We have now seen, not only that baptism for the dead is a principle known to and doubtless practiced by the Corinthian saints, in the days of Paul--and evidently with his approval--and by some of the Christian sects for two or three centuries after his time; but we have also seen that it was forbidden by the council of an apostate church in the fourth century. In the dispensation in which we now live, however, the knowledge of the ordinance, with a commandment to practice it, and with instructions necessary to its practice, has been restored; and the erection of costly temples, in which this and other ordinances for the dead may be administered, testifies to the zeal with which the Latter-day Saints enter into this work; and is a living testimony to the world that there was virtue in the mission of Elijah. He succeeded in turning the hearts of the children to the fathers; and we may reasonably conclude that the hearts of the fathers have been turned to the children, for they without us cannot be made perfect. This doctrine of salvation for the dead strikes a deadly blow to the horrible dogmas formulated by uninspired men in the dark ages of apostasy, in relation to the eternal punishment of those who die unconverted and in an impenitent condition. According to the aforesaid dogmas such persons are damned to all eternity, without the least hope for redemption; and ingenuity has exhausted itself to present to the mind the duration of their sufferings. In the month of March, 1830--six years before the coming of Elijah--the Lord explained, through the Prophet Joseph Smith, the meaning of the terms eternal punishment and endless punishment, in regard to which men have gone astray. In that explanation it is said: "Behold the mystery of godliness, how great is it? For, behold, I am Endless, and the punishment which is given from my hand, is endless punishment, for Endless is my name; wherefore "Eternal punishment is God's punishment. "Endless punishment is God's punishment."[L] [Footnote L: Doc. and Cov., sec. xix: 10-12.] The punishment takes its name from him who administers it; and, since God is Endless, the punishment he inflicts is called endless or eternal. And, indeed, the punishment exists eternally, and stands ready to be applied to those who violate the laws of righteousness. But because the penalty stands ever ready to vindicate any law which may be broken, it does not necessarily follow that persons violating the law will for ever have to endure punishment. Mercy, though not allowed to rob justice, somewhere, and at some time, will step forward and claim her own; permitting the violator of law to endure punishment no longer than is necessary to vindicate the law, and satisfy the reasonable claims of justice. Hence we may conclude, that while the actions of men in this probation will greatly affect their standing in the life that is to come, those actions do not, in every case, fix the status of men for eternity.