Will Pick:
For all friends of the LDS,Can you please tell me if this is true or false and WHY ?
Does the LDS teach a baptism for the dead ?
If your answer is yes,How do you get this teaching is it from the Bible or the BOM.
Thank you for all your help and may God bless you.
The short answer to your question is that yes, the LDS Church practices baptism for the dead.
To understand the second part of your question it is important you have some background about the LDS Church. The way you have framed your question suggests you may have little knowledge of the LDS Church so forgive me if I go into some matters you were already aware of .
The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints was established around the claims of one Joseph Smith that he was receiving direct revelations from God, from a very young age until he was murdered by a mob when he was in his forties. Smith testified that as a teenager he prayerfully sought to know which of the existing churches in his area, if any, were the true church of God. In answer to this prayer Smith began receiving visions, first of God and of Jesus Christ, and later of angels and resurrected beings. Some of these visions led him to some golden plates buried near his home; by the gift and power of God he translated these as the
Book of Mormon.
Thereafter, Smith regularly continued to receive personal revelations from God, Many of these were collected and eventually published as the
Doctrine and Covenants. Smith also claimed to have received power to translate some Egyptian papyrii he came into possession of; this translation, along with Smith’s professed translation of and ‘restoration of plain and precious things’ to the Book of Genesis, along with Smith’s own account of his earliest visions, were published as the
Pearl of Great Price. Smith claimed as well to have been given the authority to restore the priesthood authority of the early Christian Church, and to have been authorised to re-establish that Church. He became the first President, Prophet, Seer, and Revelator of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; after his death, those titles passed on to Brigham Young and thence to Young’s successors. The presiding Prophet of the LDS Church, along with his counselors and twelve living Apostles, provide ongoing divine guidance for the LDS Church today.
Basicially this means that the LDS Church has four books of Scripture: the
King James Version of the
Holy Bible; the
Book of Mormon; the
Doctrine and Covenants; and the
Pearl of Great Price. The living Prophet and the living Apostles also provide guidance and inspiration. It should also be noted that Mormons believe that all members of the Church receive some special direct guidance from God, so long as they remain worthy.
All of this aside–it is the
Doctrine and Covenants along with the guidance of the living Prophets which provide most of the unique teachings of the LDS church. However, Mormons feel that the doctrine of baptism for the dead is not inconsistent with the Bible and that it is at least hinted at in
I 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? *
Other sources for the doctrine are derived from LDS Scripture, particularly from
D & C 124, 127, and
128. See the following link to an LDS site which will let you review what those passages of LDS Scripture teach, as well as giving you some idea of how the Mormons deduce their doctrines from the Bible itself:
scriptures.lds.org/query?words=Baptism+for+the+dead&search.x=36&search.y=6
Hope this helps!!!
