that. But there is some misunderstandings concerning LDS Dates. In the first
place they really don't hurt anyone and are bottom line beneficial if not
directly to the dead person, to the living who are seeking their ancestral
genealogy. For in seeking after their own dead relatives, the LDS Church and
its members have generated an enormous ancestral library and magnificent
genealogical resourse. But what are 'LDS Dates' then?
Will in the LDS faith we believe that we are spirit sons and daughters of God.
That is we are literally family in that respect. And a great part of this
temporal earthly probation and test is to determine if we will come to seek
after God and return unto him. Part of our returning to our eternal family
requires that certain earthly priesthood ordinances be performed for both the
living and the dead. This is not a new Christian concept for Christianity has
long held that the ordinance of 'baptism' is and esential saving ordiance
required for one to be able to be returned unto God. Jesus taught Nichodemus
that 'except a man be born of the water and of the spirit he cannot enter
into the kingdom of God.' (John 3)
That baptismal ordiance is a form of 'new birth' which was even requesite for Jesus himself, for thus it did fulfill all righteousness. And thus the 'natural man', that is our temporal tabernacle houseing our spirit being, may be redeemed and qualify for entry into God's Kingdom. LDS doctrine is that everyone must have that orinance performed either by themselves for themselves or else by proxy for the dead where a living person may perform that ordinance for the dead person vicariously. Vicarious performance is not new to Christian doctrine. Christ's own atoning sacrifice is just such a performance as he takes the sins of mankind upon himself in their behalf.
So LDS members, in their temples, perform such ordiances of salvation for the
dead as well as the living. There are basically three saving ordinances which
apply to all mankind, male and female. They are first batism, which to an
extent variously accepted and understood by Christianity in general. A second
saving ordinance is called 'the endowment'. It consists of God promised
blessings and covenants give before creation to God's spirit children being
'renewed' and placed into effect here upon earth in this mortality. There are
and were greater blessing given by God to man than just re-entering His
presence and Kingdom. I'll not go into detail concerning just what all those
blessing are, but logic would seem to support that there is more than just
entering 'back' into God's presence and sitting around strumming a harp for
the rest of eternity. The endowment confirms and endows those further blessings
from God to His children here on earth that thereby, as in the case of baptism,
they may be applied to humanity on earth. Their third such ordinance of
salvation is that of 'eternal marriage', that a husband and wife may be sealed
by the powers of heaven to so continue as husband and wife after death. And
this sealing of 'parents' is also extended to children that family units are
sealed up to continue to be family units in heaven even back to Adam and to
even God's family it self. This third saving ordinance gives rise to a
supporting ordiance. If a child of a family is born to that husband and wife
who are so eternally sealed then they are so also sealed to that family unit.
But if a child is born when the parents were not so sealed, a separte sealing
is required that will seal the child to the family unit. All these ordiances
are available to the dead by proxy performance of of living members. Eventually
all humanity will be so sealed together, though for the deceased, much of that
detail and performance will take a good portion of the Millennium to accomplish.
Don't believe it? Okay. The ordiances performed really don't hurt anybody and if true can only be of benefit and help all men find their way back to God. As already stated, the side benefit to society is the enableing information so generated which aids in any 'roots' seekers search out their own family ancestry. Which many people seem to want to do. As we of the LDS faith would like to think, the 'Spirit of Elijah' is at work in the hearts of all men turning the hearts of the children to their fathers and the fathers to the children (Malachi 4:5-6).
So as these web pages begin to be developed, my intent is to also include such pages that give such 'LDS Dates' of saving ordinances so performed for certain individuals beginning particularly for those of my immediate ancestors. This shared information ought to be of some significant interest to my own related family members. Look for it to come. It will take time to prepare and present and I should live so long to do it is my hope.