In the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints families are the central unit. We know they are eternal, that the bonds that we create in this life reach past the grave.
Elder L. Tom Perry said, “The entire theology of our restored gospel centers on families and on the new and everlasting covenant of marriage. In The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we believe in a premortal life where we all lived as literal spirit children of God our Heavenly Father. We believe that we were, and still are, members of His family.
We believe that marriage and family ties can continue beyond the grave—that marriages performed by those who have the proper authority in His temples will continue to be valid in the world to come. Our marriage ceremonies eliminate the words “till death do us part” and instead say, “for time and for all eternity.”
In the temple we do work vicariously for the dead, we serve as a proxy for them. We perform the ordinances of baptism, confirmation, washing and anointing, endowments and sealings. These ordinances are steps that need to be taken to return to live with our Heavenly Father. Because Heavenly Father loves each and every one of us, these ordinances will at some point in time be performed for everyone, giving us all the chance to choose to accept or reject the ordinances performed.
We are strongly encouraged to find our “kindred dead,” our relatives that have already passed on, do their family history and take their names to the temple to perform these ordinances for them. There is also missionary work done in the spirit world, while they are waiting for the time of their resurrection. In Doctrine and Covenants 138:18-19 it talks about Christ opening up the gates for His gospel to be preached in the spirit world: “While this vast multitude waited and conversed, rejoicing in the hour of their deliverance from the chains of death, the Son of God appeared, declaring liberty to the captives who had been faithful; 19 And there he preached to them the everlasting gospel, the doctrine of the resurrection and the redemption of mankind from the fall, and from individual sins on conditions of repentance.” There’s a large part of me that hopes when we are going to the temple, we are helping the people that Archer is teaching in the Spirit World. I love that we could somehow be working on this side of the veil to help him and them.
When we go, we pray to invite the people we are doing the work for, and we pray and invite Archer to come to the temple with us, as well. We do this because we had a sealer once that encouraged us to pray to invite them there, to be witnesses for their vicarious work. I am selfish and want him with us as much as possible, in any capacity. I love the idea of being able to assist him.
I’ve become a bit obsessed with finding other family members who have also lost babies, and they need to be sealed to their parents. I can’t imagine the hole they’ve felt not knowing that their family can be eternal, their baby can be theirs for eternity because of Christ’s love and sacrifice.
It is a powerful thing to know that the relationships we establish in this life reach past the grave.
**Picture by: Bobbidee Evans
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