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Question: What can I do to "undo" proxy baptisms and temple work?
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This page is based on an answer to a question submitted to the FAIR web site, or a frequently asked question.
==Questions
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I don't want proxy baptisms or other LDS temple work performed for my deceased family. What can I do to "undo" such baptisms and temple work?
Answer
In the case of individuals who have recently died, members are encouraged to be considerate of the feelings of the closest living relatives:
- If the person was born within the last ninety-five years, obtain permission for the ordinances from the person’s closest living relative. This relative often wishes to receive the ordinances in behalf of the deceased or designate someone to receive them. In some instances, the relative may wish to postpone the performance of the ordinances. Also, be aware that acting in conflict with the wishes of the closest living relative can result in bad feelings toward you and the Church.[1]
There is no ceremony for "undoing" a proxy baptism for the dead.
In Mormon ritual and practice, such a baptism does not in and of itself have any efficacy unless and until it is accepted by the person on whose behalf the ordinance is performed. We believe in complete freedom of the will even in the hereafter. Therefore, if the person for whom the ordinance is performed does not choose to accept it, the ordinance is meaningless. Baptisms for the dead are not understood in the same sense as convert baptisms for the living.
Thus, vicarious baptism is completely meaningless unless a deceased person accepts that baptism. An unaccepted baptism no more makes a deceased person a "Mormon" than a rejected invitation to join the Church does.
Non-members who do not believe that the Church is true have nothing to fear. If the Church is false, then members are simply wasting their time, and have no influence whatsoever on the state of the dead. If the Church is true, such baptisms may still have no affect on the dead, if the dead choose not to accept them. LDS do not believe that performing a baptism for the dead automatically makes them Mormon.
==Notes
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- [note] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Step 2: Find Out Which Ancestors Need Temple Ordinances,” A Member’s Guide to Temple and Family History Work: Ordinances and Covenants (Salt Lake City, Utah: Intellectual Reserve, Inc., 1993), 13. off-site
Further reading
FairMormon Answers articles
Question: What can I do to "undo" proxy baptisms and temple work?
Temples of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are sacred places where Church members participate in sacred ceremonies (ordinances) that help them come closer to God and prepare to live forever in an eternal family.
To view articles about Latter-day Saint temples, click "Expand" in the blue bar:
Baptism for the dead |
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The temple endowment |
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Temple sealings |
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Other topics |
Videos below from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
FairMormon web site
| FAIR temple articles |
External links
Template:BaptismDeadLinks Template:TempleLinks
Printed material
| Temple printed materials |
- Matthew B. Brown,The Gate of Heaven: Insight on the Doctrines and Symbols of the Temple (American Fork, UT: Covenant, 1999), 1.
- Matthew B. Brown, Symbols in Stone: Symbolism on the Early Temples of the Restoration, 2d ed., (American Fork, UT: Covenant, 1997).
- William J. Hamblin and David Seely, Solomon's Temple: Myth and History (London: Thames and Hudson, 2007), Chapter 3.
- Hugh W. Nibley, The Message of the Joseph Smith Papyri: An Egyptian Endowment, 2nd edition, (Vol. 16 of the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley), edited by John Gee and Michael D. Rhodes, (Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book Company ; Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 2005), 1. ISBN 159038539X. 1st edition GL direct link
- Temple and Cosmos: Beyond This Ignorant Present (Vol. 12 of the Collected Works of Hugh Nibley), edited by Don E. Norton, (Salt Lake City, Utah : Deseret Book Company ; Provo, Utah : Foundation for Ancient Research and Mormon Studies, 1992), 1.
- Boyd K. Packer, The Holy Temple (Salt Lake City, Utah: Bookcraft, 1980), 1. ISBN 0884944115.