Mormons apologize for posthumous Jewish baptism
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Mormon church leaders apologized to the family of Holocaust survivor and Jewish rights advocate Simon Wiesenthal after his parents were posthumously baptized, a controversial ritual that Mormons believe allows deceased people a way to the afterlife but offends members of many other religions.
Wiesenthal died in 2005 after surviving the Nazi death camps and spending his life documenting Holocaust crimes and hunting down perpetrators who remained at large. Jews are particularly offended by an attempt to alter the religion of Holocaust victims, who were murdered because of their religion, and the baptism of Holocaust survivors was supposed to have been barred by a 1995 agreement.
Yet records indicate Wiesenthal's parents, Asher and Rosa Rapp Wiesenthal, were baptized in proxy ceremonies performed by Mormon church members at temples in Arizona and Utah in late January.
In a statement, the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center denounced the baptismal rites.
"We are outraged that such insensitive actions continue in the Mormon temples," said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean at the center.
The church immediately apologized, saying it was the actions of an individual member of church — whom they did not name — that led to the submission of Wiesenthal's name.
"We sincerely regret that the actions of an individual member of the church led to the inappropriate submission of these names," Michael Purdy, a spokesman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, said in a statement issued Monday. "We consider this a serious breach of our protocol and we have suspended indefinitely this person's ability to access our genealogy records."
Mormons believe posthumous baptism by proxy allows deceased persons to receive the Gospel in the afterlife. The church believes departed souls can then accept or reject the baptismal rites and contends the offerings are not intended to offend anyone.
Other religions, including the Catholic church, have also publicly objected to the baptism of its members, and it's been widely reported that Mormon and GOP presidential nominee front-runner Mitt Romney's atheist father-in-law Edward Davies was posthumously baptized.
A check of the records by Salt Lake City researcher Helen Radkey showed the baptism occurred in November 1993. The record suggests a family member may have submitted Davies' name, which would be in line with the rules for entering names in the database.
Changes made to the church database in 2010 were intended to better prevent names of Holocaust victims from being submitted for rites.
Radkey found documentation of the baptism of the Wiesenthals last week while conducting regular checks of a church database. Jews have relied on the work of Radkey, a former Mormon, since 1999, although Mormon church officials have publicly questioned her motives for reviewing the database.
On Tuesday she told The Associated Press she periodically checks the database for the Wiesenthal name to gauge whether the latest Mormon efforts to screen the process were working.
Radkey's recent monitoring also turned up a record for Holocaust survivor and Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel and several of his relatives.
"None of the three names were submitted for baptism and they would not have been under the church's guidelines and procedures," Purdy said. "The names were simply entered into a genealogical database. Submission for proxy baptism is a separate process."
New Jersey-based Jewish genealogy experts Gary Mokotoff said publicity about the Wiesenthal baptism will help solve the problem, which he believes is likely limited to a small number of overzealous church members who believe they are providing a service to their church.
"If the word gets out that there are consequences, they'll stop," said Mokotoff, who has also participated in talks with Mormon leaders. "But no one has a right to involve other person's families in their religion. That's basically what's wrong about the whole concept."
http://news.yahoo.com/mormons-apologize-posthumous-jewish-baptism-190124456.html
Ok I have to say this. The Mormons believe that you get baptised for the dad. The dead then choose in heaven or the waiting room or whatever to accept this baptism. You are not forcing people to accept it they can turn it down. You are also not supposed to baptise anyone but relatives. So if one of your relatives were Jewish then you can baptise them. They choose whether to accept it or not. SO on the off the wall kind of way I can see how this happens.
Quoting jesusismyfriend:
Ok I have to say this. The Mormons believe that you get baptised for the dad. The dead then choose in heaven or the waiting room or whatever to accept this baptism. You are not forcing people to accept it they can turn it down. You are also not supposed to baptise anyone but relatives. So if one of your relatives were Jewish then you can baptise them. They choose whether to accept it or not. SO on the off the wall kind of way I can see how this happens.
How would you feel if after your death the Catholic church tried to baptise you posthumously into their faith?
They turned it down in life if they died not in the faith.
What hubris!
