m****a
发帖数: 9485 | 1 http://www.lds.org/liahona/2009/03/why-do-we-baptize-for-the-de
这里是12使徒之一的弟兄，讲解为什么我们为死人受浸。以下是一些节选：
Christian theologians have long wrestled with the question, What is the
destiny of the countless billions who have lived and died with no knowledge
of Jesus? With the Restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ has come the
understanding of how the unbaptized dead are redeemed and how God can be “a
perfect, just God, and a merciful God also” (Alma 42:15).
While yet in life, Jesus prophesied that He would also preach to the dead.
Peter tells us this happened in the interval between the Savior’s
Crucifixion and Resurrection (see 1 Peter 3:18–19). President Joseph F.
Smith (1838–1918) witnessed in vision that the Savior visited the spirit
world and “from among the righteous [spirits], he organized his forces and
appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned
them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in
darkness. …
“These were taught faith in God, repentance from sin, vicarious baptism for
the remission of sins, [and] the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of
hands” (D&C 138:30, 33). | m****a
发帖数: 9485 | 2 The doctrine that the living can provide baptism and other essential
ordinances to the dead vicariously was revealed anew to the Prophet Joseph
Smith (see D&C 124; 128; 132). He learned that the spirits awaiting
resurrection are offered not only individual salvation but they can be bound
in heaven as husband and wife and be sealed to their fathers and mothers of
all generations past and have sealed to them their children of all
generations future. The Lord instructed the Prophet that these sacred rites
are appropriately performed only in a house built to His name, a temple (see
D&C 124:29–36).
http://scriptures.lds.org/zh/dc/124
http://scriptures.lds.org/zh/dc/128 | m****a
发帖数: 9485 | 3 Some have misunderstood and suppose that deceased souls “are being baptized
into the Mormon faith without their knowledge.” 2 They assume that we
somehow have power to force a soul in matters of faith. Of course, we do not
. God gave man his agency from the beginning. The Church does not list them
on its rolls or count them in its membership.
Our anxiety to redeem the dead and the time and resources we put behind that
commitment are, above all, an expression of our witness concerning Jesus
Christ. It constitutes as powerful a statement as we can make concerning His
divine character and mission. It testifies, first, of Christ’s
Resurrection; second, of the infinite reach of His Atonement; third, that He
is the sole source of salvation; fourth, that He has established the
conditions for salvation; and, fifth, that He will come again. | m****a
发帖数: 9485 | 4 Conditions of Salvation Set by Christ
Because we believe that Jesus Christ is the Redeemer, we also accept His
authority to establish the conditions by which we may receive His grace.
Otherwise we would not concern ourselves with being baptized for the dead.
Jesus confirmed that “strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which
leadeth unto life” (Matthew 7:14). Specifically, He said, “Except a man be
born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God”
(John 3:5). This means we must “repent, and be baptized every one … in the
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and … receive the gift of
the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:38).
Not withstanding He was sinless, Jesus Christ Himself was baptized and
received the Holy Ghost. He said, “He that is baptized in my name, to him
will the Father give the Holy Ghost, like unto me; wherefore, follow me, and
do the things which ye have seen me do” (2 Nephi 31:12).
There are no exceptions granted; none are needed. As many as will believe
and be baptized—including by proxy—and endure in faith, shall be saved, “
not only those who believed after [Christ] came in the meridian of time, in
the flesh, but all those from the beginning, even as many as were before he
came” (D&C 20:26). It is for this reason that the gospel is preached “also
to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the
flesh, but live according to God in the spirit” (1 Peter 4:6). | m****a
发帖数: 9485 | 5 Freeing the Dead from Prison
The vicarious ordinances we perform in temples, beginning with baptism, make
possible an eternal welding link between generations that fulfills the
purpose of the earth’s creation. Indeed, without these ordinances, “the
whole earth would be utterly wasted at [Christ’s] coming” (D&C 2:3).
Our charge extends as far and as deep as the love of God to encompass His
children of every time and place. Our efforts on behalf of the dead bear
eloquent witness that Jesus Christ is the divine Redeemer of all mankind.
His grace and promises reach even those who in life do not find Him. Because
of Him, the prisoners shall indeed go free.
It matters tremendously what we do in relation to those who have gone before
, because they live today as spirits and shall live again as immortal souls,
and that because of Jesus Christ. | m****a
发帖数: 9485 | 6 The Power of Christ’s Resurrection
As regards the Resurrection, Paul asked, “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). We are baptized for the dead
because we know that they will rise. “The soul shall be restored to the
body, and the body to the soul; yea, and every limb and joint shall be
restored to its body; yea, even a hair of the head shall not be lost; but
all things shall be restored to their proper and perfect frame” (Alma 40:23
). “For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might
be Lord both of the dead and living” (Romans 14:9).
It matters tremendously what we do in relation to those who have gone before
, because they live today as spirits and shall live again as immortal souls,
and that because of Jesus Christ. We believe His words when He said, “I am
the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were
dead, yet shall he live” (John 11:25). By the baptisms we perform in behalf
of the dead, we testify that “as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall
all be made alive. …
“For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:22, 25
–26). |
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