Baptisms for the Dead and the Temple

 Hey everyone!

I wanted to talk about something that has been on my mind for this week.

For the majority of my life, I haven't lived particularly close to the temple. For those of you who don't know, a temple is kind of like a church except more special. It is literally the House of God. There aren't as many temples in the world as churches which makes them even more special.

Growing up in New Jersey, we lived about 4 hours away from the closest temple, which is in Washington D.C. Then we got moved to the Manhattan New York Temple District, and finally ended up in the Philadelphia Pennsylvania Temple District when I went on my mission. Going to Saint George was amazing; we had 2 temples in our mission along with a 3rd one being built while I was serving there and a 4th temple that was announced after I got home. The temple is such a special place for me and I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to be around them for the majority of my mission.

One of the things that we preform in the temple is baptisms for the dead. Heavenly Father wants all of His children to return to him. So, he gives all of His children the opportunity to hear His Word whether it be in this life or the next. If somebody accepts the Gospel after they die, they still need to be baptized in order to return to live with God again. So, our job is to be baptized on behalf of that person.

Now, not everyone will accept the Gospel when they die. We don't force people to be baptized; we are baptized for them and they can either accept or reject the baptism or the Gospel. This is why the Gospel is so important to me and why I love this Gospel.