D&C 128:6-18
Doctrine & Covenants > Section 128
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Questions
Verse 12
- What might the Lord mean when he says that the ordinance of baptism by water was instituted to "form a relationship" with the ordinance of baptism for the dead? Does this indicate that baptism for the dead existed before baptism for the living?
- Why might such a relationship have been desirable?
Lexical notes
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Exegesis
Verse 12
The wording of this verse might be understood to suggest that "the ordinance of baptism for the dead" somehow existed before the "ordinance of baptism by water" for the living, since it claims that baptism by water was "instituted to form a relationship" with the presumably previously existing baptism for the dead. This interpretation may be supported by D&C 128:5, where we read that baptism for the dead was ordained before the foundations of the world. As baptism symbolizes death and rebirth, baptism for the dead may have been an ordinance created to make possible and forshadow the resurrection of those who die without hearing the gospel. Baptism for the living might then have been instigated to allow the living to also recieve this forshadowing. This may not be the only priesthood ordinance that serves as a physical foreshadowing of future events and blessings (cf. Alma 13:2).
Related links
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