The Vision of the Redemption of the Dead
In 1918, Joseph F. Smith had a vision. He witnessed an event that was previously unreported and unexplained in scripture: Jesus Christ organizing missionary work in the Spirit World, during the time after his death and before his resurrection.
But behold, from among the righteous, he organized his forces and appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men; and thus was the gospel preached to the dead.
And the chosen messengers went forth to declare the acceptable day of the Lord and proclaim liberty to the captives who were bound, even unto all who would repent of their sins and receive the gospel.
Thus was the gospel preached to those who had died in their sins, without a knowledge of the truth, or in transgression, having rejected the prophets.
These were taught faith in God, repentance from sin, vicarious baptism for the remission of sins, the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands,
And all other principles of the gospel that were necessary for them to know in order to qualify themselves that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
And so it was made known among the dead, both small and great, the unrighteous as well as the faithful, that redemption had been wrought through the sacrifice of the Son of God upon the cross.
D&C 138:30-35
- Why is it important to understand that the work of salvation is being done on both sides of the veil?
- How do these verses strengthen your faith in the Savior’s Atonement?
Revelation does not happen in a vacuum. In this lesson, we will examine the circumstances leading to Joseph F. Smith’s Vision of the Redemption of the Dead in 1918 and its canonization 58 years later in 1976. We will investigate how circumstances affecting Joseph F. Smith personally, as well as circumstances affecting the world at large (including a global pandemic!) led Joseph F. Smith to seek inspiration on the topic, how new opportunities in the 1970s generated renewed interest in the 1918 revelation, and how the efforts of other people both inside and outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) opened doors for revelation.
Circumstances Surrounding the Vision of the Redemption of the Dead in 1918
World War I (July 1914-November 1918) and the Spanish Flu Pandemic (February 1918-April 1920)
Masked BYU students in January 1919, during the Influenza pandemic Source: https://universe.byu.edu/2020/09/25/how-church-members-and-leaders-participate-in-worship-during-a-pandemi
The First World War was a true dragon-king event in terms of its vast historical consequences. As disastrous as the war was, its proximate impact in terms of lives lost was exceeded by that of the influenza pandemic that broke out in its final year. …The Spanish flu killed an order of magnitude more Americans than died in combat in the war (53,402). Ironically, unlike most flu epidemics, but like the war that preceded and spread it, the influenza of 1918 disproportionately killed young adults. Out of 272,500 male influenza deaths in the United States, nearly 49% were aged 20 to 39, whereas only 18% were under five and 13% were over 50. The very young and very old were also (as usual) vulnerable, so that all countries for which age-specific death rates are available recorded a roughly W-shaped age distribution of mortality. Death was not caused by the influenza virus itself so much as by the body’s immunological reaction to the virus. Perversely, this meant that individuals with the strongest immune systems were more likely to die than those with weaker immune systems.
—Niall Ferguson, Doom patrol: The lessons we failed to learn from past pandemics, October 25, 2021, Deseret News
Historian Niall Ferguson points out that pandemics such as the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic and the current Covid-19 pandemic reveal more about our societies:
A pandemic is made up of a new pathogen and the social networks that it attacks. We cannot understand the scale of the contagion by studying only the virus itself, because the virus will infect only as many people as social networks allow it to. At the same time, a catastrophe lays bare the societies and states that it strikes. It is a moment of truth, of revelation, exposing some as fragile, others as resilient, and others as “antifragile” — able not just to withstand disaster but to be strengthened by it.
—Niall Ferguson, Doom patrol: The lessons we failed to learn from past pandemics, October 25, 2021, Deseret News
- In what ways has the current pandemic revealed resilience or fragility in our societies?
- In what ways do you think our societies have been strengthened or weakened by the current pandemic?
- How can we strengthen each other during difficult times?
April 6, 1916: Joseph F. Smith’s discusses the work of the deceased in General Conference
Joseph F. Smith
Joseph F. Smith was already pondering about the activities of the dead in the Spirit World long before the vision. He spoke about his musings at General Conference two years earlier.
I feel quite confident that the eye of Joseph the Prophet, and of the martyrs of this dispensation, and of Brigham and John and Wilford, and those faithful men who were associated with them in their ministry upon the earth, are carefully guarding the interests of the Kingdom of God in which they labored and for which they strove during their mortal lives. I believe they are as deeply interested in our welfare today, if not with greater capacity, with far more interest behind the veil, than they were in the flesh. I believe they know more; I believe their minds have expanded beyond their comprehension in mortal life, and their interests are enlarged and expanded in the work of the Lord to which they gave their lives and their best service. …Sometimes the Lord expands our vision from this point of view and this side of the veil, that we feel and seem to realize that we can look beyond the thin veil which separates us from that other sphere.
