17. Repeated Baptisms of the Same Person are not sanctioned in the Church. It is easy to fall into the error of believing that baptism offers a ready means of gaining forgiveness of sins however oft repeated. Such a belief tends rather to excuse than to prevent sin, inasmuch as the hurtful effects seem to be so easily averted. Neither the written law of God, nor the instructions of His living Priesthood, designate baptism as a means of securing forgiveness by those who are already within the fold of Christ. Unto such, forgiveness of all sin, if not unto death, has been promised on confession, and repentance with full purpose of heart; of them a repetition of the baptismal rite has not been required and, were subjects of this class repeatedly baptized, unto them remission of sins would in no wise come, except they repent most sincerely. The frailties of mortality and our proneness to sin lead us continually into error; but if we covenant with the Lord at the waters of baptism, and thereafter seek to observe His law, He is merciful to pardon our little transgressions, through repentance sincere and true; and without such repentance, baptism, however oft repeated, would avail us nothing.
BAPTISM FOR THE DEAD.
18. Baptism Required of All.—The universal applicability of the law of baptism has been already dwelt upon. Compliance with the ordinance has been shown to be essential to salvation, and this condition applies to all mankind. Nowhere in scripture is a distinction made in this regard between the living and the dead. The dead are those who have lived in mortality upon earth; the living are mortals who yet shall pass through the ordained change which we call death. All are children of the same Father, all to be judged and rewarded or punished by the same unerring justice, with the same interpositions of benignant mercy. Christ's atoning sacrifice was offered, not alone for the few who lived upon the earth while He was in the flesh, nor for those who were to be born in mortality after His death, but for all inhabitants of earth then past, present, and future. He was ordained of the Father to be a judge of both quick and dead;[421] He is Lord alike of living and dead,[422] as men speak of dead and living, though all are to be placed in the same position before Him; there will be but a single class, for all live unto Him.[423]
19. The Gospel yet Unknown to Many.—Of the multitudes of human beings who have existed on the earth, but few have heard and fewer have obeyed, the law of the gospel. In the course of the world's history there have been long periods of spiritual darkness, when the gospel was not preached upon the earth; when there was no authorized representative of the Lord officiating in the saving ordinances of the kingdom. Such a condition has never existed except as the result of the unbelief and waywardness of the people. When mankind have persistently trodden the pearls of truth into the mire, and have sought to slay and rend the bearers of the jewels, in justice not more than in mercy these treasures of heaven have been taken and withheld until a more appreciative posterity could be raised up. It may very properly be asked, What provisions are made in the economy of God for the eventual salvation of those who have thus neglected the requirements of the Word, and for those who have never heard the gospel tidings?
20. According to certain dogmas that have prevailed among many so-called Christian sects during the obscurity of the spiritual night, and which are yet zealously promulgated, never-ending punishment or interminable bliss, unchanging in kind or degree, shall be the lot of every soul; the award being made according to the condition of the spirit at the time of bodily death; a life of sin being thus entirely nullified by a death-bed repentance; and an honorable career, if unmarked by ceremonies of the established sects, being followed by the tortures of hell without the hope of relief. Such a belief must rank with the dread heresy which proclaims the condemnation of innocent babes who have not been sprinkled by man's assumed authority.
21. It is blasphemous to thus attribute caprice and vindictiveness to the Divine nature. In the justice of God, no soul shall be condemned under any law which has not been made known unto him. It is true, eternal punishment has been decreed as the lot of the wicked; but the true meaning of this terrible expression has been given by the Lord Himself:[424] eternal punishment is God's punishment; endless punishment is God's punishment, for "Endless" and "Eternal" are among His names, and the words are descriptive of His attributes. No soul will be kept in prison or continued in torment beyond the time requisite to work the needed reformation and to vindicate justice, for which ends alone punishment is imposed. And no one will be permitted to enter any kingdom of glory to which he is not entitled through obedience to law.
22. The Gospel to be Preached to the Dead.—It is plain, then, that the gospel must be proclaimed in the spirit world; and that such work is provided for, the scriptures abundantly prove. Peter, describing the mission of his Redeemer, thus declares this truth:—"For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit."[425] The inauguration of this work among the dead was effected by Christ in the interval between His death and resurrection. While His body lay in the tomb, His spirit ministered to the spirits of the departed:—"By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient when once the long-suffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water."[426]
23. Other scriptures sustain the position, that while in a disembodied state, Christ went elsewhere than to the place usually termed heaven,—the abode of His Father; and that He labored among the dead, who greatly needed His ministry. One of the malefactors who suffered crucifixion by His side, through humility won from the dying Savior the promise, "To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise."[427] And three days afterward, the Lord, then a resurrected Being, declared to the sorrowing Magdalene, "I have not yet ascended to my Father."[428]
24. If it was deemed proper and just that the gospel be carried to the spirits who were disobedient in the days of Noah, is it not reasonable to conclude that like opportunities shall be placed within the reach of others who have rejected the word at different times? For the same spirit of neglect and disobedience that characterized the time of Noah has ever existed.[429] And further, if, in the plan of God, provisions be made for the redemption of the wilfully disobedient, of those who actually spurn the truth, can we believe that the still greater multitudes of spirits who have never heard the Gospel are to be left in punishment eternally? No; God has decreed that even the heathen nations, and those that knew no law, shall be redeemed.[430] The good gifts of the Father are not confined to this sphere of action, but will be distributed in justice throughout eternity. Upon all who reject the word of God in this life shall fall the penalties provided for such act; but after the debt has been paid, the prison doors shall be opened, and the spirits once confined in suffering, now chastened and clean, shall come forth to partake of the glory provided for their class.