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May 27, 2006

You'll Find Out We're Right in the Afterlife

Jewish leaders are irritated with Mormons because they haven't kept their part of a deal to remove the names of Jewish Holocaust victims from their genealogical database, nor will they quit adding new Jewish Holocaust victims' names.

The conflict is over much more than the mere matter of Jewish names being a part of the Mormons' genealogy. The problem is that their presence in the database means they have been posthumously baptized into the Mormon church.

Posthumous baptism is a sacred rite practiced in Mormon church temples for the purpose of offering membership in the church to the deceased. Church members are encouraged to conduct family genealogy research and forward their ancestors' names for proxy baptism.

Church President Gordon B. Hinckley has said the baptismal rite is only an offer of membership that can be rejected in the afterlife by individuals. "So, there's no injury done to anybody."

Is it really harmless? To someone who does not believe in an afterlife, it might seem comical that such angst is occurring over a non-existent phenomenon. But the real matter at issue here is that Jews are being insulted by Mormons who believe that they alone have the truth and that deceased Jews in the afterlife will realize it and be grateful that someone back in the real world loved them enough to give them a second opportunity to be saved.

Posted by Becky at May 27, 2006 12:49 PM

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