Doctrine and Covenants 127

Doctrine and Covenants 127

Historical Context

On May 6, 1842, an assassination attempt was made on Lilburn W. Boggs, the former governor of Missouri. While Boggs was in his study, an unknown assailant fired a gun at him through a nearby window, and Boggs was hit by large buckshot in the head and neck. Initially, he was not expected to survive, though he eventually did recover. Immediately after the assassination attempt, accusations began to fly that Joseph Smith had arranged for someone to kill Boggs in reprisal for the extermination order issued against the Saints in 1838. In the controversy that followed, the Saints in Nauvoo began to fear that Joseph might be extradited to Missouri, where his life would be in grave danger.1 During this time Joseph was forced into hiding to avoid arrest or abduction. Doctrine and Covenants 127 and 128 consist of letters about baptisms for the dead that Joseph Smith wrote to the Church during this time of hiding.

Joseph wrote the letter that later became Doctrine and Covenants 127 to encourage the Saints and to provide further instructions on the practice of baptisms for the dead. The doctrine of proxy baptisms for the deceased was first taught in August 1840. Soon after, Latter-day Saints began performing these baptisms in the Mississippi River. However, a revelation given to Joseph Smith instructed the Saints to only perform proxy baptisms for the dead in the font inside the temple (D&C 124:29–36), then under construction. The Saints were so anxious to continue these ordinances that they dedicated the basement of the unfinished temple on November 8, 1841, and performed baptisms for the dead almost exclusively in the temple font after it was dedicated.2

Because Joseph Smith was in hiding when the letter about proxy baptisms was written, we know little about the immediate circumstances that led to its creation. William Clayton, the Prophet’s secretary, recorded in Joseph Smith’s journal that “when this letter was read before the brethren[,] it cheered their hearts and evidently had the effect of stimulating them and inspiring them with courage, and faithfulness.”3 The letter that became Doctrine and Covenants 127 was published in the September 15, 1842, issue of Times and Seasons, and two years later it was added to the 1844 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants under the direction of Joseph Smith.4

See “Historical Introduction,” Letter to “All the Saints in Nauvoo,” 1 September 1842 [D&C 127].

Verse-by-Verse Commentary

D&C 127:1–4

1 Forasmuch as the Lord has revealed unto me that my enemies, both in Missouri and this State, were again in the pursuit of me; and inasmuch as they pursue me without a cause, and have not the least shadow or coloring of justice or right on their side in the getting up of their prosecutions against me; and inasmuch as their pretensions are all founded in falsehood of the blackest dye, I have thought it expedient and wisdom in me to leave the place for a short season, for my own safety and the safety of this people. I would say to all those with whom I have business, that I have left my affairs with agents and clerks who will transact all business in a prompt and proper manner, and will see that all my debts are canceled in due time, by turning out property, or otherwise, as the case may require, or as the circumstances may admit of. When I learn that the storm is fully blown over, then I will return to you again.

2 And as for the perils which I am called to pass through, they seem but a small thing to me, as the envy and wrath of man have been my common lot all the days of my life; and for what cause it seems mysterious, unless I was ordained from before the foundation of the world for some good end, or bad, as you may choose to call it. Judge ye for yourselves. God knoweth all these things, whether it be good or bad. But nevertheless, deep water is what I am wont to swim in. It all has become a second nature to me; and I feel, like Paul, to glory in tribulation; for to this day has the God of my fathers delivered me out of them all, and will deliver me from henceforth; for behold, and lo, I shall triumph over all my enemies, for the Lord God hath spoken it.

3 Let all the saints rejoice, therefore, and be exceedingly glad; for Israel’s God is their God, and he will mete out a just recompense of reward upon the heads of all their oppressors.

4 And again, verily thus saith the Lord: Let the work of my temple, and all the works which I have appointed unto you, be continued on and not cease; and let your diligence, and your perseverance, and patience, and your works be redoubled, and you shall in nowise lose your reward, saith the Lord of Hosts. And if they persecute you, so persecuted they the prophets and righteous men that were before you. For all this there is a reward in heaven.

The epistle that became Doctrine and Covenants 127 was written during a particularly challenging time for Joseph Smith. He was involved in the construction of the Nauvoo temple, the coming and going of missionaries, and the implementation of the higher ordinances of the temple. At a time when these projects needed close attention from the Prophet, he was forced into hiding because of the controversy surrounding the assassination attempt on Lilburn Boggs.

Although he was in hiding, Joseph remained confident in his calling and in the eventual triumph of the work. Pondering over the reasons for his trials, Joseph reflected, “envy and wrath of man have been my common lot all the days of my life; and for what cause it seems mysterious, unless I was ordained from before the foundation of the world for some good end, or bad, as you may choose to call it” (D&C 127:2). Joseph’s teaching about the influence of our premortal life on our earthly experience was enlightened by his work on the Book of Abraham around this time. Studying Abraham’s story, Joseph found that God gave the ancient patriarch a knowledge of Abraham’s premortal mission. The Lord showed Abraham “the intelligences that were organized before the world was” and informed him that “among all these were many of the noble and great ones; and God saw these souls that they were good; and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good.” The Lord then told Abraham, “Thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born” (see Abraham 3:22–23).5

