telnetd

Paul was already firm in his teaching that Christ rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Then he moves on to his next premise - "Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?" Maybe the "dead" in verse 29 is a reference to Christ, not other Christians or Jews who died without faith in Christ. "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all?"

Do you believe the Book of Mormon account in 3 Nephi 23:7-13? "And it came to pass that he said unto Nephi: Bring forth the record which ye have kept. And when Nephi had brought forth the records, and laid them before him, he cast his eyes upon them and said: Verily I say unto you, I commanded my servant Samuel, the Lamanite, that he should testify unto this people, that at the day that the Father should glorify his name in me that there were many saints who should arise from the dead, and should appear unto many, and should minister unto them. And he said unto them: Was it not so? And his disciples answered him and said: Yea, Lord, Samuel did prophesy according to thy words, and they were all fulfilled. And Jesus said unto them: How be it that ye have not written this thing, that many saints did arise and appear unto many and did minister unto them? And it came to pass that Nephi remembered that this thing had not been written. And it came to pass that Jesus commanded that it should be written; therefore it was written according as he commanded".

The Bible does not teach Buddhist practices were incorporated into Jewish and Christian worship.

Paul's argument is why this other group were baptizing for the dead if there was no resurrection of the dead.

After seeing the resurrections that took place in Jerusalem (Matthew 27:52-53), where was it expected to continue in their day?

We should focus on only those who have heard the gospel and rejected it. God has already extended mercy to them while they lived. And they rejected him. That is why the Book of Mormon refers to mortal life as the probationary period. From the Bible, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment". The rich man in Luke 16 did not get a second chance.

In the comparison between Adam and Christ, there is one or two groups, depending on how you interpret it. In one case, the resurrection applies to one overall group. All who die will eventually be resurrected. A case for two groups is present if one believes "in Christ" means only those with faith in Christ will be made alive in the sense of eternal life and the other group refers to those who are not "in Christ". The "firstfruits" verse is not the same analogy as given in those being baptized for the dead. It is a difference in number. One group contains 1, Christ. The other group contains more, those who "are Christ's". Both groups comprise the body of Christ, where Christ is the head. The whole chapter (1 Corinthians 15) is about the resurrection of the dead. Some people in Corinth were claiming that there is no resurrection (verse 12). Paul is arguing that "Why are you being baptized for the dead if they don't believe in a resurrection?" It could have been some other fringe group that believed in being baptized for their dead ancestors in some form of ritual relationship or binding. There is no implication these living people were Christians who were already baptized and now they were being baptized again for a dead person who was never baptized. No baptisms occurred in the temple. Living disciples were only baptizing believers. That is the principle behind "repent and be baptized".

That's ok. I mixed them up occasionally since they both start with "P" 🙂

Right. But it's Paul, not Peter. That group is not his group. That is why he says, "Else what shall we they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are we they then baptized for the dead?" It's reasonable to believe Paul's use of "they" instead of "we" meant that neither he or the Corinthians performed proxy baptisms.

Alma 40:26 was provided in error. It's Alma 12:16,32. "And now behold, I say unto you then cometh a death, even a second death, which is a spiritual death; then is a time that whosoever dieth in his sins, as to a temporal death, shall also die a spiritual death; yea, he shall die as to things pertaining unto righteousness. Therefore God gave unto them commandments, after having made known unto them the plan of redemption, that they should not do evil, the penalty thereof being a second death, which was an everlasting death as to things pertaining unto righteousness; for on such the plan of redemption could have no power, for the works of justice could not be destroyed, according to the supreme goodness of God".

Yes. Alma 40:26 also says those who are not redeemed from the second death suffer what is known as "everlasting death".

You may want to consider this precept: "... and they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years".

Add a few more to those who are not redeemed. They don't have eternal life. "And now, the resurrection of all the prophets, and all those that have believed in their words, or all those that have kept the commandments of God, shall come forth in the first resurrection; therefore, they are the first resurrection. They are raised to dwell with God who has redeemed them; thus they have eternal life through Christ, who has broken the bands of death. And these are those who have part in the first resurrection; and these are they that have died before Christ came, in their ignorance, not having salvation declared unto them. And thus the Lord bringeth about the restoration of these; and they have a part in the first resurrection, or have eternal life, being redeemed by the Lord. And little children also have eternal life. But behold, and fear, and tremble before God, for ye ought to tremble; for the Lord redeemeth none such that rebel against him and die in their sins; yea, even all those that have perished in their sins ever since the world began, that have wilfully rebelled against God, that have known the commandments of God, and would not keep them; these are they that have no part in the first resurrection. Therefore ought ye not to tremble? For salvation cometh to none such; for the Lord hath redeemed none such; yea, neither can the Lord redeem such; for he cannot deny himself; for he cannot deny justice when it has its claim" (Mosiah 15:22-27).

