Give a child a comb. Ask the child to comb his or her hair without bending his or her arms at the elbows. Ask the child:

• Why can’t you comb your hair?

Ask all the children:

• If we were not able to bend our elbows, how would our hair get combed? (Someone else would have to comb it for us.)

• When has someone helped you by doing something that you could not do for yourself? How did you feel about having someone help you in that way? (Give each child an opportunity to answer.)

Have a child read aloud John 3:5. Discuss the meaning of the scripture, and remind the children that being baptized is one of the first steps toward returning to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ again. People cannot enter the kingdom of God unless they have been baptized.

Explain that many people have lived on the earth at times when baptism was not available or have died before they had a chance to learn about the true gospel and baptism by the proper priesthood authority.

• Since baptism is required of all people, how will these people be able to return to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ? (Someone must be baptized for them.)

Point out that Heavenly Father loves each of his children equally and wants each one to have the opportunity to live again with him. He has made it possible for members of the Church to help people who were not baptized when they lived on the earth. We can do for these people what they cannot do for themselves.

Teach the children about the revelations received by Joseph Smith and Joseph F. Smith on baptism for the dead, as described in the following historical account and the scriptures listed in the “Preparation” section. Show the picture of the baptismal font at an appropriate time.

In May 1842 the Saints living in Nauvoo learned that Lilburn W. Boggs had been shot and wounded in Independence, Missouri. Boggs had been the governor of Missouri when the Saints lived there, and he had issued the “extermination order” forcing the Saints out of Missouri. Boggs had many political enemies who would have been likely suspects in the shooting, but Missouri authorities accused Joseph Smith of trying to kill Boggs. Joseph knew that he was innocent of this charge, so he made a statement to a newspaper editor and forgot the incident.

Two months later the Prophet and Orrin Porter Rockwell, one of his bodyguards, were arrested. Boggs had formally accused Porter Rockwell of firing the gun and Joseph Smith of ordering him to do it. Under the laws of the United States, however, the Prophet and Porter Rockwell had been improperly and illegally arrested, so they were released. Realizing that he was in danger, the Prophet went into hiding for the next few months.

During this time of hiding, Joseph Smith wrote two inspired letters to the Saints in Nauvoo. These letters contained instructions given by the Lord regarding how baptisms for the dead should be done. The letters are now published as Doctrine and Covenants 127 and 128.

Several years earlier, in the Kirtland Temple, Joseph Smith had received a vision of the celestial kingdom in which he saw his brother Alvin, who had died before Joseph had received the gold plates (see D&C 137). Joseph was surprised to see Alvin in the celestial kingdom, because Alvin had not been baptized before he died. The Lord explained to Joseph that all people who would have received the gospel, been baptized, and lived righteously if they had been given the opportunity will be able to be in the celestial kingdom (see D&C 137:7). Joseph later learned that baptisms for the dead could be done vicariously, using people on the earth as proxies.

Write the words vicarious and proxy on the chalkboard. Explain that to do something vicariously means that a person does something in place of someone else. The person doing the work or activity is called a proxy. In the temple we can be baptized for people who died without being baptized. We serve as proxy for these people. We are the ones who go down into the water and are baptized, but they are the ones for whom the baptism counts. We are participating in vicarious baptisms.

Explain that everyone must be baptized in order to enter the celestial kingdom. Because baptism is an earthly ordinance, baptisms can be done only by people living on the earth. While we are on the earth, we can help people who have not been baptized by doing vicarious baptisms for them.

Explain that vicarious baptisms for the dead were performed after Jesus Christ’s resurrection (see 1 Corinthians 15:29) until Christ’s church fell into apostasy and the priesthood was taken from the earth. Before the Prophet Joseph learned about baptism for the dead, no one in his time realized that vicarious baptism was a part of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In 1918 Joseph F. Smith, the sixth President of the Church, received a revelation explaining more about what happens to those who die without baptism. This revelation is published in Doctrine and Covenants 138. President Smith saw Jesus Christ and some of his followers in the spirit world. Jesus organized his followers to teach the gospel to people who had not had the opportunity to learn the gospel and be baptized before they died. This teaching prepared the people to accept the vicarious baptisms that would be done for them.

Study the following questions and the scripture references as you prepare your lesson. Use the questions you feel will best help the children understand the scriptures and apply the principles in their lives. Reading and discussing the scriptures with the children in class will help them gain personal insights.

• Why do we need to be baptized? (John 3:5; Articles of Faith 1:4.) What is baptism for the dead? Why do members of the Church perform baptisms for the dead?

• How are we baptized? Why are we baptized by immersion? (Coming out of the water is symbolic of our coming out of our graves in the Resurrection; see D&C 128:12.) Show the picture of the temple baptismal font. Explain that the baptismal font is usually placed in the basement or lowest part of the temple. Why is the baptismal font located in the lowest part of the temple? (D&C 128:13.)

• Why did the Lord instruct the Saints to keep careful records of the baptisms they performed for the dead? (D&C 127:6–7, 9; see enrichment activity 2.)

• Who can be baptized for the dead? (Members of the Church at least twelve years old who have received an appropriate temple recommend from their bishop.)

• What did Joseph F. Smith see in his vision of the spirit world? (D&C 138:11–19, 28–35.) What happens to people who die without being taught the gospel? (D&C 138:31–33.)

• Why is it important for each of us to make sure our ancestors have had the ordinance of baptism performed for them? (D&C 128:15.) Explain that other ordinances, such as temple marriage, can also be performed for the dead by proxy. This way all the members of our family can be sealed together for eternity. All our righteous ancestors can be part of our eternal family. (See enrichment activity 4.)

Express your gratitude for your baptism and for the opportunity to help make baptism available to every person who ever lived on the earth. If appropriate, encourage the children to talk with their families about having baptisms performed for their ancestors.

Suggest that the children study John 3:5 and Doctrine and Covenants 128:15; 138:29–34 at home as a review of this lesson.

Encourage the children to share with their families a specific part of the lesson, such as a story, question, or activity, or to read with their families the “Suggested Home Reading.”