Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Posthumous Baptism

The Mormon Church is getting in trouble for the posthumous baptisms of Jews, including those who died in concentration camps. Jewish groups (and others) are understandably irritated at learning the souls of their deceased relatives are theoretically being tinkered with by the Mormons. The Mormons claim that the souls of the deceased have the option to decline baptism, so they aren't violating anyone's rights (dead or alive). Despite this, they agreed in 1995 to stop baptizing Jewish Holocaust victims, unless they are the direct ancestor of an LDS member.

It seems, though, they've never really stopped the practice. In 2004, Hillary Clinton got involved. In the course of discussions with Orin Hatch, she found out that her father had also been posthumously baptized.

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