Baptism for the Dead.--That baptism is required from all capable of exercising faith and manifesting repentance is shown by the fact that provision is made in the gospel for the baptism of those who pass away without being baptized for themselves. In the spirit world, where the gospel is preached and the powers of the priesthood are exercised, faith and repentance are possible--but baptism is not, it being an outward ordinance, having to do with a temporal element--water--and therefore to be administered in a temporal world. Since it is the soul that is baptized, not the spirit alone, baptism is impracticable in the world of spirits. Spirits in Prison.--Peter's testimony concerning Christ's preaching to "the spirits in prison" during the interval between his death and resurrection--spirits disobedient in the days of Noah, swept off by the deluge, and immured in eternal dungeons to await a day of deliverance; the apostle's figurative use of the ark and flood as symbols of baptism, that "doth also now save us;" and his further statement that "for this cause was the gospel also preached to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit," are too well known to need dwelling upon (1 Pet.3:18-21;4:6). Vicarious Baptism During and After Paul's Time.--That baptism for the dead was practiced in the Church of Christ during Paul's time is evident from his oft-quoted words: "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? Why are they then baptized for the dead?" (1 Cor. 15:29). That the practice continued after Paul's time, among some of the Christians of Asia, we learn from Epiphanius, a writer of the fourth century. It was forbidden by the Council of Carthage, A. D. 397. Vicarious work, when authorized of God, is acceptable to him. This should not startle the Christian mind, when it is remembered that the whole fabric of Christianity rests upon the vicarious work done by Jesus Christ for the redemption and salvation of those who were powerless to redeem and save themselves. Men cannot answer by proxy for the deeds done in the body, but there have always been ceremonies in the Church of Christ that one person might perform for another. The priest who ministers in behalf of the people is a type of the Great Mediator, "our only access unto God." If baptism had not been essential to salvation, Christ would not have told Nicodemus what he did; the apostles would not have been sent to "baptize all nations;" Peter, Paul, and other servants of God, would not have commanded Jews and Gentiles to be baptized, nor would they have emphasized the necessity of baptism in their writings. Moreover, they would not have troubled themselves about baptism for the dead, had it not been necessary for man's eternal welfare. CHAPTER VI. Purpose and Effects of Baptism.