In his book, The Holy Bible and Mormonism: Understanding the Mormon Faith (2009), LDS apologist,
Christopher Mills, comments on the pronoun “they” in 1 Cor 15:29 as follows:
Critics of the Latter-day Saints point out Paul’s usage of the pronoun “they”
in verse twenty-nine to assert that he is distancing himself from baptism for the
dead and referring to a false practice. The question critics always ask is who “they”
are . . .Since the people he is addressing doubt that the dead will be
resurrected, it is safe to assume that they do not participate in baptism for
the dead. Therefore, the use of “they” here is simply the opposite of those
that Paul was teaching. “They” collectively refers to the faithful Christians
who believed in the resurrection and performed baptisms for the dead. (pp.58-59)
While an interesting
approach to what I call the “pronoun” argument against the LDS practice for
baptism for the dead, an easier, more exegetically-sound explanation is available. The Greek text of 1
Cor 15:29 reads as followed (followed by my translation of the Greek):
Ἐπεὶ τί ποιήσουσιν οἱ βαπτιζόμενοι ὑπὲρ τῶν νεκρῶν; εἰ ὅλως νεκροὶ οὐκ ἐγείρονται,
τί καὶ βαπτίζονται ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν
Else why are the one's being baptised on behalf of the dead ones? If the
dead are not raised at all, then why are the one's being baptised on behalf of
the dead ones?
The Greek text does not
have the pronoun “they.” Instead, it uses a present passive participle, literally,
“the being baptised ones” (οι βαπτιζομενοι). Contra critics
who harp on the pronoun “they” and their ignorance of the original language
texts, the verse is entirely neutral towards the question of whether Paul
himself was in favour of this doctrine (though some commentators argue that
v.30 shows Paul associated himself with those who were baptised on behalf of
the dead).