—Joseph F. Smith, General Conference Address, April 6, 1916
Jan. 20, 1918 & Sept. 24, 1918: Deaths of Hyrum Mack Smith and Ida Elizabeth Bowman Smith
Hyrum Mack Smith
Ida Elizabeth Bowman Smith
On January 20, 1918, Hyrum Mack Smith, the oldest son of Joseph F. and a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, died suddenly of appendicitis at the age of 45. His wife Ida Bowman Smith, a member of the Primary General Board, died eight months later due to complications of childbirth. They left five orphaned children. President Smith grieved deeply.
My soul is rent asunder. My heart is broken, and flutters for life! Oh my sweet son, my joy, my hope! . . . And now what can I do! Oh what can I do! My soul is rent, my heart is broken! Oh God, help me!
—Joseph F. Smith, January 1918, quoted in Robert L. Millet, The Vision of the Redemption of the Dead (D&C 138), Sperry Symposium Classics: The Doctrine and Covenants, BYU Religious Studies Center
At Hyrum Mack Smith’s funeral, Elder James E. Talmage gave this funeral address:
I read of the Lord Jesus Christ going, as soon as his spirit left his pierced and tortured body on the cross, to minister unto the spirits on the other side. . . . I cannot think of Hyrum M. Smith as being otherwise employed. I cannot conceive of him as being idle. I cannot think of him having no regard for those among whom he is called to associate. And where is he now? . . . He has gone to join the apostles who departed before him, to share with them in the work of declaring the glad message of redemption and salvation unto those who for lack of opportunity, or through neglect, failed to avail themselves of those wondrous and transcendent blessings upon the earth.”
—James E. Talmage, Funeral Address for Hyrum Mack Smith, January, 1918, quoted in Robert L. Millet, The Vision of the Redemption of the Dead (D&C 138), Sperry Symposium Classics: The Doctrine and Covenants, BYU Religious Studies Center
The scriptures Elder Talmage was referring to are found in 1 Peter 3:18-20:
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison
1 Peter 3:18-19
- How might these experiences have prepared Joseph F. Smith to receive the Vision of the Redemption of the Dead?
- When we are coping with tragedies, what can we do to open doors to revelation?
Oct. 3, 1918: Joseph F. Smith receives Vision of the Redemption of the Dead
Shortly after the death of Ida Bowman Smith, Joseph F. Smith was studying the same scriptures Elder Talmage had discussed at Hyrum Mack Smith’s funeral when he had the Vision of the Redemption of the Dead.
On the third of October, in the year nineteen hundred and eighteen, I sat in my room pondering over the scriptures;
And reflecting upon the great atoning sacrifice that was made by the Son of God, for the redemption of the world;
And the great and wonderful love made manifest by the Father and the Son in the coming of the Redeemer into the world;
That through his atonement, and by obedience to the principles of the gospel, mankind might be saved.
While I was thus engaged, my mind reverted to the writings of the apostle Peter, to the primitive saints scattered abroad throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, and other parts of Asia, where the gospel had been preached after the crucifixion of the Lord.
I opened the Bible and read the third and fourth chapters of the first epistle of Peter, and as I read I was greatly impressed, more than I had ever been before, with the following passages…
…As I pondered over these things which are written, the eyes of my understanding were opened, and the Spirit of the Lord rested upon me, and I saw the hosts of the dead, both small and great.
D&C 138: 1-6, 11
In his conference address the next day, he hinted about his experience, but chose not to disclose it yet:
As most of you, I suppose, are aware, I have been undergoing a siege of very serious illness for the last five months. It would be impossible for me, on this occasion, to occupy sufficient time to express the desires of my heart and my feelings, as I would desire to express them to you. …I will not, I dare not, attempt to enter upon many things that are resting upon my mind this morning, and I shall postpone until some future time, the Lord being willing, my attempt to tell you some of the things that are in my mind, and that dwell in my heart. I have not lived alone these five months. I have dwelt in the spirit of prayer, of supplication, of faith and of determination; and I have had my communication with the Spirit of the Lord continuously.
–Joseph F. Smith, General Conference Address, October 4, 1918
- What was President Joseph F. Smith was doing when “the eyes of [his] understanding were opened”?
- How can we follow President Smith’s example?
Sometimes revelation comes even though we do not seek it. But more often, it comes because we diligently search and prepare for it.
—Come Follow Me for Individuals and Families: D&C:137-138
- How might we diligently search and prepare for revelation?
