Thursday, April 11, 2013

The youth of my ward get the opportunity about 3 times a year to visit the temple and perform proxy baptisms for the dead.  We regard this as a service to the departed who never had the chance in life to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  We believe that the spirits of the deceased wait for this opportunity because the ordinance of baptism requires a body, and having lost theirs, a proxy baptism provides them with something they can’t do for themselves.  This is, of course, non-binding on the dead.  They are paid this honor because we love and respect them.  If they choose not to accept this homage, they don’t, but the fact remains that someone has thought of them and prayed about them; some who may not have been thought of by a mortal for centuries.

The requirements to enter the temple are the same for youth and adults.  In a personal interview, they have to avow their allegiance to the Gospel, their moral cleanliness, their honesty, and their obedience to the laws and commandments they profess to adhere to.  Though there are competing activities (today, a track meet was over just as we were to meet), other obligations and distractions, our youth clamor to be able to attend the temple.  Today we had 13 young men and 12 young women in a group of about 30 total who were reverent and polite and desirous of serving their fellow man and God.  In a session of about 2 hours, they sat quietly and witnessed and participated in approximately 250 baptisms by immersion.

It has been my privilege to watch these young men and women grow up over the past 5 years.  They are an inspiration to me as they prepare themselves for happiness and success in a world that has too little of the same.