Mormon Beliefs: Mormon Baptism

When Jesus Christ was ready to start his mission, he asked his cousin, John the Baptist, to baptize Him. Even though He was perfect and had no sins to repent of, He still insisted on being baptized in order to fulfill the law and to set the example for us to follow.

Mormons, a nickname sometimes applied to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teach that baptism is essential for salvation.

Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. (See John 3:5.)

Jesus was baptized by immersion—the word “baptism” means to immerse. For this reason, Mormons are baptized by immersion as well. This symbolizes the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They dress in white and are baptized by a priesthood holder who is also dressed in white.

Children are baptized when they are eight years old. This is the age of accountability, when they are considered old enough to know right from wrong. Prior to baptism, the children receive extensive training in the doctrines of the church. At home, they learn through daily family prayer and scripture study. In addition, Mormon families hold a weekly Family Home Evening, in which families stay at home without guests and have a family meeting. During this meeting, there is an opening song and prayer, family business, a lesson on a gospel topic, a fun activity, a treat, and a closing song and prayer. In most families everyone takes turns planning and carrying out each part of the meeting, including conducting the meeting and leading the music. Not only does this teach leadership and business skills, but it also means parents have a way to share their beliefs with their children and for their children to gain experience sharing their on thoughts about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

At church, children attend religion classes beginning when they are eighteen months old. They are given age-appropriate lessons in gospel principles and on the scriptures. Prior to baptism, the children receive all the information a convert would receive, although at their own level.

During these classes and at home, they are taught that they must gain their own personal testimony of Jesus Christ and His church, rather than relying on the testimonies of others. They are taught how to pray and ask God if they should become Mormon and also to know if Jesus is the Christ. They learn to recognize answers to these prayers. They learn that in James 1:5, God promises to answer all our requests for knowledge and are assured God always keeps His promises, which means He will find a way to make sure they will recognize that the answer comes from Him. They learn that feelings of true peace can only come from God and that when they pray and feel peace and a swelling in their hearts, this is God’s answer. When they meet with the bishop,  a lay pastor, prior to baptism, they are asked if they have done this and what answer they received. As they grow up they are encouraged to pray again for confirmation and reminded not to rely on the testimonies of others.

Those who join the church after turning nine years old are baptized after receiving instruction from missionaries to learn the basics of the gospel. While they won’t learn everything in those brief lessons, they do learn enough to get started, including how to pray for their own testimonies. Knowing the church is true and that Jesus is the Christ is the essential thing, because from that point, they can apply their ability to pray to everything else they learn as they go along. They are taught to continually pray for knowledge and wisdom as they learn.

Baptism is a covenant. A covenant is a two-way promise between God and His child. God sets the terms, but if we keep our part, He will always honor His part. The covenant we make is that we will take on ourselves the name of Jesus Christ and keep the commandments, living a life that does honor to the Savior’s name.

Before the baptism, the prospective convert is asked to repent of his sins. Repentance involves recognition of the sin, true sorrow for it, a request for forgiveness from all affected, an effort to make restitution, and forsaking the sin forever. Since we all sin, repentance allows us to be forgiven and start over again. Each Sunday, when Mormons take the sacrament (communion), they renew their baptismal covenants.

Once baptized, the child or convert can receive the gift of the Holy Ghost and be confirmed a member of the Church. The Holy Ghost will now be with this person at all times, as long as he is trying to make the right choices and listening to the spirit. When someone is doing something seriously wrong and ignoring the promptings of the Spirit, the Spirit must flee.

Joseph Smith taught, “You might as well baptize a bag of sand as a man, if not done in view of the remission of sins and getting of the Holy Ghost. Baptism by water is but half a baptism, and is good for nothing without the other half—that is, the baptism of the Holy Ghost.” (See Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith (1976), 314.)

One problem that has worried theologians of most denominations is what happens to that person who died before Jesus lived or who never heard of Jesus. If faith in Jesus Christ and baptism for the remission of sins is required for salvation, what happens to babies who die prior to baptism and were too young to make that decision for themselves? We know God is just and loving, and it would be unfair to punish people for things over which they had no control. And of course, prior to the birth of Jesus Christ, many righteous people, including prophets, lived and died.

Mormons understand that we are held accountable only for those sins we knowingly and willingly commit. They know that God is loving and just and will not punish His children without giving them a fair chance to make the right choices.

Jesus gave us a clue that dying without having an opportunity to hear the gospel and be baptized did not mean automatic condemnation for eternity. We learn that Jesus explained that learning the gospel could happen in the next world:

18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water (1 Peter 3:18-20).

This shows us the gospel is taught in Heaven, which means there is hope for those who died without a fair chance—it is not a second chance, but a first chance. However, baptism is also required for salvation. How can a person who is dead be baptized, since that is an earthly ordinance. Again, we can turn to the Bible for answers.

Paul was preaching a sermon to the Corinthians, working to prove to them logically that Christ had indeed risen from the dead and that as a result, they also would rise from the dead.

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?” (1 Corinthians 15:29)

A few have tried to suggest he was referring to a false practice, but it is not reasonable to think Paul would use a false practice to prove Jesus’ divinity. That simply wouldn’t make sense. Rather, he was referring to a practice that needed no explanation—clearly his listeners knew what baptism for the dead was.

When Jesus took our sins on ourselves and died, He was performing a proxy ordinance—doing something for us we could not do for ourselves. This demonstrates that proxy ordinances are valid and part of God’s plan. Since the dead cannot be baptized, those of us who have been baptized here can be baptized as a proxy for someone else who died. This is known as baptism for the dead, a practice once widely known but that got lost in the apostasy.

Mormons allow teens to be proxies for baptisms, This is one of the rare instances in which teenagers can enter Mormon temples. Adults may also be baptized for those who are dead.

Mormons are encouraged to research their genealogies and then to submit the names of those who died without joining the church to the temples. Proxy ordinances like baptism are then performed in their behalf. It is important to note this does not automatically transform them into Mormons. Their names are not entered into the church records as members for the simple reason that we do not know if they accepted the ordinance or not. Each person, whether baptized in this life or the next, has the opportunity to accept or reject the opportunity to be baptized and confirmed. If the person who has died rejects the ordinance—and many will, even knowing then that it is true—the ordinance is invalidated and it is as if it never happened. If they accept, it is valid, but it is recorded in Heaven as an acceptance, not here. Here, it is only recorded that the ordinance was performed.

When looked at with an understanding of God’s great love for His children and His commitment to mercy, it is clear this is the only answer to the question of what happens to those who die without an opportunity to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. It gives everyone an equal and fair opportunity to be saved.