make edit non visible layers an option

I often edit non visible layers using the layer beneath as a template - for example, to see where to erase something, or place something. I need to work with invisible layers. If this cannot be made something that I can choose to turn on and off, then I am forever stuck with my old version of GIMP. I absolutely REQUIRE this feature and if it cannot be made available to me, I will have to stick with a MUCH older version of GIMP. I realize it was an intended feature to prevent accidental editing, but for those of us who have come to use the visible layers as a template for what we do above them, this feature breaks GIMP entirely.