Baptism for the dead

Baptism for the dead is a practice of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and some other Mormon churches. A living person is baptized in the normal way, except that the prayer accompanying the baptism states that the baptism is being performed for and in behalf of the deceased person whose name is given. Mormons base this practice on the passage [1 Cor 15:29], which states (KJV):

"Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?".

Joseph Smith interpreted this passage as justification for baptism for the dead, and reported having received revelations on baptism for the dead which specified the manner in which it was to be performed.

These baptisms in the LDS Church take place in a Temple, of which there are (in 2001) more than 100 world wide. Baptism is by immersion, as is ordinary baptism in these sects. It is believed in the church that a person who is deceased, who never had the opportunity to convert to the faith will have the opportunity in the afterlife, but in order to do so they must be baptised, even if by proxy.

Other Christians do not accept the Mormon interpretation of this passage, and they differ on what the passage in 1 Corinthians is intended to mean. A commonly-held counter-argument is that the passage, when taken in context of [the entire chapter], is only an aside to the central issue that Paul is trying to get across to the church in Corinth. Paul is arguing against those who do not believe in the bodily resurrection of both Jesus and His followers. Paul was trying to catch the disciples who didn't believe in resurrection in a logical contradiction since they were also baptizing the dead.