One in particular, the fourth canon of the Synod of Hippo, held in 393 CE, declares, “The Eucharist shall not be given to dead bodies, nor baptism conferred upon them.” This, like most mentions of vicarious baptism, is attempting to establish that the practice is not condoned by the “orthodox” church.Īnother mention show the almost ridiculous lengths that we will go to save our dead:
In truth, there are various mentions of baptism for the dead in history outside of the biblical texts. It would seem that the apostles, like Joseph Smith, struggled to gain and keep control of their fervent followers. The epistles often are not even consistent with each other. The main reason why the various letters that make up the New Testament exist is to sort out some quarrels between some of these groups. Customs were fluid and fluctuated with the region, there was infighting and backbiting over who was the more inspired leader. It was made up of the followers of Paul, Peter and various other preachers of the divinity of Jesus Christ. Sure, there were various sects of Christianity who may have made this a practice and for the same reasons as modern Mormons did, but primitive Christianity was not made up of a monolithic authority who set doctrine. By making this claim of “restoration”, you have to prove your claim, and by whatever scant means are necessary. This is where the limited scope of Joseph Smith’s knowledge of the ancient church severely cripples modern Mormonism. 15:29)Ī true believing Mormon will take the interpretation that this was practice performed in primitive times, and that this was proof that Paul condoned it. “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 Cor. Many Mormons never stop to question, “Did baptisms for the dead really exist in the past?”Īs justification that the practice existed in the past, Mormons will cite a single scripture from the New Testament.
However, modern Mormonism purports that this practice is one that was “restored” from ancient times, and uses it to justify the policy of encouraging church member to research their ancestry to scour history for the names of those who have not yet been made Mormon by proxy. The concept post-mortem acceptance of Jesus Christ fits with this meme and, I believe, is truly justifiable as a doctrine based on this alone. I can see how Joseph Smith was attempting to make sense of the afterlife, to give it some order and mercy, as well as soothe the souls of those who had loved ones that did not feel their same fervor for their new religion. The Mormon church was a young and vibrant church at that time, with doctrines that were un-defined, sometimes contradictory and often unwieldy and that were being constructed brick upon brick. He introduced vicarious baptism, and it was in the Nauvoo period that he delivered (incidentally at yet another funeral) the concept of eternal progression, another key tenet in Mormon theology. It during this period that he delivered what would become some of the defining features of modern Mormonism. Having recently expelled or marginalized many of the early leaders in the movement, he could deliver new theological concepts with impunity. It was in his Nauvoo days that Joseph Smith transformed from the boy-prophet with a new religion he was struggling to control, to the supreme religious authority who could not be questioned. The concept of proxy baptism is evidence of this desire. In his Nauvoo days, he endeavored to teach a middle way that allowed for a sort of eternal equality between all humans, and to find a fair and merciful God who loved all humans the same. Though I personally have come to the conclusion that Joseph Smith was not all that he claimed or has been made to be by the modern Mormon church, I believe that he was was a least sincere in his desire to spread a version of Christianity which answered all of the questions which had plagued it since its inception.
It was in this context that Joseph Smith introduced the concept of baptism by proxy, or baptism for the dead. Although a prominent member of the Mormon church during the Missouri and Nauvoo years, Seymour Brunson, the Nauvoo high councilman and former Danite, is probably most remembered for his funeral. In the late summer of 1840, Joseph Smith gave a sermon at the funeral of one of his trusted aides, confidants and former bodyguards, Seymour Brunson.
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