Baptism for the Dead

Baptism for the dead, vicarious baptism or proxy baptism is the religious practice of baptizing a living person on behalf of an individual who is dead; the living person is acting as the deceased person's proxy. Those who practice this religious rite place great importance upon baptism and view it as a requirement to enter the Kingdom of God. So it is with this practice, an individual is baptized to give those who have already died without the opportunity to receive baptism the opportunity to receive it by proxy if they wish. It has been practiced since 1840 in the Latter Day Saint movement. The practice continues in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where it is also called temple baptism because it is performed only in dedicated temples. Baptism for the dead is also practiced by several other current groups in the Latter Day Saint movement. Advocates of this practice believe it is referred to in The New Testament in 1 Corinthians 15:29. The practice was forbidden by the Catholic Church in the 4th century as an aberrant practice of heretical groups, and is not practiced in modern mainstream Christianity, whether Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Protestant.