Oct. 30, 1918: Revelation endorsed by the Quorum of the Twelve
President Smith’s illness continued to progress and precluded him from sharing the Vision of the Redemption of the Dead publicly before his death. However, he wrote down what he had seen and sent his son, Joseph Fielding Smith, to share it with the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who endorsed it. (See Robert L. Millet, The Vision of the Redemption of the Dead (D&C 138), Sperry Symposium Classics: The Doctrine and Covenants, BYU Religious Studies Center)
Nov. 5, 1918: Vision of the Redemption of the Dead shared with Susa Young Gates
Susa Young Gates was one of very few people who Joseph F. Smith talked to about his vision before he died. She was a passionate advocate for women, promoting causes such as suffrage. She became interested in family history as well after this experience:
In 1902, returning from a meeting of the International Council of Women in Europe, Susa had become seriously ill. In London she sought a priesthood blessing from Elder Francis M. Lyman, then serving as president of the European Mission, and in that blessing he told her, “You shall live to perform temple work, and you shall do a greater work than you have ever done before.” This commission became a driving force in her life. “I had been interested in Temple work before,” she said, “but now I felt that I must do something more, something to help all the members of the Church.”
—Lisa Olsen Tait, Susa Young Gates and the Vision of the Redemption of the Dead, Revelations in Context
Sister Gates followed through with this impression in a big way.
She wrote countless newspaper and magazine articles, taught class after class, and took the message on the road to many stakes and wards. She visited genealogical libraries in the eastern United States and England and corresponded with genealogists from many other countries, seeking greater knowledge and expertise. She served on the general board of the Relief Society, where she succeeded in having lessons on genealogy (most of which she also wrote) incorporated into the curriculum. She published a 600-page reference book on surnames and contributed frequently to a new magazine devoted to genealogical research.
—Lisa Olsen Tait, Susa Young Gates and the Vision of the Redemption of the Dead, Revelations in Context
Other members of the Church struggled to feel Sister Gates’s enthusiasm for family history.
“I have had to take the part of the genealogical work against all others,” she wrote in one letter. She had barely succeeded in preserving it as part of the curriculum. At the October 1918 Relief Society conference, stake leaders reported that the genealogy lessons were too difficult. They suggested that the lessons be “simplified” and “emphasis placed on the spiritual rather than on the educational side of this study.”
—Lisa Olsen Tait, Susa Young Gates and the Vision of the Redemption of the Dead, Revelations in Context
Sister Gates recorded her feelings after President Smith shared the Vision of the Redemption of the Dead with her.
How blest, oh how blest I am to have the privilege!” Susa wrote in her journal that night. “To be permitted to read a revelation before it was made public, to know the heavens are still opened.” Susa’s description of the vision highlighted the aspects she found most compelling: “In it he tells of his view of eternity; the Savior when He visited the spirits in prison—how His servants minister to them; he saw the prophet and all his associate brethren laboring in the prison houses; Mother Eve & her noble daughters engaged in the same holy cause!” Long an advocate for women’s causes, Susa rejoiced at the specific mention of women in the revelation, grateful “to have Eve and her daughters remembered.” And she rejoiced in the revelation’s affirmation of the work on behalf of the dead. “Above all,” she wrote, “to have this given at a time when our Temple work and workers and our genealogy need such encouragement. No words of mine can express my joy and gratitude.”
—Lisa Olsen Tait, Susa Young Gates and the Vision of the Redemption of the Dead, Revelations in Context
- How did Susa Young Gates’s work contribute to preparing the Church to receive the Vision of the Redemption of the Dead?
Nov. 19, 1918: Death of Joseph F. Smith
Joseph F. Smith died of pneumonia on November 19, 1918, without ever sharing his vision publicly. Because of the ongoing pandemic, his family held a small, private funeral, instead of the traditional public events held to memorialize presidents of the Church.
