baptism – What Do Mormons Believe?

Q: Do you baptize dead bodies?

Q: Do you baptize dead bodies?

A: Ewww. No. Absolutely not. Baptizing corpses would be really creepy. *Shudder*

We do perform ordinances for those who have died by proxy (that is, I might stand in for my great-great grandmother or something). Those vicarious ordinances are a large part of what happens in LDS temples around the world. However agency still applies in the afterlife. What I mean is, once a body and spirit are separated (see Life After Death – Part 1) the spirit retains the ability to make choices, to accept or reject these ordinances. No one is ever forced to become Mormon! Such a thing would inherently be contrary to the nature of God. Being baptized in and of itself does not constitute “Mormonism”. The person who the ordinance is performed for must always exercise faith and repentance before the ordinance of baptism will have any pertinence.

I certainly hope that clarifies that for you and anyone else wondering. I personally find this to be a beautiful doctrine and one for which I am very, very grateful. When understood, I feel it makes a lot of sense as well as being fair and loving. If you’d like to know more, I recommend these other articles from our site:

Temples

Does Everyone Get a Chance?

Question Box: What do I need to do to become a Mormon?

Good question. The short answer is that we become members by being taught fundamental doctrines and principles and then by being baptized. However, as part of that, we commit to keeping God’s commandments and taking upon ourselves Christ’s name – meaning we try to live our lives and treat others as Christ would. Missionaries teach people these fundamental doctrines and commandments, and then ask them to pray and ask God if what they’ve taught is true. Here are some links to other articles that may be useful too.

How do I become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
Fundamentals of the Gospel
How Do You Pray?
Missionaries Knock On Your Door: What to Expect
Repentance Before Baptism
What Do Mormons Believe? – Baptism
What does baptism entail?

Question: Number of children

Q. Do Mormons have to have 7 children to go to heaven?

Ha!

No, you can get into heaven with as few as zero children and as many as 100+. As Mormons become familiar with God’s plan of happiness, we begin to see the pivotal importance of family, and so many families become larger than usual as a natural outgrowth of these beliefs. We just love children!

The requirements for admittance into heaven begin with placing your faith in Jesus Christ (who suffered the punishment for your sins).

Next comes repentance, baptism by immersion and by proper authority, reception of the gift of the Holy Ghost, and enduring to the end with a penitent heart. See these articles for more:

Salvation in a Nutshell
How Many Children Should Mormons Have?
What if a Married Couple Doesn’t Want Children?
What Does Baptism Entail?

Fourth Article of Faith

We believe in the first principles of the gospel, which are faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, second, repentance, third, baptism by immersion for the remission of sin, fourth, laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.

This article of faith is a very important one as it involves the most basic actions that we do to follow Christ. Having faith in Christ gives us a starting point and a drive to continue. Our failures and weakness can be remedied by repentance with faith. After repentance, we can be baptized to complete the process. Finally, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost seals the covenant we have made with God in baptism. That covenant includes the promise of having God’s spirit to be with us which will guide us throughout our lives.

This process is repeated thoughout our lives, with baptism renewed through the sacrament, in order to improves our lives and become more like God.

See: Fundamentals of the Gospel

How do I become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

Becoming a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is an individual choice. We become members by being taught fundamental doctrines and principles and then by being baptized. Two missionaries share short lessons covering 1) How our church came about – called the Restoration; 2) Our purpose in life – called the Plan of Salvation; 3) Basic principles – Faith, Repentance, Baptism, and the Holy Ghost; and 4) Basic Commandments: The Ten Commandments, Law of Chastity, Word of Wisdom, and Tithes and Fast Offerings. The missionaries will also give them a copy of the Book of Mormon to read and study along with the Bible on their own. At some point during the missionaries’ lessons, they will ask everyone to take the time to pray about what they’ve learned and ask God whether it is truly from Him.

After a person receives an answer to their prayers that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ’s church, they are invited to be baptized. They’ll meet with another missionary to have a ‘baptismal interview’, which just means the missionary will talk to them, make sure they’ve been taught everything in the lessons (listed above), and that they understand what they’ve been taught and are ready to be baptized.

The Restoration
Fundamentals of the Gospel
How Do You Pray?
Missionaries Knock On Your Door: What to Expect
Repentance Before Baptism
What Do Mormons Believe? – Baptism
Mormons Missionaries
Health and the Word of Wisdom
“Except a man be born of water…”
Mormon.org – Restoration
What does baptism entail?