by Catharine Rasband

Created on: February 15, 2009   Last Updated: February 19, 2009

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saint maintains genealogical records because of their belief in three fundamental doctrines. 1) The soul lives on after death and will be reunited with the body during the resurrection. 2) Families are linked together throughout eternity, and 3) The worth of a soul is great in the eyes of God. The members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints believe that God loves all His children and that His most important work is the salvation of all mankind. There is a scripture that says, "For behold, this is my work and my Glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39)

The Church teaches salvation for all men. All men will be resurrected, but to achieve the opportunity to live in the presence of God, man must repent and be baptized into his church. In the meridian of time, when Christ was on the earth, he was baptized, to "fulfill all righteousness." (Matthew 3:15) The members of the LDS church believe it was also as an example to all of us. A basic article of faith of the Latter-Day-Saints says, "We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the gospel are, first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; and fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. The Church also emphasizes that the baptism must be performed by one who has been given authority from God. It would be impossible to expect that everyone on this earth throughout all time could have the opportunity to be baptized while on this earth. Because the Latter-Day-Saints believe in the possibility of exaltation for all men, they believe there is a great work to be done in making sure that all who desire to be a member of Christ's church can have that chance. There is evidence in the New Testament that Baptism for the dead was practiced in the early church while Christ's apostles were proselyting.

1 Corinthians 15:29 says, "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?" And in John 5:25: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall live. 1 Peter 4:6 says, "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." The Latter-Day-Saints have no intention to force people to come unto Christ or to be baptized into His church, whether that person is living or dead. They simply do missionary work, where they teach people about the gospel of Jesus Christ, giving them the opportunity to accept or reject what they have learned and felt. Or, they do genealogical research, usually trying to find the names of their own ancestors, then they perform ordinances for them in temples, which are designated for this sacred work. Then, those who have died previously will have the same opportunity to accept or reject this baptism that has been performed in their name.

Because of these doctrines, and the direction given from Malachi: "And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." (Malachi 4:6). Faithful members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints spend many hours doing genealogical research. Therefore, the Church maintains and adds to these records continually, to help the members do this work that they consider important and sacred.

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