Misunderstanding Baptism for Salvation Quote #5

This post is an explanation of the use of the fifth quote by Joseph Fielding Smith in my previous post, Misunderstanding Baptism for Salvation. To understand that post please first read, Understanding Baptism Line upon Line.

Question: Is baptism necessary to gain entry into the terrestrial and telestial kingdoms? Won't all who are resurrected and go into these lower kingdoms have to be baptized before they can leave paradise? What will happen to those in paradise who refuse to accept the gospel and accept baptism, even by proxy? Answer: The scriptures are very clear in declaring that baptism is for the celestial kingdom only. For a place in the terrestrial or the telestial kingdom, baptism is not required...
The kingdom of God mentioned by the Savior in his conversation with Nicodemus points clearly to the fact that it is the celestial kingdom that is meant. This is also implied in the instructions given by our Savior to his apostles when he left them. They were to go into all the world and preach the gospel, all who accepted and were baptized should enter the celestial kingdom, but all others would be damned, or be assigned to one of the other kingdoms. (AGQ p.147)

These are good questions, great questions really. When I asked these questions, I went to the scriptures and the temple and I got a very different answer then that given here. This is how I would modify the answer to agree with scripture and modern revelation:

The scriptures are very clear in declaring that baptism is for the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God has three kingdoms inside of it and baptism is required for all three, celestial, terrestrial, and telestial. The kingdom of God mentioned by the Savior in his conversation with Nicodemus points clearly to the fact that it is the kingdom of God that is meant, with no clarification as to one kingdom over another inside of the kingdom of God. This is also implied in the instructions given by our Savior to his apostles when he left them. They were to go into all the world and preach the gospel, all who accepted and were baptized should enter the kingdom of God, but all others would be damned until they choose to repent and be baptized. If they died without receiving baptism they would go to spirit prison until they choose to repent and receive their vicarious baptism.

The simple answer to the original questions are:

• First, yes, baptism is necessary to gain entry into the terrestrial and telestial kingdoms.
• Second, yes, all who are resurrected and go into these lower kingdoms have to be baptized before they are resurrected.
• Third, those who refuse to accept the gospel and accept baptism, even by proxy will go to outer darkness as sons or daughters of perdition.

In the second and third questions the word paradise appears to be used as a synonym to spirit world. In both of these questions it is not being used correctly as defined by current Mormon vernacular. The term paradise is used as the place where the righteous go after death and before resurrection. The term prison is used as the place where the wicked go after death and before resurrection. While these may not be the same use in every instance of scripture it does overall agree with many verses of scripture and the use of the term.

In the second question it said 'before they can leave paradise?' As paradise is a place for the righteous they must be baptized in order to be in paradise. All who are resurrected from paradise will receive a kingdom of glory. A spirit who receives their vicarious baptism will leave spirit prison and enter into spirit paradise. Those who are resurrected cannot go to a kingdom of glory in the kingdom of God without having first been baptized. Anyone resurrected straight out of spirit prison will go to outer darkness. It is our hope that all will receive baptism and, if spirits, enter into spirit paradise before their day of resurrection/judgement.

The third question also uses the term paradise incorrectly. A person who refuses baptism will not be in paradise but in prison. While I clarified the questions with use of the term paradise as used in Mormon vernacular and in many scriptures, in basic concept of paradise being where all spirits go then these questions are not worded incorrectly. (Please see my disclaimer about this topic)