baptism for the dead

American  

noun

1. the baptism of a living person in the place of and for the sake of one who has died unbaptized: now practiced chiefly by Mormons.

---

Example Sentences

Another rite performed in temples — proxy baptism for the dead — has spurred the LDS Church’s pioneering work in genealogy but has also generated controversy.

From Washington Times • Jul. 20, 2021

On weekends, he and other young Mormons would take overnight bus trips to the nearest Mormon temple, outside Washington, to perform sacred rituals, like baptism for the dead.

From New York Times • Oct. 15, 2011

The interior is divided into different rooms, in which such ceremonies as the baptism for the dead are performed; the baptismal font is copied after the one that was in the Temple at Nauvoo.

From The Story of the Mormons, from the date of their origin to the year 1901 by Linn, William Alexander

One other very peculiar tenet of the church is baptism for the dead.

From The Bay State Monthly, Volume 3, No. 5 by Various

So, with the last unction of a woman's kiss, with this baptism for the dead, he had departed.

From Adela Cathcart, Volume 1 by MacDonald, George