With my faith’s practice of baptism for the dead under fire and, in my opinion, so misunderstood, it was interesting that this five-page Heber Q. Hale “vision,” apparently part of the curriculum at BYU-Idaho, fell on my desk. It alleges to be a divine vision of the spirit world that Hale, president of the Boise, Idaho, stake 90 or so years ago, received between midnight to 7:30 a.m. on Jan. 20, 1920. Also, Hale is alleged to have delivered the account of his vision in October 1920 at an LDS “Genealogical Conference” in Salt Lake City.
Journalism has hardened my skepticism, and I was prepared to chuckle over Hale’s account. Instead, the account moved me. Maybe it’s because I have an infant son who died, and Hale offers words that would comfort LDS parents who have experienced the death of a young child. Also, the Hale “vision” provides a traditional representation of how Latter-day Saints perceive the afterlife. The Mormon belief in restored Gospel, priesthood authority, necessity of baptism, confirmation, temple ordinances, and other keys and requirements to eternal progression, are underscored in Hale’ comforting “vision.”
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