Geneology, I am doing it!

[Jeff Lebowski]

I have an idea for you Mormons: you should build an engine that generates names based on commonly known first and surnames at different periods of time and in different geographies and then baptize one of each for every year since, say, 0 A.D. Just be sure to omit Holocaust victims, please.

That should give you plenty of things to do.

I have a better idea. Just take one man and one woman and claim that they are symbolic of ALL dead people and do their temple work. Cha-ching. Problem solved.

[Indy Coug]

Isn't the real answer that the Church's info systems clearly suck?

Whether they do or not, garbage in = garbage out and there is only so much the church can do to dummy-proof the process. There are a lot of "dummies" doing geneology work.

[DrumNFeather]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...IaVR_blog.html

[TripletDaddy]

Whether they do or not, garbage in = garbage out and there is only so much the church can do to dummy-proof the process. There are a lot of "dummies" doing geneology work.

I'm not sure they are dumb as much as elderly. The average temple worker is old. It isn't surprising that a bunch of 80 year old temple volunteers lose track of records here and there every day.

[DrumNFeather]

I'm not sure they are dumb as much as elderly. The average temple worker is old. It isn't surprising that a bunch of 80 year old temple volunteers lose track of records here and there every day.

...and don't know how to use a computer.

[Uncle Ted]

All Dead Mormons Are Now Gay

Sadly, many Mormons throughout history have died without having known the joys of homosexuality. With your help, these poor souls can be saved.

Simply enter the name of your favorite dead Mormon* in the form below and click Convert! Presto, they're gay for eternity. There is no undo.

Don't know any dead Mormons? Click the "Choose-a-Mormon" button and we'll find one for you. You're welcome!

http://alldeadmormonsarenowgay.com/

[mcan]

http://alldeadmormonsarenowgay.com/

I want to know who's going to be the proxy for my ancestors. That's a lot of sex that someone will need to have. And really, what's the ordinance that has to be performed? We know what a proxy baptism looks like, so....

[Moliere]

http://alldeadmormonsarenowgay.com/

So they are saying it's a choice?

[Sullyute]

http://alldeadmormonsarenowgay.com/

Simply enter the name of your favorite dead Mormon* in the form below and click Convert! Presto, they're gay for eternity. There is no undo.

I just converted Brigham Young.

[Indy Coug]

http://articles.boston.com/2012-02-2...-mormon-church

[Tim]

An interesting debate at Slate: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_a...el_pearl_.html

[PaloAltoCougar]

An interesting debate at Slate: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_a...el_pearl_.html

I've tried, but I still can't see why persons of other faith should be upset by this. If a Catholic lights a candle and prays for me or my family, it wouldn't bother me a bit and I'd be grateful for the concern. Is baptism or any other expression of faith so different? Even by our view, baptism by proxy has absolutely no effect on the decedent or his family unless the decedent accepts the work done for him/her.

If the Church were trumpeting "Hey, we baptized Simon Wiesenthal!", or somehow benefiting publicly from these actions, then I'd understand the complaint. But obviously, the Church tries to keep these things on the down low.

I see work for the dead as the equivalent of leaving on the porchlight at a house out in the sticks late at night. It's an invitation. If a passerby wants to stop in and accept the proffered hospitality, by all means. If he/she doesn't, then fine, move along. But why complain because the offer was extended?

[Uncle Ted]

I've tried, but I still can't see why persons of other faith should be upset by this. If a Catholic lights a candle and prays for me or my family, it wouldn't bother me a bit and I'd be grateful for the concern. Is baptism or any other expression of faith so different? Even by our view, baptism by proxy has absolutely no effect on the decedent or his family unless the decedent accepts the work done for him/her.

If the Church were trumpeting "Hey, we baptized Simon Wiesenthal!", or somehow benefiting publicly from these actions, then I'd understand the complaint. But obviously, the Church tries to keep these things on the down low.

I see work for the dead as the equivalent of leaving on the porchlight at a house out in the sticks late at night. It's an invitation. If a passerby wants to stop in and accept the proffered hospitality, by all means. If he/she doesn't, then fine, move along. But why complain because the offer was extended?

My Baptist neighbor tells me that they pray for my soul all the time. The other day, I told him that we baptize his ancestors and will baptize him once he is good and dead. He said, "Well, at least you are doing that instead of being over at my house with your damn white shirt buddies trying to convert me."

[Tim]

I've tried, but I still can't see why persons of other faith should be upset by this. If a Catholic lights a candle and prays for me or my family, it wouldn't bother me a bit and I'd be grateful for the concern. Is baptism or any other expression of faith so different? Even by our view, baptism by proxy has absolutely no effect on the decedent or his family unless the decedent accepts the work done for him/her.

If the Church were trumpeting "Hey, we baptized Simon Wiesenthal!", or somehow benefiting publicly from these actions, then I'd understand the complaint. But obviously, the Church tries to keep these things on the down low.

I see work for the dead as the equivalent of leaving on the porchlight at a house out in the sticks late at night. It's an invitation. If a passerby wants to stop in and accept the proffered hospitality, by all means. If he/she doesn't, then fine, move along. But why complain because the offer was extended?

It's the very fact that it's happening for dead people, who can't deflect it or defend themselves, that people are offended by it. I know that I feel very protective of the memory of my dead mother, and if someone tried to posthumously tamper with her by trying to change her, I'd be upset. I used to think like you do -- what's the big deal if they don't want it? -- but as I think of it in terms of protecting the voices of the departed, I feel more and more inclined to understand where the offended parties are coming from. If you went to a living person and told them "I've been baptized on your behalf," they'd have a number of responses available, ranging from "Thank you!" to "Not interested" to "Stuff it, Mormon!" But at least they'd have a voice in the matter. The dead have no such voice, so it's not right to give someone else (generally completely unrelated to and unknown by the proxy baptizee) that last word for the dead person. They're dead -- let them be!

If the church were saying "We're posthumously having missionaries visit them to ask if they're interested in learning more," the offense wouldn't be there. But baptism is something that's individual and self-defining... that's what makes it something we shouldn't be touching.

[Tim]

My Baptist neighbor tells me that they pray for my soul all the time. The other day, I told him that we baptize his ancestors and will baptize him once he is good and dead. He said, "Well, at least you are doing that instead of being over at my house with your damn white shirt buddies trying to convert me."

That is indeed one response that a person could have. It's not the only one, though, and we should respect that.