baptism for the Dead A philosophical consideration of paedobaptism and baptism for the dead.

Alternative views of baptism for the dead

 * New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, at
 * Christian Answers
 * Institute for Religious Research
 * Catholic Answers

In favor of baptism for the dead

 * Ancient Sources for Baptism of the Dead By Krister Stendahl
 * Questions about Baptism for the Dead By Jeff Lindsay
 * Does the Bible Teach Salvation for the Dead? By John A. Tvedtnes
 * Mormonism and Early Christianity: Baptism for the Dead By Barry Bickmore
 * Analysis of First Corinthians 15:29 By Woody Brison
 * To All the Saints Letters from Joseph Smith regarding proxy baptisms

About unauthorized proxy baptisms

 * Mormons meet with Jews over baptizing Holocaust victims from CNN.com
 * A chronology of the issue of Mormon baptisms of Jewish Holocaust victims
 * Hitler Temple Records
 * LDS Struggle to Keep Proxy Baptisms Appropriate (online version of The Salt Lake Tribune article by Bob Mims, October 9, 1999, noting that "the records show temple work has also been done vicariously for the Holocaust's chief perpetrator, Adolf Hitler, and many of his Nazi henchmen.") Other notable figures for whom Temple work was carried out are Martin Bormann, Reinhardt Heydrich, St. Joan of Arc, St. Ignatius Loyola, and St. Francis Xavier; Buddha and "Mrs. Buddha", Karl Marx,Joseph Stalin, Mao Tse-Tung, Ho Chi-Minh, Herod the Great, Ivan the Terrible, Dracula, and Rasputin. This article contains scans of some of Hitler's temple records.
 * Mormons meet with Jews over Baptizing Holocaust victims - notes baptisms of Ghengis Khan, Joan of Arc, Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, and Buddha.
 * - "Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Genghis Khan, Mao Zedong, King Herod, Al Capone and Mickey Mouse have all appeared for a short time in the International Genealogical Index for proxy baptisms" "Jewish Holocaust victims, Protestant reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin and Mohammed ibn Abdel-Wahhab, founder of Saudi Arabia's stern version of Islam, have all popped up on the list. A purged version of the IGI is on the Internet, at http://www.familysearch.org, a Web site run by the LDS church, but does not show which rites have been performed." "Names are purged from the public IGI after being found and publicized"
 * - "Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Genghis Khan, Mao Zedong, King Herod, Al Capone and Mickey Mouse have all appeared for a short time in the International Genealogical Index for proxy baptisms" "Jewish Holocaust victims, Protestant reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin and Mohammed ibn Abdel-Wahhab, founder of Saudi Arabia's stern version of Islam, have all popped up on the list. A purged version of the IGI is on the Internet, at http://www.familysearch.org, a Web site run by the LDS church, but does not show which rites have been performed." "Names are purged from the public IGI after being found and publicized"