Baptisms for the Dead
- stephenstrent7
- Nov 1
- 6 min read
Where Science Meets the Doctrine and Covenants, for the Come Follow Me lesson Nov 3-9; Doctrine and Covenants 125-128
Doctrine and Covenants sections 127-128 were letters from Joseph Smith to the Saints in Nauvoo. Section 127, verse 1; dated September 1, 1842; says, in part, “Forasmuch as the Lord has revealed unto me that my enemies, both in Missouri and this State, were again in the pursuit of me; and inasmuch as they pursue me without a cause, and have not the least shadow or coloring of justice or right on their side in the getting up of their prosecutions against me; and inasmuch as their pretensions are all founded in falsehood of the blackest dye, I have thought it expedient and wisdom in me to leave the place for a short season, for my own safety and the safety of this people.”
He then stated in verse 10, “I will say to all the saints, that I desired, with exceedingly great desire, to have addressed them from the stand on the subject of baptism for the dead, on the following Sabbath. But inasmuch as it is out of my power to do so, I will write the word of the Lord from time to time, on that subject, and send it to you by mail, as well as many other things.”
Steven Harper said of these statements, “… as Joseph moved from house to house in and around Nauvoo, protected by friends, he pondered the newly restored doctrines of the temple. There was something missing. He sought revelation while he was hiding and learned more about the nature of the ordinances. He looked for the first safe opportunity to teach the Saints. In August he taught the Relief Society that “all persons baptiz’d for the dead must have a Recorder present, that he may be an eye-witness to testify of it. It will be necessary in the grand Council, that these things be testified.”7 The next day Joseph dictated a letter to the Saints, section 127, in which he shared some of what he had recently learned.”2
Joseph stated in section 127, verses 6 and 9, “Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you concerning your dead: When any of you are baptized for your dead, let there be a recorder, and let him be eye-witness of your baptisms; let him hear with his ears, that he may testify of a truth, saith the Lord…And again, let all the records be had in order, that they may be put in the archives of my holy temple, to be held in remembrance from generation to generation, saith the Lord of Hosts.”
Then, in section 128; dated September 7, 1842; Joseph stated, in verses 1-2, “…I now resume the subject of the baptism for the dead, as that subject seems to occupy my mind, and press itself upon my feelings the strongest, since I have been pursued by my enemies. I wrote a few words of revelation to you concerning a recorder. I have had a few additional views in relation to this matter, which I now certify. That is, it was declared in my former letter that there should be a recorder, who should be eye-witness, and also to hear with his ears, that he might make a record of a truth before the Lord.”
And in verse 3, “Now, in relation to this matter, it would be very difficult for one recorder to be present at all times, and to do all the business. To obviate this difficulty, there can be a recorder appointed in each ward of the city, who is well qualified for taking accurate minutes; and let him be very particular and precise in taking the whole proceedings, certifying in his record that he saw with his eyes, and heard with his ears, giving the date, and names, and so forth, and the history of the whole transaction; naming also some three individuals that are present, if there be any present, who can at any time when called upon certify to the same, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.”
The image at the beginning of this essay is a portion of page 1 of the record of Baptisms for the Dead in the Mississippi River, October 27th, 1840; nearly two years before the revelations in sections 127 and 128 were received, and over a year before the wooden font in the Nauvoo Temple was completed. According to Church Historian Brett Dowdle, the letter of September 7, 1842 was read to the Saints in Nauvoo on Sunday, September 11, 1842. That evening, many members met on the banks of the Mississippi River to be baptized for the dead. A bound record book was started on that date, which complied with the instructions given in sections 127 and 128. In a Church video available at: churchofjesuschrist.org/media/video/2018-10-3050-recording-baptisms-for-the-dead-in-nauvoo?lang=eng, Brett Dowdle “displays the rarely seen record of baptisms for the dead in the Nauvoo temple and explains its significance to Latter-day Saints.” This is a great video, less than five minutes in length, and I highly recommend viewing it.
The wooden baptismal font in the Nauvoo Temple was completed 21 November 1841.3 So why, on September 11, 1842, nearly one year later, were people still being baptized in the Mississippi River? There is another great video relating to baptisms for the dead at this time: “D&C 124 Nauvoo Facts You Never Knew”, Lynne Hilton Wilson and Susan Easton Black, Come Follow Church History.4 In that video, Lynne Wilson stated that Joseph Smith kept telling the Saints that they must use the font in the Temple, now that it was finished, and no longer perform baptisms for the dead in the river. However, “The wooden font stank, they didn’t want to use it…it was leaking. It was wood. It was growing mildew and they didn’t want to use it.”
This is a great video of a discussion between two highly qualified Church historians: Lynne Hilton Wilson, who earned her PhD in Theology and American Religious History from Marquette University, and Susan Easton Black, with an EdD from BYU, and a retired professor of Church History and Doctrine at BYU. The video is 47:44 long and is well worth watching the entire thing.
In 2002, Harvey Bischoff Black and Susan Easton Black compiled a seven-volume set of books entitled, Annotated record of baptisms for the dead, 1840-1845: Nauvoo, Hancock County, Illinois. This annotated list is searchable and is available at the FamilySearch website.5
Here is an entry for my second and third great grandfathers from the “List of Baptisms for the Dead in the Nauvoo Temple”, Volume 1, Highlights from Image 343:
Deceased: Albert (Alpheus) Behunin [my third great grandfather]; Gender: Male; Birth date: 1758; Birth place: Pulaski, Oswego, New York; [Isaac’s] Father: Behunin, Alpheus; [Isaac’s] Mother: Lords, Nancy; Death date: 13 October 1823; Death place: Pulaski, Oswego, New York; Proxy’s relationship to deceased: Isaac Behunin [my second great grandfather] was the Son of Albert Behunin.
Source: Nauvoo Baptismal Records of proxy baptism: 1841; Source: Nauvoo Baptismal Records of the Dead, Book A180.
Proxy: Isaac Behunin; Gender: Male; Birth date: 20 October 1803; Birth place: Richland Oswego, New York; Father: Behunin, Albert (Alphius); Mother: Lord (Lords), Nancy; [Isaac’s] Spouse: Morton, Meribah (Died 1834); Marriage date: 28 December 1823.
There is a lot of information in that entry, even though it was recorded a year before the revelations in sections 127 and 128. This baptism record is dated 1841, with no month or day listed. The first baptisms for the dead in the, as yet incomplete, Nauvoo Temple took place on Sunday, 21 November 1841. According to Joseph Smith’s description of the temporary wooden baptismal font, “The font was enclosed by a temporary frame building sided up with split oak clapboards, with a roof of the same material, and was so low that the timbers of the first story were laid above it.”6 That temporary structure is described by Lynne Hilton Wilson and Susan Easton Black, and is depicted in a painting, shown in Wilson’s video.7
Trent Dee Stephens, PhD
References
1. familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/386499/?offset=0#page=3&viewer=picture&o=info&n=0&q=; This is supposed to be searchable, but I could not get the search function to work.
2. Harper, Steven C., Brief Synopsis, Historical Context and Background of D&C 127; doctrineandcovenantscentral.org/historical-context/dc-127
3. Colvin, Don F., Nauvoo Temple: A Story of Faith, BYU Religious Studies Center, 2002; rsc.byu.edu/nauvoo-temple-story-faith/interior-features#_note-20; Smith, Joseph, History of the Church, 4:446; also, Journal History, 8 November 1841
6. Colvin, 2002
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