Endowed Members doing Baptisms for the Dead

[kpomeroy]

My wife was talking with her friend who wanted to go and do baptisms for the dead, but my wife told her that she couldn't because she was endowed and didn't have her own names. Her friend said that it didn't matter, but my wife recalls that the issue was brought up in First Presidency letter or during General Conference. Does anyone have a source about this policy?

On an unrelated note, is there an archive that one can go back and read statements by the First Presidency that are brought before the general Church membership? I would love a resource like that for my own study and to clarify points of Church policy.

[MarginOfError]

My wife was talking with her friend who wanted to go and do baptisms for the dead, but my wife told her that she couldn't because she was endowed and didn't have her own names. Her friend said that it didn't matter, but my wife recalls that the issue was brought up in First Presidency letter or during General Conference. Does anyone have a source about this policy?

On an unrelated note, is there an archive that one can go back and read statements by the First Presidency that are brought before the general Church membership? I would love a resource like that for my own study and to clarify points of Church policy.

Your bishopric and clerk should be able to access these letters.

I think the major obstacle you'll find for an endowed member to do baptisms at the temple is resource utilization. It takes, at minimum, four endowed priesthood holders to perform baptism. It takes a lot of resources for the temple to provide baptisms to an individual. Even on youth trips, many temples expect the visiting youth's ward to provide the priesthood brethren necessary to perform the ordinances.

Your friend should probably check with her local temple and ask what their policy is. If she's willing to bring a group with the requisite number of priesthood holders, the temple may be willing to open the baptistry for her.

[rameumptom]

Normally for endowed members, they do baptisms under certain circumstances:

1. they have their own names, or the names for someone they know

2. the ward or a group have set up a baptismal trip for adults

Otherwise, the baptism work is primarily for youth and new converts to do baptisms. Occasionally, a temple may have some space in an already scheduled baptismal session, but often that is not the case. But when they do, you may be able to sneak in and help.

[applepansy]

I've never heard of a policy stating endowed members can't do baptisms. Some of our youth leaders do baptisms right along with the kids when they take them.

Several years ago we had a ward temple night which was scheduled to include the youth and baptisms. We timed everything so that everyone who went could meet in the cafeteria for dinner. We invited less active or new members to go and do baptisms. Several endowed members did baptisms with the other adults so they wouldn't feel like they were the only adults doing baptisms or that only kids could do them.

Edited May 23, 2012 by applepansy

[Guest]

I went with some family members shortly after I was married (in the Temple, and previously endowed) to do baptisms. There weren't a lot of youth of age that could go. I was baptized for my great-grandmother, I believe, among others. It was a sweet experience. That was over 10 years ago and the last time I had an opportunity.

[trubludru]

It is probably a policy at the individual temple. For example at the Logan Temple which is in a college town. There are literally thousands of unendowed adult women (and a fair amount of premissionary men) attending college who would love to do baptisms for the dead. There are also thousands of youth in the surrounding community who want to do baptisms. So in my experience the temple tends to strongly discourage endowed members from going to do baptisms (unless they are there to help with a scheduled youth or YSA group or with family names) since there are other ordinaces that endowed members can do. This leaves the limited amount of time to do baptisms available to those who can do baptisms but no other ordinances yet. However, other temples I have been to seem to have a much more open attitude/policy about people going to do baptisms since there is less relative demand on the baptistry.

[bluedreams]

I've never heard of such a thing. I've only gone to do baptisms once since I was endowed, but there wasn't anything to it. I walked in with my unendowed cousin and enjoyed it. I don't think I'd have a problem at the provo temple as well. It's constantly busy everywhere so you can come in at about anytime and do work, finding a good number of people there.

With luv,

BD

[EarlJibbs]

Your bishopric and clerk should be able to access these letters.

I think the major obstacle you'll find for an endowed member to do baptisms at the temple is resource utilization. It takes, at minimum, four endowed priesthood holders to perform baptism. It takes a lot of resources for the temple to provide baptisms to an individual. Even on youth trips, many temples expect the visiting youth's ward to provide the priesthood brethren necessary to perform the ordinances.

Your friend should probably check with her local temple and ask what their policy is. If she's willing to bring a group with the requisite number of priesthood holders, the temple may be willing to open the baptistry for her.

Yes, they would like you to bring all of your own preisthood to assure they have enough staff, but I think it is also so that you can have that spiritual experience with your youth since you are most likely teaching them on Sundays. If you didnt take your own bretheren, I doubt they would turn you away or need to specially open up the font. Especially because we are asked to return the the temple often, and returning to do baptsisms for the dead is just as important as going for endowments (I am not implying anyone said otherwise mind you).

