17 ¶But upon mount aZion shall be bdeliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall cpossess their possessions.
21 And asaviours shall come up on bmount Zion to cjudge the mount of Esau; and the dkingdom shall be the Lord’s.
5 You may think this order of things to be very particular; but let me tell you that it is only to answer the will of God, by conforming to the ordinance and preparation that the Lord ordained and prepared before the foundation of the world, for the asalvation of the dead who should die without a bknowledge of the gospel.
15 And now, my dearly beloved brethren and sisters, let me assure you that these are principles in relation to the dead and the living that cannot be lightly passed over, as pertaining to our salvation. For their asalvation is necessary and essential to our salvation, as Paul says concerning the fathers—that they without us cannot be made perfect—neither can we without our dead be made bperfect.
Salvation of the dead is necessary for our own salvation. They without us cannot be made perfect and we cannot be made perfect without them. Elder Theodore M. Burton talks of the role we play as “saviors on Mount Zion:”
“As revealed by the scriptures, one of the characteristics of these last days is the appearance of saviors on the earth. This was prophesied in Old Testament times: [Obadiah 1:21].
“It was prophesied by Paul in New Testament times, referring to people who had lived on the earth in times of old: [Hebrews 11:39–40].
“It has also been prophesied of us who live today: [D&C 86:11].
“So the Lord himself has placed his seal of approval upon this work.
“A logical question then follows: For whom am I to be a savior? In section 127 of the Doctrine and Covenants, verse 6, the Prophet Joseph Smith used these words: ‘for your dead.’ …
“Our dead, then, are clearly our own progenitors or direct ancestors, as Joseph Smith explained:
“‘But how are they to become saviors on Mount Zion? By building their temples, erecting their baptismal fonts, and going forth and receiving all the ordinances, baptisms, confirmations, washings, anointings, ordinations, and sealing powers upon their heads, in behalf of all their progenitors who are dead, and redeem them that they may come forth in the first resurrection and be exalted to thrones of glory with them; and herein is the chain that binds the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, which fulfills the mission of Elijah.’
The practice of Baptism for the dead has received some controversy in the news. Baptism is only part of the fulfillment of this prophesy in Obadiah. All of the ordinances required to receive salvation are carried out in the temple for those who did not have a chance to receive them in this life. This gives them the opportunity to accept these ordinances after they have passed into the next life. God is just and gives everyone equal opportunity to accept and receive all that is needed for salvation. It will only be our own choices that will prevent us from receiving salvation and exaltation, not our circumstances. As we do work in the temple for those who have passed on, we are providing them those opportunities and therefore becoming their saviors. It also becomes a blessing to us as we grow in understanding of the blessings and responsibilities connected with those ordinances. We choose to apply that knowledge to our own life and it helps us become better people.
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