Vicarious Work for the Dead
Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers to Gospel Questions, vol. 5 ( 1966)
Question: "In your writings in the Doctrines of Salvation [Vol. 2, p. 164], you state that there is an abundance of evidence showing that no work was performed for the dead until after the resurrection of our Redeemer. Yet in our discussion some members of the class thought that many of the washings and anointings in the Temple of Solomon must have been performed for the dead. Is this wrong, or is it possible that there were vicarious ordinances performed in the Temple of Solomon in those ancient times, such as washings, baptisms, and anointings?"
Answer: There is nothing recorded in the Old Testament declaring that gospel ordinances were performed in the Temple of Solomon in the interest of the dead. It appears very clear in all that was written in the Old Testament, or in the Book of Mormon pertaining to the history of Israel, that nothing in any manner conveys the thought that vicarious work was performed in those early times for the dead. It seems to be a very clear and logical conclusion for one to reach that until the Son of God had finished his preparations for the salvation of man and to bring to pass the resurrection of the dead, there could be no ordinance or labor of any kind pertaining to the resurrection and redemption of mankind that could be performed for the dead. Therefore, in the Temple of Solomon the ordinances were evidently confined to the living.
WORK POSSIBLE AFTER RESURRECTION
It was not until after the Savior had finished his work and had obtained the keys of the resurrection through his great sacrifice upon the cross that there could be any ordinance, whether baptism, ordination, or sealing, that could properly be performed in behalf of the dead. All such blessings had to wait until the Redeemer had finished his work and had thus obtained the keys of the resurrection. This being true, all of the ordinances performed in the Temple of Solomon or elsewhere had to be confined to those who were living in mortal flesh.
The statement of the Savior to his disciples immediately following his association with them after arising from the tomb is definitely significant, as follows:
All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. . . . (Matthew 28:18-19.)
ALL POWER RECEIVED AFTER RESURRECTION
The implication expressed in this remark is that until he had obtained the resurrection, he had not received all power, both ". . . in heaven and on earth." But from this time henceforth his disciples had the authority to proclaim his word to every creature. More over, the ordinances of the gospel, based on his divine authority, now extended to the ends of the earth—not only to the ends of the earth, but now they were to be exercised in behalf of every creature both living and dead. Well could Abinadi say to the wayward Nephites:
The time shall come when all shall see the salvation of the Lord; when every nation, kindred, tongue, and people . . . shall confess before God that his judgments are just. . . .
And now if Christ had not come into the world, speaking of things to come as though they have already come, there could have been no redemption.
And if Christ had not risen from the dead, or have broken the bands of death that the grave should have no victory, and that death should have no sting, there could have been no resurrection.
But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.
He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death. (Mosiah 16:1, 6-9. )
IN STRICT ACCORDANCE WITH DIVINE WILL
It is in strict accordance with the divine will that the great work for the salvation of the dead was one assigned to those who lived in the dispensation of the fullness of times. It was a work that could not be performed for the dead until after the Savior had opened the door for vicarious salvation. It was, therefore, a doctrine that was not discussed nor practiced in ancient Israel. We must reach the conclusion that the font in the Temple of Solomon—at least until after the resurrection of our Redeemer—was used solely for baptizing the living until after the Savior had paid the debt and gained the victory over death. Unfortunately, there is very little stated in the Old Testament, and never an ordinance performed, pertaining to the dead. Paul makes one simple statement—which, as far as my knowledge goes, is the only direct statement pertaining to the salvation of the dead and the performance of ordinances in their behalf—in his epistle to the Corinthian Saints as recorded in the first epistle, chapter 15, verse 29, as follows:
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?
DOCTRINAL PRACTICE IN DAYS OF PAUL
From this we learn that in the Church in the days of Paul, the ordinance of salvation for the dead was a doctrine practiced, and baptisms were performed for them in that dispensation. As time moved on, this great ordinance and blessing in behalf of the dead fell into disuse and was finally forgotten.
We have every reason to believe that the Redeemer gave unto Israel, through the appointed authorities, the fulness of the blessings of the priesthood and the saving ordinances of the gospel, both for the living and for the dead, before he departed from them.