What happened to all the righteous spirits in the paradise side of the spirit world, mentioned in verses 38-49, whom Christ is said to have commissioned to preach the gospel to those in darkness between his death and resurrection?

Where does Doctrine and Covenants 138:36-37 say the prophets organized other missionaries to preach the gospel in spirit prison during the death and resurrection of Christ and after?

Let me try again. Doctrine and Covenants 138:36-37 says "Thus was it made known that our Redeemer spent his time during his sojourn in the world of spirits, instructing and preparing the faithful spirits of the prophets who had testified of him in the flesh. That they might carry the message of redemption unto all the dead, unto whom he could not go personally, because of their rebellion and transgression, that they through the ministration of his servants might also hear his words". Out of all the faithful men and women in the spirit world where Jesus went after he died, why were only prophets commissioned to preach to those in darkness before his resurrection?

You seem to think they portray different time periods but you don't explain why.

<Deleted my initial reply. You may have also answered a question about the spiritual creation process>

Are you sure about that? Scripture says, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." (Genesis 1:26-27). I know how human males and females are involved in the creation process. But neither the husband or wife say "This child will be a son / This child will be a daughter / so let me create his/her body in my image". So I'm trying to understand if and how you believe a heavenly mother was involved to create the spirit body of Eve and other daughters in Her image?

Clarification... 2) Time frame in Doctrine and Covenants 138:36-37 "Our Redeemer spent his time during his sojourn in the world of spirits, instructing and preparing the faithful spirits of the prophets who had testified of him in the flesh; That they might carry the message of redemption unto all the dead, unto whom he could not go personally, because of their rebellion and transgression, that they through the ministration of his servants might also hear his words". 3) Time from in Doctrine and Covenants 138:30 "From among the righteous, he organized his forces and appointed messengers, clothed with power and authority, and commissioned them to go forth and carry the light of the gospel to them that were in darkness, even to all the spirits of men; and thus was the gospel preached to the dead. #2 and #3 refers to the time Christ spent in the spirit world between his death and resurrection. 4) Time frame in Doctrine and Covenants 138:57 This does not refer to the time period of #2 and #3: "I beheld that the faithful elders of this dispensation, when they depart from mortal life, continue their labors in the preaching of the gospel of repentance and redemption, through the sacrifice of the Only Begotten Son of God, among those who are in darkness and under the bondage of sin in the great world of the spirits of the dead". If #3 includes women, so does #2. #4 doesn't appear to imply for women as they are not elders in this dispensation.

I believe the part about being offspring is about our being created by God, without a heavenly mother. We live, move, and have our being through Him. "For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device". The Greeks depicted their gods (in a hierarchy) as humanlike but idealized. This is how they depicted their gods: Gods looked like people. They were shown as physically perfect—strong and youthful. Each god had symbols to identify them (e.g., Athena with a helmet and spear, Zeus with a thunderbolt). Though human in form, they were often portrayed as taller than mortals. Paul subtly denounced their pantheon and did not promote the idea of a heavenly mother. There was a queen in heaven in Jewish theology. I think she was called Ashtoreth. Jesus said "And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham". These offspring would be created without a heavenly mother. God doesn't need to be a female to create a human female. Let me know how you feel heavenly mother was involved to create Eve. Did the spirits of the prophets in Doctrine and Covenants 138:36-37 (I believe you also counted women among that group here on Dec 8) have an office in the Old Testament?

#2 (Doctrine and Covenants 138:6-7) and #3 (Doctrine and Covenants 138:30) looks to me like the period between his death and resurrection. Why do you exclude faithful sisters from category #2 and only put them in #3 as you said before?

No particular reason. I just don't interpret offspring in the same way you do. God created Adam in the garden of Eden without her involvement. Which of the gods of the Athenians was Heavenly Mother? Why wouldn't the church use Paul's mention of "offspring" in Acts 17 to make an earlier issuance? What led to her existence being affirmed? Some other revelation possibly? Do you also consider current faithful Latter-day Saint sisters as prophets too or was this prophethood for only Old Testament women and a few in the New Testament?

Don't #2 and #3 refer to the same time period?

I don't believe she exists. When did Heavenly Mother become a doctrine? But are Eve and her faithful daughters considered to be the "spirits of the prophets" organized and commissioned to preach the gospel in the spirit world between Christ's death and resurrection?