The Pearl of Great Price ……. and Save Our Selves with All Our Dead

The Pearl of Great Price ……. and Save Our Selves with All Our Dead

The restored gospel of Jesus Christ is the best thing that ever happened to me at the onset of my working life.

One of the most fascinating teachings of the restored gospel is the doctrine of redemption for the dead. The scriptures are very clear (Rom 14:8-9) that the Savior is the Lord of both the living and the dead.

Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a very prominent member of the Jewish religious ruling class, went to the Savior under cover of darkness to enquire from Him regarding certain a doctrinal issue that was troubling him. He knew that the Savior was a man sent from God.

The teaching he received from the Savior on the doctrine of baptism was quite baffling to him.(John 3:3-5) The Savior was unequivocal that baptism by the proper priesthood authority puts one at the entry point to the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life.

The Savior promised the apostle Peter that He would give unto him the keys of the kingdom of Heaven (i.e. the Priesthood, Matt 16:19).

This promise was fulfilled on the Mount of Transfiguration when God the Father made a declaration to Peter, James and John in the presence of the transfigured Savior, Moses and Elias who held the Priesthood in their mortal lives (Matt 17:1-5).

The apostle Peter received appropriate priesthood keys from Moses and Elias under the direction of the Savior.

Before the crucifixion of the Savior, the apostle John recorded a very significant event that would happen in the spirit world – the Savior’s promise to take the gospel to the dead (John 5:20-25).

The apostle Peter also explained in his epistle (1 Peter 4:6) why the gospel was preached unto the dead and the apostle Paul brought to the fore the doctrine of baptism for the dead (1 Cor. 15:19).

My personal testimony is that the doctrine of redemption for the dead is true.

In September 1997, I had the privilege to perform sacred saving ordinances for my ancestors who have gone beyond the veil in the Johannesburg Temple.  Prominent amongst them was my own father.

Prior to performing the sacred saving ordinance for my departed ancestors, my junior brother Kojo who is also a member of the Church told me of a dream he had one month before my trip to Johannesburg temple, South Africa.

In his dream he was in the sacrament meeting hall when he was told that he had a visitor at the Bishop’s office.  When he got to the Bishop’s office he saw our dad seated in front of the Bishop and they were engaged in conversation. Dad smiled gently at my brother when he saw the look of surprise upon his face.  It was there and then that my brother woke up from his dream.

During his mortal life our Dad visited the Church only during my wedding day.

About a month after performing the necessary vicarious ordinances for some of my ancestors, including my Dad, he appeared very clearly to me in a dream and gave me the assurance that he has received the sacred saving ordinances that I performed on his behalf in the temple.

During the temple marriage of my brother Kojo to his wife Hillary in the Salt Lake Temple in the USA, one of his professors at BYU-Hawaii, who was like an aunt to my brother, attended the ceremony.

She recounted a very wonderful spiritual experience and was kind enough to send me a copy of her experience.

“…… In the temple (Salt Lake Temple) when I was asked to sit in the seat for the mother of the groom, which was next to you (Kojo), I once again felt her ( our mother) sweet spirit. Then you (Kojo) and Hillary entered the room (sealing room) ……I reached over and touched your arm. It was at that moment I felt the strong presence or your parents and I could sense clearly your mom looking right at you. It was as though your Dad was sitting in the witness chair and your mom was standing behind him. Through the entire ceremony they were in the room. It was incredible to feel so strongly their presence and know that they were pleased and happy with you and Hillary”.   This was on the 4th of May 2003.

Our Mom was a member of the church and had passed and was buried on the first Saturday of May 2003 just prior to the wedding.  As a family back home in Ghana, we decided to keep the knowledge of our Mom’s death from Kojo because we did not want to disrupt his marriage plans which coincided with the burial of our mother in Ghana.  He later learned that she had been present in spirit at his temple wedding.