Quoting jesusismyfriend:Ok I have to say this. The Mormons believe that you get baptised for the dad. The dead then choose in heaven or the waiting room or whatever to accept this baptism. You are not forcing people to accept it they can turn it down. You are also not supposed to baptise anyone but relatives. So if one of your relatives were Jewish then you can baptise them. They choose whether to accept it or not. SO on the off the wall kind of way I can see how this happens.
I read that Mitt Romney and his family baptized Ann Romney's dad after he died. He was an atheist and believed religion was hog wash. I find that to be quite nervy and if it was my dad in that situation I think I would have objected.
Quoting ashboot:
This bothers me greatly and I find it highly offensive. It's always the one question that is never really answered by my Mormon neighbors when I ask about it. I get that that they are saying that it's so that they have a choice in the after life but we chose our religion and beliefs while we are living. To baptize someone posthumously is like saying "you didn't chose the right religion so we are going to give you a second chance." I would have more than a few words to say to my cousin,who is Mormon, if he tried to posthumously baptize our grandma.
That is exactly it. I'm LDS so I'll try to clear things up some. Like the article says,
Mormons believe posthumous baptism by proxy allows deceased persons to receive the Gospel (I wouldn't say it that way, I'd maybe say a complete or more perfect understanding of God and the Gospel plan) in the afterlife. The church believes departed souls can then accept or reject the baptismal rites and contends the offerings are not intended to offend anyone.
When you get to "the other side" you still are taught and life doesn't end. At that time you may have a change of heart. (or maybe not) Either way, the ordinance (of being baptised) is something that needs to be done on Earth (don't ask why..lol, I don't know, but it HAS to be done here). The choice is still yours.
No, I would have a problem. The Catholic church doesn't have any significance to me so why would I care? Same with any other group. They aren't doing anything to ME. It's just a name, and it belongs to a bunch of different people before and after me.
Quoting romalove:
Quoting jesusismyfriend:
Ok I have to say this. The Mormons believe that you get baptised for the dead. The dead then choose in heaven or the waiting room or whatever to accept this baptism. You are not forcing people to accept it they can turn it down. You are also not supposed to baptise anyone but relatives. So if one of your relatives were Jewish then you can baptise them. They choose whether to accept it or not. SO on the off the wall kind of way I can see how this happens.
How would you feel if after your death the Catholic church tried to baptise you posthumously into their faith?
Jewish Journal. com (this is part 3 but I will put links to the other parts as well)
Know then that ev’ry soul is free,
To choose his life and what he’ll be;
For this eternal truth is given,
That God will force no man to heaven.
He’ll call, persuade direct him right;,
Bless him with wisdom, love, and light;
In nameless ways be good and kind;
But never force the human mind.
—Know This, That Every Soul Is Free (LDS Hymn)
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 (New Testament)
In a recent letter to the editor of The Jewish Week addressing Mitt Romney’s candidacy, Rabbi Mordecai Schnaidman posed three questions about LDS beliefs. I have answered two of them in previous posts, and will now address the third. Given that the topic is a sensitive one—posthumous immersions for the dead – it is especially important to remember that honesty and clarity often trump agreement in interfaith dialogue.
Q: [The Jewish Week Editor Gary] Rosenblatt acknowledges that only victims of the Holocaust were exempted from the Mormon doctrine of baptizing the deceased, but that otherwise the practice continues unabated. How does such an approach to persons, although deceased, jibe with the principle of individual autonomy that is the very foundation of modern democratic society?
A: This question contains two questions: 1) Are Jewish Holocaust victims in fact exempted from LDS temple ordinances? 2) Do Mormons believe that these ordinances somehow obligate the dead to accept them in the afterlife? In both cases, the answer is a resounding ‘no.’
Mormons believe that a prerequisite for reaching heaven is to receive certain ordinances, including baptism. One can receive these ordinances in person while on earth (as LDS Church members do) or by proxy after death. In the latter case, Mormons acting on behalf of the dead receive the ordinances in their name during temple rituals.
