What Is Baptism for the Dead?

Baptism for the dead, in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is a temple ordinance in which a living member is baptized on behalf of someone who has died. The church says the dead person may accept or reject that ordinance, and that the name is not added to the membership records of the church. The New Testament verse the church cites is 1 Corinthians 15:29. Nicene churches do not practice this rite. The verse sits inside Paul’s argument that the dead are raised.

Key Points

• Gospel Topics, Baptisms for the Dead (1) says living members offer the blessings of baptism to deceased ancestors, and that each person can accept or reject the ordinance.
• The same page says, “The names of deceased persons are not added to the membership records of the Church.”
• It says the New Testament indicates that baptisms for the dead were done in the time of the Apostle Paul, citing 1 Corinthians 15:29, and that the ordinance was restored with this church.
• Doctrine and Covenants 128:18Doctrine and Covenants 128:18 · English, churchofjesuschrist.orgIt is sufficient to know, in this case, that the earth will be smitten with a curse unless there is a welding link of some kind or other between the fathers and the children, upon some subject or other—and behold what is that subject? It is the baptism for the dead. For we without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect.Doctrine and Covenants 128:18 · English, churchofjesuschrist.orgOpen source (2) calls baptism for the dead the welding link between the fathers and the children, and says, “we without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect.”
• 1 Corinthians 15:291 Corinthians 15:29 · King James VersionElse 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 · King James VersionOpen source (4) asks what they will do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all. The chapter’s subject is the resurrection of the body.
• Articles of Faith 1:4Articles of Faith 1:4 · English, churchofjesuschrist.orgWe 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; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.Articles of Faith 1:4 · English, churchofjesuschrist.orgOpen source (3) lists how a living person begins: faith, repentance, baptism by immersion, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. What Are the Rules of Mormonism? quotes that list.

What the Church Says the Ordinance Is

The Gospel Topics page starts from Jesus’ words in John 3:5, that except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. It says many people died without hearing the gospel or without baptism, and that others were baptized without what the church calls proper authority. Because God is merciful, the page says, he prepared a way for all people to receive the blessings of baptism.

The work is done in temples. A living person, often a descendant who is a member, is baptized for a deceased person. The page answers the charge that the dead are baptized into the church against their will:

Each individual has agency, or the right to choose. The validity of a proxy baptism depends on the deceased person accepting it and choosing to accept and follow the Savior while residing in the spirit world. The names of deceased persons are not added to the membership records of the Church.

That is the church’s account of posthumous baptism. The dead are not counted as members by the filing of a name. The ordinance stands, on this page, only if the person accepts it in the spirit world.

Doctrine and Covenants 128:18Doctrine and Covenants 128:18 · English, churchofjesuschrist.orgIt is sufficient to know, in this case, that the earth will be smitten with a curse unless there is a welding link of some kind or other between the fathers and the children, upon some subject or other—and behold what is that subject? It is the baptism for the dead. For we without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect.Doctrine and Covenants 128:18 · English, churchofjesuschrist.orgOpen source (2) is Joseph Smith’s sentence that the earth will be smitten with a curse unless there is a welding link between the fathers and the children, and that the subject of that link is the baptism for the dead. “We without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect.”

The Bible Verse

The only verse in the Protestant canon that uses the phrase is 1 Corinthians 15:291 Corinthians 15:29 · King James VersionElse 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 · King James VersionOpen source (4). In the King James Version Paul asks, “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?”

The chapter is the resurrection chapter. Paul has said that if Christ is not raised, preaching is vain and the dead in Christ have perished. Verse 29 is one of the questions he puts to people who deny the resurrection. He does not describe a font, a proxy, a temple record, or a later church. The Latter-day Saint page reads the verse as evidence that the practice existed in Paul’s time and was later restored. The sentence itself is a question inside an argument that the dead are raised.

John 3:5John 3:5 · King James VersionJesus 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.John 3:5 · King James VersionOpen source (5) is the verse the church quotes about being born of water and of the Spirit. In the Gospel it is Jesus’ word to Nicodemus about a living hearer. The church applies it to everyone who has lived, including the dead, and then supplies the proxy ordinance. Nicene churches read John 3:5 as the necessity of baptism for the living, and they do not add a temple rite for the dead. Is Baptism Necessary for Salvation? quotes how Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant texts read baptism. They do not teach this proxy.

Jesus is God. John 1:1John 1:1 · King James VersionIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.John 1:1 · King James VersionOpen source (6) says the Word was God. Latter-day Saint teaching of three separate beings is on What Do Mormons Believe?. Baptism for the dead assumes their account of authority, temples, and the spirit world. The Nicene confession does not receive that ordinance as an apostolic command.

How a Living Person Prepares

Articles of Faith 1:4Articles of Faith 1:4 · English, churchofjesuschrist.orgWe 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; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.Articles of Faith 1:4 · English, churchofjesuschrist.orgOpen source (3) is the church’s list for the living: faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, repentance, baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Gospel Topics page says the proxy baptism offers those blessings to the dead, who then choose. Preparation for a member’s own baptism is that list. Preparation to stand in for someone else is membership and a temple. The page does not add a separate checklist of clothing or hygiene. Questions about deodorant belong to the Word of Wisdom article, which says the church’s statements do not mention it. Why Can’t Mormons Drink Coffee?

Do the Dead Sleep, or Are They in the Spirit World?

The Gospel Topics page says the deceased person accepts or rejects the ordinance “while residing in the spirit world.” That is the church’s picture: the dead are able to choose. It does not say in this article that death is only sleep with no awareness.

1 Corinthians 15 (4) argues that the dead in Christ are raised, and that if the dead are not raised, baptism for the dead is pointless. The Christian hope in that chapter is resurrection of the body, not a second chance administered by a later temple. This page does not turn the verse into a full map of the hour after death. It says what the church claims the verse authorizes, and what the verse’s chapter is about.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Mormons Baptize for the Dead?

Yes. The church’s name for the practice is baptisms for the dead, done by proxy in temples. The Gospel Topics page says the dead are not added to the membership records, and that each person may refuse the ordinance.

What Bible Verse Talks About Baptism of the Dead?

1 Corinthians 15:291 Corinthians 15:29 · King James VersionElse 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 · King James VersionOpen source (4) is the verse. It is a question in the resurrection argument. The church cites it as evidence the practice existed. The verse does not describe the Latter-day Saint temple rite.

Can Mormons Wear Deodorant?

The baptism page and the Articles of Faith do not mention deodorant. The Word of Wisdom pages quoted on Why Can’t Mormons Drink Coffee? do not mention it either.