Nov. 30, 1918: Vision of the Redemption of the Dead is published
The text of the vision first appeared in the November 30 edition of the Deseret News, eleven days after the passing of President Smith. It was also printed in the December Improvement Era, and in January 1919 editions of the Relief Society Magazine—which was edited by Susa Young Gates, the Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, the Young Women’s Journal, and the Millennial Star. (See Robert L. Millet, The Vision of the Redemption of the Dead (D&C 138), Sperry Symposium Classics: The Doctrine and Covenants, BYU Religious Studies Center)
In the Relief Society Magazine, Susa Young Gates wrote:
Women are naturally comforted with the reference to our “glorious Mother Eve and many of her faithful daughters” referred to as assisting in the work of preparing the spirits of the dead to receive the Gospel. This is unusual — the mention of women’s labors on the Other Side — while the direct view of them associated with the ancient and modern prophets and elders confirms the noble standard of equality between the sexes which has always been a feature of this Church. The Vision’s principal message to this people is a clarion call for them to awake to the immediate necessity of looking after their dead. How happy are the members of the Relief Society in the remembrance of their recent great activities and studies in genealogy as the necessary adjunct to temple work. And beyond all, in what humility we thank our heavenly Father that the heavens are open, the vision is to his mouthpiece to whom he has declared such truths must come. What a marvelous close to the long and extraordinary labors of President Smith this vision marks. May the people, and especially our sisters, rise to the measure of fulness in response to this heavenly manifestation!
—Susa Young Gates, “In Memoriam: President Joseph F. Smith,” Relief Society Magazine, vol. 6, no. 1 (Jan. 1919)
- How did Sister Gates encourage us to apply the doctrines found in the Vision of the Redemption of the Dead?
- What aspects of the vision resonated with Sister Gates?
- What aspects resonate with you?
Circumstances Surrounding Canonization in 1976
From the time Joseph F. Smith received the revelation in 1918 until 1975, a duration of over half a century, the revelation was mentioned only three times in General Conference and never once quoted directly. (See Mary Jane Woodgar, From Obscurity to Scripture: Joseph F. Smith’s Vision of the Redemption of the Dead, You Shall Have My Word: Exploring the Text of the Doctrine and Covenants, BYU Religious Studies Center)
October 5, 1975: Elder Boyd K. Packer was the first person to quote Joseph F. Smith’s 1918 revelation in General Conference
On October 3, 1918, President Joseph F. Smith was pondering on the scriptures, including this one from Peter: “For this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.” (1 Pet. 4:6.)
There was opened to him a marvelous vision. In it he saw the concourses of the righteous. And he saw Christ ministering among them. Then he saw those who had not had the opportunity, and those who had not been valiant. And he saw the work for their redemption. And I quote his record of this vision:
“I perceived that the Lord went not in person among the wicked and the disobedient who had rejected the truth, to teach them; but behold, from among the righteous he organized his forces and appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men. And thus was the gospel preached to the dead.” (“Vision of the Redemption of the Dead,” The Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, Jan. 1919, p. 3.) [D&C 138:29–30]
We have been authorized to perform baptisms vicariously so that when they hear the gospel preached and desire to accept it, that essential ordinance will have been performed.
…And so the question may be asked, “You mean you are out to provide baptism for all who have ever lived?”
And the answer is simply, “Yes.” For we have been commanded to do so.
“You mean for the entire human family? Why, that is impossible. If the preaching of the gospel to all who are living is a formidable challenge, then the vicarious work for all who have ever lived is impossible indeed.”
To that we say, “Perhaps, but we shall do it anyway.”
—Boyd K. Packer, October 5, 1975, The Redemption of the Dead
- Why would the brethren ask us to perform a work that is apparently impossible?
December 10, 1975: The LDS Church begins the Genealogical Department
Soon after Elder Packer’s talk, the brethren converted the Genealogical Society into an official church department. Elder Boyd K. Packer made this address during the transition:
Now I’m appealing to you all to set your minds to the task of simplifying basic genealogical research and of streamlining, in every way possible, the process by which names come from members of the Church and are ultimately presented in the temple for ordinance work.
—Boyd K. Packer, Address to the Genealogical Society, November 18, 1975 Available in Mary Jane Woodgar, From Obscurity to Scripture: Joseph F. Smith’s Vision of the Redemption of the Dead, You Shall Have My Word: Exploring the Text of the Doctrine and Covenants, BYU Religious Studies Center
1975-1976: Personal computers enter the market
This call to action was made feasible by advances in technology happening at the same time. Before the 1970s, there was no such thing as a personal computer. The technology was developed in the 1970s, and two of the most successful personal computer companies were founded in the mid-1970s: Microsoft in April 1975 and Apple in April 1976. (See Invention of the PC, History.com) With this new technology, rank-and-file members of the church could participate in genealogy, even if they did not have the unique talents of someone like Susa Young Gates.
As the vision became scripture, most Saints little understood that it would promote temple and genealogy work as never before. It appears that the revelation had not been canonized before because in 1976, hardly any genealogical technology existed, making the process impractical and tedious. After the revelation was accepted by the congregation, its doctrine became binding. The Saints had made a covenant to fulfill their obligation to save their dead as outlined in the vision of the redemption of the dead. General Authorities began to use section 138 on a more regular basis to better teach the Saints about this sacred responsibility.
