Baptisms by
proxy for the dead is not a new doctrine. It was practiced well and truly in
the meridian of time (1 Cor 15:29). They are performed today in the temples of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through the power of the
priesthood conferred by Elijah upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on April 3,
1836 in Kirtland Temple, Ohio (D&C 110:13-16).
In the fall
and winter of 1892-1893, another temple was being prepared for the sacred work
of salvation of the living and the dead. This was the Salt Lake City Temple.
One worker, a volunteer like many others, recorded an experience he had whilst
engaged in this work:
“About
March 1893, I found myself alone in the dining room – all had gone to bed. I
was sitting at the table when to my great surprise my old brother Alfred walked
in, sat down opposite me at the table and smiled. I said to him (he looked so
natural): “When did you arrive in Utah?” (He had lived in New Zealand and I had
not heard from him in years.)
“He said:
“I have just come from the Spirit World. This is not my body that you see, it
is lying in the tomb. I want to tell you that when you were on your mission you
told me many things about the Gospel, and the hereafter, and about the Spirit
World being as real and tangible as the earth. I realized that you had told the
truth. I attended the Mormon meetings. He raised his hand and said with much
warmth: “I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ with all my heart. I believe in
faith and repentance and baptism for the remission of sins, but that is as far
as I can go. I look to you to do the work for me in the temple.”
“He
continued: “You can go to any kind of sectarian meeting in the Spirit World.
All our kindred there knew you were trying to make up your mind to come and
work on the temple. You are watched closely, every move you make is know there,
and we were glad you came. We are all looking to you as our head in this great
work. I want to tell you that there are a great many spirits who weep and mourn
because they have relatives in the Church here who are careless and are doing
nothing for them.” He then disappeared.”
(Melvin S. Tagg, The Life of Edward James Wood, an unpublished 1959
Brigham Young University Master’s Thesis, pp 107-108)
The
Jewish people still wait for Elijah to return, as Malachi promised he would
(Malachi 4:5). He remains an invited guest at Jewish Passover Feasts, where an
open door and a vacant seat always await him. It brings tears to my eyes
because there is no need to wait for him any longer. This became the
subject of conversation between Elder LeGrand Richards and the Mayor of
Jerusalem, Teddy Kollek. Elder Richards had just dedicated the Orson Hyde
Memorial Garden on the Mount of Olives. After the ceremony, the two
conversed as they ate their lunch:
Elder Richards said:
"Mayor, I want to tell you something". "What's that?" asked
the Mayor.
Looking Mayor Kollek directly in the eye, the apostle said: "Ten years ago I was here in Jerusalem and one day I went into three synagogues and hanging up on the wall in one of them was a large armchair. I asked the rabbi what it was there for (I knew but I wanted him to tell me, which he did). He said that it was so that if Elijah comes 'we can lower the chair and let him sit in it'. Now Mayor, I want to tell you something and what I tell you is the truth. Elijah has already been. On the third day of April 1836 he appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery in the Kirtland Temple". The Mayor said: "I guess I better tell them to take that chair down." (LeGrand Richards, Beloved Apostle, p.301)
One
day in the realms of heaven, I will meet mighty Elijah, a noble man I admire so
much. I will bow in adoration and thank him for his dedication to the Plan of
Salvation and to the Saviour of this world.
ODE
TO ELIJAH
You
sat under the juniper tree
Sorrow
spilling from
Your
every memory.
Valued
as naught
You
pleaded with God
To
end your life;
But
instead He gave you
Power
greater than your mortal might.
He
yielded to your words of power
And
sent chariots and angels
to
bring you home
In
the appointed hour.
Dear
to the heart of Him whom you served,
Your
life of sacrifice and devotion
forgotten
never,
Dear
to our hearts in our memory,
Valued
forever.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
No comments:
Post a Comment