Ignorant native
In Christian theology, the ignorant native is a inhabitant of a distant region who has never been exposed to the Gospel and so has never had a chance to choose to accept it. If, as some theologians have argued, membership of the church is necessary for salvation, how could it be just of God to condemn the native to Hell? Various theories of salvation has been devised to solve this conundrum.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints also known as the Mormons have a unique viewpoint in modern Christianity with respect to ignorant natives. The church's teachings are that those who die without knowledge of the gospel will be taught the gospel in the afterlife, and that they will be able to accept baptism through an ordinance carried out vicariously by the living. This baptism for the dead is obliquely referenced in Paul's letter to the Corinthians.
"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?"- 1 Corinthians 15:29
Clearly, other Christian religions do not adhere to the same interpretation of this scripture as the LDS faith, and many apologies exist to explain this scripture away as either a bad translation or just awkward wording. It is clear, even from the LDS viewpoint that this scripture is not primarily about baptism for the dead, but rather the reality of the physical resurrection.
LDS Theology
See also:
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