Questions: Members of the Restored Church are
baptized for dead ancestors. Can a person still receive salvation after death? Does
judgment take place right after death?
“And also they who are the spirits of men kept in
prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men
in the flesh; Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but
afterwards received it.” Doctrine and Covenants 76:73-74
Members of the Restored Church believe there
is time between death and final judgment for the preparation for final judgment.
The prophet Daniel
was told he would have a time of rest after his death, and before his judgment.
“But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the
end of the days.” Daniel 12:13
Those who lived
goodly lives, when dead, will go to a place separate than that the wicked will
go to.
“And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of
those who are righteous are received into a state of happiness, which is called paradise, a state of rest, a
state of peace, where they shall rest from all their troubles and from all
care, and sorrow. And then shall it come to pass, that the spirits of the
wicked, yea, who are evil - for behold, they have no part nor portion of the
Spirit of the Lord; for behold, they chose evil works rather than good;
therefore the spirit of the devil did enter into them, and take possession of
their house – and these shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be
weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth, and this because of their own
iniquity, being led captive by the will of the devil.” Alma 40:12-13, The Book
of Mormon
Spirits of the good
go to a place of rest that is a paradise, to wait for the second coming and
judgment. While He hung on the cross, Christ told a man being crucified beside
Him that they would be in paradise together.
“To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43
“Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from
henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that
they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.”
Revelation 14:13
Spirits of the
wicked will go to prison. Jesus Christ went to teach these spirits in spirit
prison.
“By which also
he [Jesus Christ] went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which
sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the
days of Noah. ...” 1 Peter 3:19-20
Why would Jesus
preach to the spirits of wicked dead people?
Shouldn’t they just go straight to hell? Why would He bother? They were
and are preached to so that they can learn to live according to God while in
spirit, so to be able to have the same judgment as those who live.
“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
If judgment
happened right after death, there would be countless numbers of people who
would never have had the chance to learn about Christ.
“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” 1 Corinthians 15:19
This does not mean
that we get to relax and not worry about our judgment in this life. You are supposed to want to be a better
person in this life, and to be actively working towards it.
“And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so
many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the
day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is
given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if
we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of
darkness wherein there can be no labor performed. Ye cannot say, when ye
are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my
God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for the
same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this
life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in the eternal
world.” Alma 34:33-34, The Book of Mormon
Whoever you are
when you die, that is what you will still be.
If you were a procrastinator, you will be a procrastinator still. If you are a liar, you will be a liar still.
You will have no ability to be baptized by your own accord. You will not be
able to change who you are. You will be powerless and in darkness. You will be
entirely dependent on the mercy and intercession of others, specifically Jesus
Christ.
“For what is the
hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his
soul? Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him? Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon
God?” Job 27:8-10
Indeed, you should
approach repentance with full intent, with delight in God and His word, and a
determination to keep His commandments with your whole heart.
“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall
search for me with all your heart.” Jeremiah
29:13
Christ went to
preach to the dead in prison so that He might set the prisoners free. This was part of His atonement. These people
are able to partake of the atonement because Christ’s atonement is infinite. It is without limit, not even death can stand
in its way. Christ’s atonement breaks the chains of death.
“And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are
gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.” Isaiah 24:22
These people in the
prison are probably still under the veil to some degree, and are still blind,
not remembering the first estate. They
likely get the beautiful opportunity to still exercise faith in the Father and
in Jesus Christ. These people have no power
to leave prison. Only Jesus Christ can
lead them out of darkness.
“To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners
from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” Isaiah
42:7
If they hear
Christ’s words and believe them, they can gain the same wonderful blessings
that you can.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my
word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not
come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. Verily, verily I
say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall
live.” John 5:24, 25
The dead will have
the opportunity to have someone be baptized in behalf for them, which covenant
they are able to accept or reject. Just as baptism symbolizes rising from
death, the dead in proxy can be baptized in preparation for rising from the
dead.
“The last enemy
that shall be destroyed is death. … 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
15:26, 29
John the Baptist
reintroduced baptism for the remission of sins, which was the turning the
hearts of the fathers to the children, meaning the fathers looking to the
future generations to teach baptism and salvation.
“And he [John the Baptist] shall go before him in the
spirit and power of Elias [Greek form of Elijah], to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the
disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the
Lord.” Luke 1:17
Baptism for the
dead is having the hearts of the children looking back to their fathers,
meaning that the present generation looks back to their fathers and mothers to teach
baptism and salvation.
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the
coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the
heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth
with a curse.” Malachi 4:5-6
Before the terrible
day of the Lord Jesus Christ’s return, Elijah would bring power of the baptism
for the dead, so they can have the same baptism the living are able to have. If
it were not so, all those who die without coming to Jesus will be under the
curse of the law. This happened to the
Prophet Joseph Smith.
“After this vision had closed, another great and
glorious vision burst upon us; for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven
without tasting death, stood before us, and said: Behold, the time has fully
come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi-testifying that he [Elijah]
should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come- To turn the hearts of the fathers to the
children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten
with a curse- Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your
hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is
near, even at the doors.” Doctrine and Covenants 110:13-16
This work of
bringing salvation to the dead is happening now in temples around the world, and
will be the top effort in the millennial reign of Jesus Christ. This is the
marvelous effort to help all the fallen sons and daughters of God to prepare
for judgment and to meet their maker. When Christ returns to the Earth in His
second coming, He will usher in this millennial age, with His work to subdue
all people into His perfectly loving image.
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