In a discourse given about a year and half after Doctrine and Covenants 127 was written, Joseph Smith expanded this concept from himself and ancient prophets to include all those called to minister. He taught, “Every man who has a calling to the world, was ordained to that very purpose in the grand Council of Heaven—I suppose that I was ordained to this very office in that grand Council—it is the testimony that I want, that I am God’s servant, and this people his people—in the last days the God of Heaven shall set up a Kingdom and the very time that was calculated on.”6

D&C 127:5–12

5 And again, I give unto you a word in relation to the baptism for your dead.

6 Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you concerning your dead: When any of you are baptized for your dead, let there be a recorder, and let him be eye-witness of your baptisms; let him hear with his ears, that he may testify of a truth, saith the Lord;

7 That in all your recordings it may be recorded in heaven; whatsoever you bind on earth, may be bound in heaven; whatsoever you loose on earth, may be loosed in heaven;

8 For I am about to restore many things to the earth, pertaining to the priesthood, saith the Lord of Hosts.

9 And again, let all the records be had in order, that they may be put in the archives of my holy temple, to be held in remembrance from generation to generation, saith the Lord of Hosts.

10 I will say to all the saints, that I desired, with exceedingly great desire, to have addressed them from the stand on the subject of baptism for the dead, on the following Sabbath. But inasmuch as it is out of my power to do so, I will write the word of the Lord from time to time, on that subject, and send it to you by mail, as well as many other things.

11 I now close my letter for the present, for the want of more time; for the enemy is on the alert, and as the Savior said, the prince of this world cometh, but he hath nothing in me.

12 Behold, my prayer to God is that you all may be saved. And I subscribe myself your servant in the Lord, prophet and seer of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Joseph Smith.

The Saints enthusiastically embraced the doctrine of baptisms for the dead when it was introduced on August 10, 1840. A few weeks after Joseph Smith introduced the ordinance, he wrote to the Twelve Apostles in England to explain the new practice: “The saints have the privilege of being baptized for those of their relatives who are dead, who they feel to believe would have embraced the gospel if they had been privileged with hearing it, and who have received the gospel in the spirit through the instrumentality of those who may have been commissioned to preach to them while in the prison. Without enlarging on the subject you will undoubtedly see its consistency, and reasonableness, and [it] presents the gospel of Christ in probably a more enlarged scale than some have received it.”7

We do not know precisely when the first proxy baptisms took place in Nauvoo, but the first documented baptism for the dead was performed on September 12, 1840. Jane Neyman requested that Harvey Olmstead baptize her in behalf of her son Cyrus Livingston Neyman, who was deceased. Vienna Jacques served as a witness for the baptism by riding her horse into the water so she could hear and watch the ordinance. Shortly after the baptism was performed, Joseph Smith gave his approval to the ordinance.8

As with any new practice, the Saints soon encountered questions that required refinements to the way baptisms for the dead were performed. In a revelation received in January 1841, the Lord instructed that baptisms for the dead needed to be performed inside the temple (D&C 124:30–39). However, while the temple was under construction, the Saints were allowed to perform baptisms in the nearby Mississippi River. These first baptisms were carried out in a haphazard and unsystematic manner. Wilford Woodruff later recalled going to the river along with Joseph Smith and other Church members to perform baptisms for the dead. They baptized hundreds of people, but no one was assigned to record the names of the deceased who were baptized. President Woodruff later remembered, “The Lord told Joseph that he must have recorders present at these baptisms—men who could see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and record these things. Of course, we had to do the work over again. Nevertheless, that does not say that work was not of God.”9

In a discourse to the Nauvoo Relief Society recorded on August 21, 1842, “Pres[ident]^. S[mith] said he had one remark to make respecting the baptism for the dead—to suffice for the time being, until he has opportunity to discuss the subject to greater length—that is, all persons baptized for the dead must have a Recorder present, that he may be an eyewitness to testify of it. It will be necessary in the grand Council, that these things be testified—let it be attended to from this time, but if there is any lack[,] it may be at the expense of our friends—they may not come forth.”10 From this small beginning in Nauvoo, Church members have labored to create a record of all the proxy ordinances performed in this dispensation. In section 127 Joseph also recorded the words of the Lord: “I am about to restore many things to the earth, pertaining to the priesthood, saith the Lord of Hosts” (D&C 127:8). Baptisms for the deceased represented only the beginning of the great work of redeeming the dead.

Footnotes

• 1. Benjamin E. Park, Kingdom of Nauvoo, 2020, 123–25.
• 2. “Historical Introduction,” Letter to “All the Saints in Nauvoo,” 1 September 1842 [D&C 127], JSP.
• 3. JS Journal, December 1841–December 1842, p. 190, JSP.
• 4. Robert J. Woodford, Historical Development of the Doctrine and Covenants, 3:1676.
• 5. Book of Abraham Manuscript, 8–circa 15 March 1842 [Abraham 3:18–26], p. 8, JSP.
• 6. Discourse, 12 May 1844, as Reported by Thomas Bullock, p. 1, JSP.
• 7. Letter to Quorum of the Twelve, 15 December 1840, p. 6, JSP.
• 8. See Alexander L. Baugh, “‘For This Ordinance Belongeth to My House’: The Practice of Baptism for the Dead outside the Nauvoo Temple,” Mormon Historical Studies, vol. 3, no. 1 (2002), 48.
• 9. Millennial Star, June 29, 1891, 405.
• 10. Minutes and Discourse, 31 August 1842, p. 83, JSP.