Temple work isn't just about names — it's about relationships that transcend time. Amy Harris, professor of history, discusses themes of redeeming the dead in Doctrine and Covenants sections 128 and 138.
“Shall we not go on in so great a cause?”
This rallying cry from Joseph Smith about the restoration of priesthood power that allows us to redeem the dead as recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 128 frames history professor Amy Harris’s exploration of the topic. To her, the doctrine on the redemption for the dead — a doctrine that, as section 138 of the Doctrine and Covenants reveals, reflects a divinely orchestrated effort begun before the foundation of the world.
Harris recently wrote the book, Redeeming the Dead: Themes in the Doctrine and Covenants as part of the Neal A. Maxwell Institute's series on themes in the Doctrine and Covenants. The series is designed to support study of the Doctrine and Covenants, which is this year's course of study for Come Follow Me. Drawing on personal faith, scholarly methodology, and foundational Latter-day Saint texts, Harris’s work reframes family history and temple service as acts of relational justice — where knowing the dead can transform how we engage with the living.
Harris grounds much of her work on the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 18:10 that says “The worth of souls is great in the sight of God.” For her, this extends not only to the living but also to the dead.
“If we think about people as people, we don’t exploit them,” Harris said in an interview. Through contextualizing names on a family tree, even brief engagement can humanize ancestors we’ve never met.
Inspired by an essay on Doctrine and Covenants 128 written by Jenny Webb, Harris sees baptism for the dead and other temple ordinances not as a patch to fix a mistake in God’s plan, but a divine foundation laid before mortality. Section 138 reinforces this idea, depicting Christ organizing missionary work among the dead — a vision given to Joseph F. Smith in 1918 that directly connects to Harris’s thesis of eternal relationships.
Harris’s methodology began with reading the Doctrine and Covenants twice, identifying verses that spoke to redemption, then layering in cosmological theology and historical context.
Collaboration with scholars and editors at the Maxwell Institute enriched the final manuscript, aligning with Come Follow Me’s intent to deepen Church members' understanding of the scriptures.
Harris draws heavily from the period 1845–1918, when temple work theology matured. She highlights how early saints, like those who first performed proxy baptisms in the Mississippi River, saw their work as participatory redemption and communal covenant — not passive ordinance.
Harris’s development of this relationship with her own ancestors reshaped how she interacted with her family stories — including those she had previously misunderstood.
While conducting research for the book on two women who were sisters, Harris caught herself thinking of them as foils of one another — where one was sweet and kind and the other prone to complaining and bitterness.
“I had a moment where I realized that these aren’t characters in a book. These are real people, and I believe, at a fundamental level, that they still exist. I can’t just make them stock characters,” she said.
This responsibility to actively build a relationship with the dead and enrich temple service, led Harris to contemplate the most effective ways such a task could be incorporated into people’s already busy schedules.
She emphasizes small acts — interviewing elderly relatives, imagining a life from a birth date and town, reading local histories. These practices integrate temple worship with compassionate memory.
“FamilySearch won’t tell you who someone was — you have to pursue it. That pursuit is spiritual work,” Harris explained.
With Doctrine and Covenants 137–138 as the focus of upcoming Come Follow Me lessons, Harris hopes readers find renewed meaning in the doctrine.
“I want people to feel inspired — not guilty — about redeeming the dead,” she said. “This isn’t just about names. It’s about love, responsibility, and the relational power of the gospel.”
In a theology where the living and the dead are bound by covenant, Harris’s work invites readers to engage deeper — to see, to remember, and to redeem.
“This is the work of heaven, and we’re all invited to participate,” Harris said.
