There are many Latter-day saints who for one reason or another die before receiving temple ordinances.
Also many who have lived and died without being Mormons will receive the highest possible blessings.
“All who have died without a knowledge of this Gospel, who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God; also all that shall die henceforth without a knowledge of it, who would have received it with all their hearts, shall be heirs of that kingdom, for I, the Lord, will judge all men according to their works, according to the desire of their hearts” Doctrine and Covenants 137."
Godzilla's reply: "you said if the temple ordinances were not received in ‘this life’
Are you saying that they still need to be performed via proxy or by some other means in the afterlife."
Normandy, I question THIS statement by you..."There are many Latter-day saints who for one reason or another die before receiving temple ordinances, when your quote from D&C 137 states, "All who have died without a knowledge of this Gospel who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God."
I would like an explanation of the "reasons LDS die without knowledge of this Gospel" Are these LDS then ignorant of "this Gospel"? How did they become LDS in this ignorance? Did they have to answer the questions to obtain a temple recommend and fail the test? Were all these "many" too young to take out their "endowments" through mission prep or marriage? Does that mean a seventeen-year-old who dies before temple ordinances gets a pass to having proxy work done if he dies? Don't all seventeen-year-old mormons, including converts, have to "hear this Gospel" to even become members by this age?
Here is an answer to Godzilla's question.
you said if the temple ordinances were not received in ‘this life’
Are you saying that they still need to be performed via proxy or by some other means in the afterlife.
1. Elders’ Journal of The Church of the Latter Day Saints, 1 (July 1838): 43; emphasis added.
2. The Prophet’s initial understanding of vicarious work for the dead may have come to him as a result of the vision he received in January 1836 concerning his older brother Alvin, who had died in 1823, prior to the restoration of the gospel (D&C 137). In the vision, Joseph stated that he saw Alvin in the celestial kingdom, but wondered how he could have received such an inheritance without having received baptism under the proper authority (v. 6). It was then revealed to him that all those who died prior to the gospel being on the earth and all who would die henceforth without a knowledge of the gospel would be heirs of the celestial kingdom (vv. 7–8). With this revelation as a backdrop, the Prophet probably came to understand that while the gospel could be received by the dead following their departure from this life, the ordinance work must be performed for them by someone living in mortality.
Normandy, I question THIS statement by you...”There are many Latter-day saints who for one reason or another die before receiving temple ordinances, when your quote from D&C 137 states, “All who have died without a knowledge of this Gospel who would have received it if they had been permitted to tarry, shall be heirs of the celestial kingdom of God.”
I would like an explanation of the “reasons LDS die without knowledge of this Gospel” Are these LDS then ignorant of “this Gospel”? How did they become LDS in this ignorance? Did they have to answer the questions to obtain a temple recommend and fail the test? Were all these “many” too young to take out their “endowments” through mission prep or marriage? Does that mean a seventeen-year-old who dies before temple ordinances gets a pass to having proxy work done if he dies? Don’t all seventeen-year-old mormons, including converts, have to “hear this Gospel” to even become members by this age?
I think there are plenty of reasons why an LDS member might not receive their temple ordinances. Early death would be one reason, death after baptism for elderly converts, health issues, distance from temples for some members.
And yes, these ordinances would most likely be performed by proxy for these members after death.