In the past year some Jewish leaders have publicly proclaimed that Jewish Holocaust victims are exempted from this requirement in LDS theology. This is a mistaken belief. The only people for whom temple ordinances are not performed posthumously are children who die before they are eight years old (the age of accountability, when they are deemed capable of sinning). Those young spirits get a free pass to heaven. The rest of us need to receive the ordinances that God has prepared for us.
Just to be absolutely clear, Mormons believe that people who need temple ordinances in the next life in order to live in God’s presence include victims of the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, and other extermination campaigns where victims were targeted because of their race, nationality, or religion. Those who argue that Holocaust victims don’t have to receive the ordinances that are required for all of God’s other children are inadvertently making the case that God loves a group of Jews less than He loves everyone else. This certainly does not square with our theology.
Mormons have an obligation to perform temple ordinances for their deceased relatives. Indeed, we believe that we will not reach heaven without our kindred dead who have accepted the rites. However, church members have no such duty towards others’ relatives. For decades church leaders have asked members to perform temple ordinances only for their own ancestors. In the past, a small number of Mormons inappropriately performed temple ordinances for Holocaust victims who were not related to them, in violation of church policy (for more details, please see my first and second blogs on the subject). This understandably raised the ire of Jews, and a series of discussions took place between LDS and Jewish leaders over many years.
The understanding that was finally reached between the two groups led to further steps taken by the LDS Church to try to prevent temple ordinances from being performed for Holocaust victims by non-relatives. In addition, the church will continue to delete names of these victims from its ordinance database when evidence is produced that an unauthorized ordinance has been performed for them. These are the only concessions made to Holocaust victims. If a granddaughter of a victim converts to Mormonism and wants to perform temple ordinances for her grandmother, she has not only a right but an obligation to do so.
Now we come to the question of “individual autonomy” and temple rites. Mormons believe that our freedom to choose between good and evil, truth and error will continue beyond the grave. Just as we are not compelled to accept religious truths on earth, we will be free to accept or reject religious principles and rites in the next life as well. If a Mormon has performed ordinances by proxy on behalf of an ancestor in an LDS temple, the potential beneficiary is under no obligation to accept them. Thus the foundational principle of individual autonomy in religion cherished by Rabbi Schnaidman remains inviolate. In our belief system, if someone who was not a Mormon on earth becomes a Mormon in the world to come, it will be because he has chosen to become one.
The importance of free will in the LDS concept of an afterlife becomes clearer when we look at proxy immersions. When I first started discussing posthumous temple rites with Jews, I quickly noticed that they only raised objections to the ordinance known to Mormons as “baptisms for the dead.” Even though Mormons perform several ordinances for the deceased, Jews focused almost exclusively on that one. [I have never heard a Jew object to the eternal marriage by proxy of a husband and wife who perished in the Holocaust, for example]. Most Jews may not know a whole lot about Christianity, but they do know that a “baptism” means someone has just become a member of a Christian church.
It’s not always easy to explain to them that with Latter-day Saints, things are a little different: While living Mormons are baptized into the LDS Church and do become members, the dead are baptized by proxy and are not listed as members of the church. The difference? Consent. The living can freely consent to be baptized, while it is impossible to objectively discern whether the dead have accepted the ordinance.
It is for this reason that I use the term “proxy immersion” to refer to LDS proxy baptisms for the dead. Not only is the word “immersion” far less emotionally charged for Jews than “baptism,” but the term is more accurate. The “baptism” for a dead soul only becomes a true baptism (i.e., entry into the church) if he ultimately accepts it. If he doesn’t, it becomes an immersion that was performed for naught. Since the dead who are baptized by proxy are not considered to be members of the LDS Church, I think it’s a good idea to use a different, more accurate term than “baptism” when discussing the ordinance with Jews. In addition, use of the term “immersion” avoids giving non-Mormons the impression that the practice automatically confers membership in the church, as do baptisms in other Christian churches.
I thank Rabbi Schnaiman for taking the time to write his thoughtful letter, and hope that my answers to his questions have been helpful. Shabbat shalom.
Answers to a rabbi, part 2: Do Mormon politicians take orders from Utah?
Mormon temples and Mitt: answer to a rabbi’s question
12.1.11 at 10:18 pm | Rabbi Mordecai Schnaidman's question is timely. . .
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