By Eric Johnson
In Eastern thought, including Hinduism and Buddhism, karma can affect a person from one life to the next. In Christianity, however, such a concept is not considered biblical. In fact, 2 Corinthians 6:2 says, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. And Hebrews 9:27 adds that after people die, then “comes the judgment.” While Mormons like to cite 1 Corinthians 15:29 to support the idea that it is possible for living people to vicariously do work on behalf of the dead, the Book of Mormon completely disagrees. Alma 34:31-35 says,
“Yea, I would that ye would come forth and harden not your hearts any longer; for behold, now is the time and the day of your salvation; and therefore, if ye will repent and harden not your hearts, immediately shall the great plan of redemption be brought about unto you. For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors. And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so any witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed. Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world. For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked.
With these two passages saying no work can be performed after death, it’s a wonder why Mormons believe that salvation is even possible after death.