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Baptism for the Dead is one of the beliefs that make the LDS Church distinctive among religions today. Frequently discussions with non-Mormons focus on what Paul meant in 1 Cor. 15:29 while ignoring the broader question that our doctrine addresses with proxy ordinances: If baptism is required for everyone, then what about those who passed on without it? Or, to put it another way, don\u2019t we have a responsibility to others, less fortunate than we are? Regardless of whether they are alive or dead?<\/p>\n
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Of course, if we accept this responsibility for the dead, what does that say about our responsibilities to those who are living? We can hardly believe that we should extend grace to those who have passed on and at the same time ignore the needs of those around us, regardless of whether or not they are related to us, look like us, or are strangers. While this lesson emphasizes the doctrine of Baptism for the Dead, it also suggests that we are to care for our families and others, keeping records of what was done and enduring the inevitable difficulties.<\/p>\n
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Today we should probably see the mother\u2019s traditional care for family as a metaphor for what we all should do. As the following poem suggests, our lives are often lost in sacrifice for our families, with things like our bodies and abilities lost in the tasks offered to others over the years of our lives. Unfortunately, this poem is of its time, and in addition to its view of women\u2019s roles also suggests that somehow parents can make sure their children will follow the expected path. Conversely, it is more likely that parents can do the opposite, make sure their children don\u2019t follow the expected path.<\/p>\n
Lydia Alder was one of the prolific LDS women poets of the turn of the century. Born in England in 1846, she immigrated with her family in 1854. By the late 1860s she was involved in women\u2019s sufferage efforts in Utah and in the Relief Society. She served an LDS mission to England in 1899, and attended the funeral of Queen Victoria before returning in 1901. This poem was written just a couple of years before her death in 1923.<\/p>\n
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by Lydia D. Alder<\/p>\n
1921<\/p>\n
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Caring for others often means that we need to care for those who are suffering. Yes, we should rely on the Lord when we encounter difficult times, and this poem by Hannah Last Cornaby (author of the hymn, \u201cWho\u2019s on the Lord\u2019s Side\u201d) shows how to look to the Lord in suffering. But, as friends and neighbors of those who are suffering, we also have the responsibility to reach out and help.<\/p>\n
Hannah Last (1822-1905) was an English convert along with her husband Samuel Cornaby. The couple married in 1851, joined the Church in 1852 and immigrated to Utah in 1853, where Hannah became involved with the Relief Society and the Woman\u2019s Exponent. She published her book, Autobiography and Poems of Hannah Cornaby<\/em>, in 1881.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n by Hannah Last Cornaby<\/p>\n 1881<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Can we see records as a way of caring for others? A journal has the benefit of keeping us (and others) accountable for what we did. We might find that we haven\u2019t treated others as we should have, blinded by who we were at the time. Or, we might find that others haven\u2019t done as they should, and time has obscured memories of what happened. While the records we keep aren\u2019t necessarily \u201cTrue\u201d, in the sense of a complete and honest record of what happened, they are testimonies to a view of what happened. Even if the view kept is dishonest, it can still help reveal truth.<\/p>\n This uncertainty about our lives and what records will say about us are explored in the following poem by Esther Ann Birch Bennion. Born in England in 1833, Esther immigrated to Utah in 1855 and became the second wife to John Bennion the following year (his first wife was also named Esther). She wrote this poem in 1885, 8 years after her husband died, and clearly as she was looking back over her 52 years. But while this might seem like an end-of-life poem, Esther lived another 24 years, passing away in 1909.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n by Esther A. Bennion<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1885<\/p>\n <\/p>\n While, as the lesson suggests, baptizing our ancestors benefits us, the initial reaction among members of the Church was much more about the benefit for our ancestors, working for their salvation. The enthusiasm for the new doctrine led to many baptisms, and initially poor record keeping. The enthusiasm also appeared in LDS poetry at the time.<\/p>\n This included the following poem by Joel H. Johnson. One of the earliest baptized into the Church (in 1831), Johnson served several missions, lead a branch of the Church, and followed the Church from Kirtland to Nauvoo to Utah. A prolific poet, Johnson\u2019s journal reportedly contains more than 700 poems. His oeuvre includes two hymns in the current hymnal, \u201cHigh on a Mountain Top\u201d and \u201cThe Glorious Gospel Light Has Shone.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n by Joel H. Johnson<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1841<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Baptism for the Dead is one of the beliefs that make the LDS Church distinctive among religions today. Frequently discussions with non-Mormons focus on what Paul meant in 1 Cor. 15:29 while ignoring the broader question that our doctrine addresses with proxy ordinances: If baptism is required for everyone, then what about those who passed on without it? Or, to put it another way, don\u2019t we have a responsibility to others, less fortunate than we are? Regardless of whether they are alive or dead?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":111,"featured_media":51660,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2895,2904,24,2462,50],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-come-follow-me-currculum","category-doctrine-and-covenants","category-music-and-poetry","category-poetry-arts","category-sunday-school-lesson-doctrine-and-covenants"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_2712.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/111"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51599"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51599\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51667,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51599\/revisions\/51667"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51660"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Lead Me To the Rock<\/span><\/h3>\n
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\u201cWhatsoever you record on earth shall be recorded in heaven.\u201d<\/h2>\n
My Record<\/h3>\n
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The salvation of my ancestors is essential to my salvation.<\/h2>\n
Baptism for the Dead<\/span><\/h3>\n
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