Maddie and I do baptisms for the dead

While I was in Utah retrieving my family (back in March and April), Maddie turned twelve. Yikes!! Here's a picture of Maddie holding up 12 fingers, er... toes, er... digits.

Baptisms for the dead... This is not as morbid as it sounds. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the gospel are; first - faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, second - repentance, third - baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and fourth - the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. This begs the question, “If all this is necessary for salvation, would a just God prevent one of his children from returning to his presence because they never had an opportunity to hear the restored gospel of Jesus Christ?” The short answer is no.

The longer answer, if you’re interested…

Latter-day Saints (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a.k.a. Mormons), believe they should follow the example of Jesus Christ by being baptized by one having the proper authority. This step is necessary to take full advantage of the salvation offered by the Savior, Jesus Christ. Because not all of God’s children have the opportunity to learn of Jesus Christ or to be baptized by proper authority in this life, Latter-day Saints enthusiastically conduct family history research (genealogy) and then perform these important ordinances of the gospel vicariously in temples on behalf of those who have died. The deceased, who since dying have learned of Christ and his infinite atonement, then have an opportunity to accept or reject the ordinances performed on their behalf.

Because Maddie recently turned twelve, she can now go to the temples. So, while we were together in Utah, Maddie and I went to the Mount Timpanogos Temple one morning to perform baptisms for the dead. As a father, this was a sweet experience. To make it even sweeter, Amy's parents have accepted a volunteer assignment to work in the temple one day each week and they just happened to be assigned as the "greeters" at the temple entrance when we arrived.


Because the only temple in the Caribbean region is in the Dominican Republic, it may be awhile before we have another opportunity to go to the temple together.