Joseph Smith, Jr. founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, (LDS Church), formally introduces the doctrine of baptism for the dead on August 15, 1840, during a funeral sermon for Seymour Brunson in Nauvoo, Illinois.
Joseph Smith had long pondered the fate of his brother Alvin, who died in 1823 before being baptized. This new revelation provided a way for Alvin to receive the ordinance by proxy.Following the 1840 announcement, the practice was quickly adopted, with Jane Neyman often cited as the first woman to act as a proxy (for her son) in September 1840.
