# What Is Baptism for the Dead? > Latter-day Saints perform proxy baptisms in temples for people who died without baptism. The church says the dead may accept or reject the ordinance, and that their names are not added to membership records. 1 Corinthians 15:29 is the verse they cite. - Canonical: https://apologetics.wiki/latter-day-saints/baptism-for-the-dead - Religions: Latter-day Saints - Denominations: none - Beliefs: none - Tags: latter-day-saints, baptism, temples - Updated: 2026-10-12 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](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/baptisms-for-the-dead?lang=eng) [(1)](#ref-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 128:18](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/128?lang=eng&id=18) [(2)](#ref-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 15:29](/bible/1-corinthians/15/29) [(4)](#ref-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 1:4](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/a-of-f/1?lang=eng&id=p4) [(3)](#ref-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?](/latter-day-saints/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 128:18](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/128?lang=eng&id=18) [(2)](#ref-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 15:29](/bible/1-corinthians/15/29) [(4)](#ref-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 3:5](/bible/john/3/5) [(5)](#ref-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?](/christianity/is-baptism-necessary-for-salvation) quotes how Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant texts read baptism. They do not teach this proxy. Jesus is God. [John 1:1](/bible/john/1/1) [(6)](#ref-6) says the Word was God. Latter-day Saint teaching of three separate beings is on [What Do Mormons Believe?](/latter-day-saints/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 1:4](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/a-of-f/1?lang=eng&id=p4) [(3)](#ref-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?](/latter-day-saints/why-cant-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](/bible/1-corinthians/15) [(4)](#ref-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 15:29](/bible/1-corinthians/15/29) [(4)](#ref-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?](/latter-day-saints/why-cant-mormons-drink-coffee) do not mention it either. ## Passages Quoted on This Page ### Doctrine and Covenants 128:18 English, churchofjesuschrist.org. [Open on churchofjesuschrist.org](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/128?lang=eng&id=18) > It 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. ### Articles of Faith 1:4 English, churchofjesuschrist.org. [Open on churchofjesuschrist.org](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/a-of-f/1?lang=eng&id=p4) > We 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. ### John 3:5 King James Version. > 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. ### John 1:1 King James Version. > In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ## Sources Numbered to match the HTML References list. Item 1 is `#ref-1` under `#references`. Scripture links to the King James Version on this site. 1. [Gospel Topics, Baptisms for the Dead](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics/baptisms-for-the-dead?lang=eng) (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Proxy baptism, agency of the dead, and 1 Corinthians 15:29.) 2. [Doctrine and Covenants, 128:18](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/128?lang=eng&id=18) (Joseph Smith’s letter. The baptism for the dead as a welding link between fathers and children.) 3. [Articles of Faith, 1:4](https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/pgp/a-of-f/1?lang=eng&id=p4) (First principles and ordinances for the living: faith, repentance, baptism, and the gift of the Holy Ghost.) 4. [First Letter to the Corinthians, 15:29](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/1-corinthians/15/29). King James Version 5. [Gospel of John, 3:5](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/3/5). King James Version 6. [Gospel of John, 1:1](https://apologetics.wiki/bible/john/1/1). King James Version ## See Also - [Are Mormons Christians?](https://apologetics.wiki/latter-day-saints/are-mormons-christians) — Latter-day Saints worship Jesus Christ and use his name. Their teaching of God, of Jesus, and of salvation is not the Nicene confession, so they are not a denomination inside Trinitarian Christianity. - [Do Mormons Believe in the Trinity?](https://apologetics.wiki/latter-day-saints/the-godhead-in-latter-day-saint-teaching) — No. Latter-day Saints teach that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are three separate beings, one in purpose. That is not the Nicene confession of one God in three persons. - [Do Mormons Believe They Will Become Gods?](https://apologetics.wiki/latter-day-saints/do-mormons-believe-they-will-become-gods) — Gospel Principles says exaltation is the kind of life God lives. The King Follett sermon says God was once as we are now, and that the faithful must learn to be gods. Isaiah 43:10 says no God was formed after the LORD. - [Do Mormons Celebrate Christmas and Easter?](https://apologetics.wiki/latter-day-saints/do-mormons-celebrate-christmas-and-easter) — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints keeps Christmas as the season of Christ’s birth and Easter as the celebration of his resurrection, with Easter Sunday services. - [Do Mormons Practice Polygamy?](https://apologetics.wiki/latter-day-saints/do-mormons-practice-polygamy) — Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints do not enter plural marriage today. Doctrine and Covenants 132 taught it. The 1890 Manifesto told the Saints to stop.