[dfwgator]

What about all of the poor saps who died before Joey Smith was born, what about them?

[Politics4US]

I don’t have a problem with Romney being a mormon.

[Dr. Sivana]

What about all of the poor saps who died before Joey Smith was born, what about them?

I believe that Mormon understanding is that if these poor saps were fortunate enough to have been around between when Our Lord was visiting North America and before the teaching made there was lost and/or corrupted, they might have a shot. Otherwise, they'll have to hope that their name pops up in some old geneology records so they can have things taken care of post-humously by a pious Mormon.

American Indians who kept no such records will be out of luck for the time being. I do not know enough about Mormonism to know whether they are consigned to hell, annihilation, or some intermediate or temporary place. These kinds of questions come up for Catholics and Protestants as well (those who lived in times or places where they could not have possibly had access to the Gospel or sacramental Baptism), and approaches to the answer vary.