Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam
The ordinances are important, IMHO, because 1) they are required to be a part of the community, and 2) they are the signature on the line of the contract with God.
I believe the signing precedes the making of the contract in nearly every instance, but it is the signifier nonetheless.
The fact that the ordinances can be done vicariously shows that is it not important to have the literal experience individually. The fact that we try to do it for all the dead shows that it might be a significant signifier of the separate sanctification. Or maybe it is about selfless service and really isn't that important for the dead. I don't have an independent testimony on the subject of the literal individual importance of work for the dead to the dead.
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Fair enough. I don't think we're that far off from each other's positions on this, although I wouldn't refer to the ordinances themselves as 'so much theater'...
IMO, without that 'signature' of the ordinance, the personal conversion won't do enough to save you. I'd describe it more like this:
-The pre-baptism hoopla (the talks, the prayers, etc.) are akin to the pre-signing hoopla at a peace-treaty signing (think the Russian doll-dance in 'The Man who Knew too Little').
-The actual baptism ordinance is akin to the actual signing of the peace treaty.
To me, the fact that we do vicarious work in the temples is proof of the importance of the ordinances themselves. That said, I agree that there may be additional purposes behind the work, and that the work may not be as necessary as it appears on the surface.