Ordinance

A religious rite. JS taught that ordinances were covenants between man and God, in which believers could affirm faith, gain spiritual knowledge, and seek blessings. Some ordinances were considered requisite for salvation. The manner in which ordinances were performed was typically given by revelation and generally administered by priesthood authority. JS taught that ordinances existed in all dispensations from the time of Adam and that the changing of ordinances contributed to the apostasy from Christ’s original church. The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, baptism, confirmation, blessing, anointing, endowment, and sealing were types of ordinances. Some of these were to be performed in temples. In August 1840, JS taught that baptism could be performed vicariously for one’s deceased relatives. An 1841 revelation directed that certain ordinances could be performed by proxy in temples. See also “Anoint,” “Baptism,” “Confirmation,” “Endowment,” and “Seal.”