We have a Sealing group that usually goes once a month to the temple. You would think that since it takes 2 people to do the sealing proxy that you couldnt just show up by yourself. But there are usually single bretheren and sisters waiting to do it, just walked in off the street. The temple finds a temple worker to stand in with them for the sealing. I have actually been in the endowment room and heard the temple workers trying to round up enough people for different tasks, such as baptisms. They try to accomodate everyone.

I do agree that you should call ahead as it does require so many people as MOE has stated. You could even just call and ask when a larger group will be there and see if you can show up then, we have had that happen, not one of us has said they couldnt stay an extra few minutes to help someone that was alone.

[Finrock]

Good afternoon all. :)

I think the answer is that there is no general or univeral policy against endowed members doing baptisms for the dead, however, because of logistics and to accomodate the circumstances that apply to a particular temple district, some Temple Presidents may have a more strict policy in this regard.

I would simply call the Temple and speak with someone there and they can explain the policy they have for doing baptisms for the dead.

Regards,

Finrock

[MarginOfError]

Yes, they would like you to bring all of your own preisthood to assure they have enough staff, but I think it is also so that you can have that spiritual experience with your youth since you are most likely teaching them on Sundays. If you didnt take your own bretheren, I doubt they would turn you away or need to specially open up the font. Especially because we are asked to return the the temple often, and returning to do baptsisms for the dead is just as important as going for endowments (I am not implying anyone said otherwise mind you).

We have a Sealing group that usually goes once a month to the temple. You would think that since it takes 2 people to do the sealing proxy that you couldnt just show up by yourself. But there are usually single bretheren and sisters waiting to do it, just walked in off the street. The temple finds a temple worker to stand in with them for the sealing. I have actually been in the endowment room and heard the temple workers trying to round up enough people for different tasks, such as baptisms. They try to accomodate everyone.

I do agree that you should call ahead as it does require so many people as MOE has stated. You could even just call and ask when a larger group will be there and see if you can show up then, we have had that happen, not one of us has said they couldnt stay an extra few minutes to help someone that was alone.

I used to work the Friday morning shift at the Boston Temple. We actually did have to tell some people that they wouldn't be able to do baptisms when they just showed up. In order to get 4 priesthood holders down there to do it, we would have had to suspend all other temple work (yes, we sometimes ran that temple with 5 priesthood holders, four doing ordinances and one at the door).

The one exception I remember is when a person showed up intending to do the endowment and sealing for her mother, but the baptism hadn't yet been done. I think we did delay an endowment session and went down and took care of the baptism for the one name so that she could proceed with the rest of the ordinances that day. But we were more likely to say no than we were to say yes.

[EarlJibbs]

I used to work the Friday morning shift at the Boston Temple. We actually did have to tell some people that they wouldn't be able to do baptisms when they just showed up. In order to get 4 priesthood holders down there to do it, we would have had to suspend all other temple work (yes, we sometimes ran that temple with 5 priesthood holders, four doing ordinances and one at the door).

The one exception I remember is when a person showed up intending to do the endowment and sealing for her mother, but the baptism hadn't yet been done. I think we did delay an endowment session and went down and took care of the baptism for the one name so that she could proceed with the rest of the ordinances that day. But we were more likely to say no than we were to say yes.

I am just spoiled then having all these temples around me. I often forget that not everyone has 5 temples within 30 minutes of them. Thanks for reminding me.

[classylady]

I have never done baptisms for the dead. Some day I would like to do some.

[HEthePrimate]

I prefer doing exorcisms of the dead. Much more dramatic!

The only time I've found myself in the font since being endowed was to be the person doing the baptisms (as opposed to the baptisee). But I'm sure arrangements could be made for an endowed member to be baptized for the dead. They usually have youth do it because it's pretty much all they can do in the temple, but for special occasions, I see no reason why an adult couldn't. In fact, it might be kinda nice!

[Jason_J]

Well we had a stake YSA temple baptisms night last night. It was funny because I get there, get my "endowed" sticker (so they know that I can perform the ordinances), and ended up doing confirmations, going immediately to be baptized (one girl had brought family names, so that was pretty cool), confirmed for those family names, and then I was done! I changed back into my regular clothes, asked one of the temple workers if they needed me for anything, he said no, and I just sat down in the baptistry and watched/meditated for another hour or so (since from entering the temple to finishing the baptisms/confirmations only took 15-20 minutes!).

But I agree, it's best to have unendowed members be baptized and confirmed, since they cannot participate in the other ordinances yet. I know I enjoyed that before I was endowed.