—Mary Jane Woodgar, From Obscurity to Scripture: Joseph F. Smith’s Vision of the Redemption of the Dead, You Shall Have My Word: Exploring the Text of the Doctrine and Covenants, BYU Religious Studies Center
- According to Sister Woodgar, why did the brethren wait until the 1970s to canonize the Vison of the Redemption of the Dead?
- What can we learn from this about how revelation is incorporated into the Church organization?
April 3, 1976: Members of the Church voted to canonize Joseph F. Smith’s Vision of the Redemption of the Dead
During this new family history initiative, there was a renewed interest in Joseph F. Smith’s Vision of the Redemption of the Dead.
President Kimball and all the brethren thought it should be formally and officially recognized as scripture so that it would be quoted, used, and relied upon more than the case would have been if it had simply been published as heretofore in various books. By putting it in the Standard Works formally, it gets cross-referenced and is used to better advantage by the saints.
—Elder Bruce R. McConkie, October 5, 1983, available in Robert L. Millet, The Vision of the Redemption of the Dead (D&C 138), Sperry Symposium Classics: The Doctrine and Covenants, BYU Religious Studies Center
- How did the brethren hope canonization of the Vision of the Redemption of the Dead would affect church members?
- In your experience as a member of the Church, have you seen these hopes fulfilled? Why or why not?
Canonization happened by sustaining vote.
President Kimball has asked me to read a very important resolution for your sustaining vote.
At a meeting of the Council of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve held in the Salt Lake Temple on March 25, 1976, approval was given to add to the Pearl of Great Price the two following revelations:
First, a vision of the celestial kingdom given to Joseph Smith the Prophet in the Kirtland Temple, on January 21, 1836, which deals with the salvation of those who die without a knowledge of the Gospel.
And second, a vision given to President Joseph F. Smith in Salt Lake City, Utah, on October 3, 1918, showing the visit of the Lord Jesus Christ in the spirit world, and setting forth the doctrine of the redemption of the dead.
It is proposed that we sustain and approve this action and adopt these revelations as part of the standard works of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
All those in favor manifest it. Those opposed, if any, by the same sign.
Thank you. President Kimball, the voting seems to be unanimous in the affirmative.
—President N. Eldon Tanner, General Conference Address, April 3, 1976
The reaction of church members to the canonization was understated.
I was surprised, and I think all of the Brethren were surprised, at how casually that announcement of two additions to the standard works was received by the Church. But we will live to sense the significance of it; we will tell our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren, and we will record in our diaries, that we were on the earth and remember when that took place.
—Elder Boyd K. Packer, Teach the Scriptures, October 14, 1977
August 17, 1976: Release of Roots
Only a few months later, on August 17, 1976, Alex Haley published his novel about the genealogy of an African-American family, Roots, and the reaction of the American public was not understated in any way. The bestselling book was almost immediately adapted as a television mini-series which aired in January 1977. The series finale was the most-watched live TV show of any aired up until that date, with more than half of the TVs in the United States of America tuned in to watch it. (see Ben Alpers, Alex Haley’s ROOTS and the History of the Seventies, June 24, 2014)
With the publication of Alex Haley’s book Roots in 197[6] and its dramatization as a television miniseries in January 1977, interest in family history increased nationally. A “genealogy mania” was sweeping the nation.
—Mary Jane Woodgar, From Obscurity to Scripture: Joseph F. Smith’s Vision of the Redemption of the Dead, You Shall Have My Word: Exploring the Text of the Doctrine and Covenants, BYU Religious Studies Center
Sister Bryndis Roberts described how the “genealogy mania” surrounding Roots affected her:
For me, like so many other people of African descent here in the United States, what started me on my genealogical journey was Roots. I was captivated by the miniseries. I wanted that moment in Roots when the James Earl Jones character exclaims, “I found you”…I wanted to be able to go back to whatever African nation my ancestors had come from. I wanted to be able to go to my tribe. I wanted to be able to find my village. I wanted someone to be able to identify my ancestors so that I could to say, “I found you you, African.”
—Bryndis Roberts, “Genealogy: Melaninated Style,” January 2017, Sunstone
The experience of watching Roots as a college student led to Sister Roberts’ lifelong pursuit of family history.
- How did the “genealogy mania” surrounding Roots contribute to the Church’s mission to redeem the dead?
- How do the efforts of people not of our faith contribute to achieving the work of the Church today?
June 1979: Joseph F. Smith’s Vision was moved from the Pearl of Great Price to the D&C:138
This is where we find it today.
