Guest Post by Nicole Sbitani. Nicole is an adult convert, a woman of color, and a professional diplomat. She blogs at nandm.sbitani.com and writes microfiction @nsbitani on Twitter. The content of this post does not represent the views of the U.S. Department of State or any other U.S. Government agency, department, or entity. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and in no way should be associated with the U.S. Government.

I’ll never forget the pain and confusion I experienced in a Gospel Principles class as a new adult convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints years ago. The lesson was based on Chapter 41: The Postmortal Spirit World. The section on “Spirit Prison” states:

“In the spirit prison are the spirits of those who have not yet received the gospel of Jesus Christ…Also in the spirit prison are those who rejected the gospel after it was preached to them either on earth or in the spirit prison. These spirits suffer in a condition known as hell…After suffering for their sins, they will be allowed, through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, to inherit the lowest degree of glory, which is the telestial kingdom.”

As the only member in my family and someone whose dearest loved ones have all “rejected the gospel…on earth”, I did not find this vision of the afterlife particularly comforting. In fact, it sounded pretty similar to that of the previous church I attended, where I was told my family was going to hell but I should be grateful because I deserved to go to hell too and instead got to go to heaven. But what is even an eternity in heaven separated from those who raised you, fed you, grew you into the person you became, loved you, cared for you when you were sick, held you when your heart was broken, shared your life – the only life you can remember – with you?

This doctrine also differed from what missionaries and many of my member friends had taught me. They preached hope through proxy ordinances including baptisms for the dead, promising that they knew families could be together forever in the Celestial Kingdom thanks to proxy work. It seems this common understanding contradicts not only revelatory Scripture but the teachings of early leaders in the Restored Church.

The most direct revelation on the subject can be found in Doctrine & Covenants 76:71-78 (emphasis mine):

71 And again, we saw the terrestrial world, and behold and lo, these are they who are of the terrestrial, whose glory differs from that of the church of the Firstborn who have received the fulness of the Father, even as that of the moon differs from the sun in the firmament.

72 Behold, these are they who died without law;

73 And also they who are the spirits of men kept in prison, whom the Son visited, and preached the gospel unto them, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh;

74 Who received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it.

75 These are they who are honorable men of the earth, who were blinded by the craftiness of men.

76 These are they who receive of his glory, but not of his fulness.

77 These are they who receive of the presence of the Son, but not of the fulness of the Father.

78 Wherefore, they are bodies terrestrial, and not bodies celestial, and differ in glory as the moon differs from the sun.

Verses 71 and 78 make it very clear that all the people discussed in the intervening verses are destined for the terrestrial kingdom (which I will admit is an improvement over the telestial fate asserted in Gospel Principles). Verses 73-75 describe much of the people for whom I and almost everyone else I know have done proxy baptisms among our ancestors: good people who chose not to get baptized and join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints during mortal life. Those who “received not the testimony of Jesus in the flesh, but afterwards received it” are obviously those who died without becoming members, made even more clear by the immediately preceding verse that clarifies that those spirits would have the opportunity to have the Son preach them the gospel in spirit prison. In other words: if they soften their hearts and accept the gospel and accept saving ordinances like proxy baptism, the best they can hope for is the terrestrial kingdom. So why are we implying (or sometimes even teaching) contradictory doctrine?

It has been baffling to me as I’ve raised this issue with many member friends over the years how different their reactions are. The most common response is disbelief, followed by a lot of bending-over-backwards impossible logic once I point to the Gospel Principles chapter and the plain and simple language of D&C 76. I heard everything from “we don’t really know what any of the words in that Scripture mean and they could mean something completely different than what they say” to “I know what it technically says but I have a testimony that says otherwise.”

Honestly, for something with such dire consequences for my and my whole family’s salvation, those weak rationalizations aren’t enough. I agree with my friend at The Well Examined Life blog that “spirit prison” is a difficult doctrine to swallow and seems to defy other truths we know about God’s mercy and agency for every person. My friend also brought attention in the same post to Joseph Smith’s narrow understanding of who would qualify for exaltation via proxy baptism:

“When Joseph Smith introduced the doctrine of vicarious baptism in 1840, he also endorsed the idea of limiting the availability of baptisms for the dead in a similar manner. In a letter he sent to the Quorum of the Twelve, he wrote:  “the Saints have the privilege of being baptized for those of their relatives who are dead, whom they believe would have embraced the gospel, if they had been privileged with hearing it….”” from “An Epistle of the Prophet to the Twelve,” History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Vol. IV (Salt Lake City, Utah: Deseret Book Company, 1974), p. 231 (emphasis added).

For modern members whose families and other loved ones have heard about the gospel from us and chosen not to embrace it, it is apparent that the baptisms we perform for our dead were not part of this proxy ordinance as originally conceived. I earnestly pray for clarifying revelation and clear doctrine from present-day leaders on this issue. Especially as the church grows, more and more members will wonder why the eternal family doctrine doesn’t seem to include them. I have a personal testimony and a belief that it should, and I hope official church materials (and not just the wishes of rank-and-file members) will one day make that indisputable.