Will Pope Benedict become a Mormon after he dies?
Reuters Religion Editor, Tom Heneghan, takes a few stabs at the sacred ordinances of the temple in this article.
Heneghan states: “Church members are told to focus on their ancestors, a rite understandable in a relatively new denomination founded in 1830. But so many now perform the rituals for celebrities, heroes and perfect strangers that the practice has spun out of control.”
Spun out of control? Our goal is to baptize all those who have lived before and did not have an opportunity to hear or accept the true gospel of Jesus Christ.
Heneghan states that baptism for the dead has “…outraged Jews and baffled Christians who see it as usurping the memory of their departed relatives. The Church says it cannot stem the tide of dead baptized in its own temples.
“usurping memories”, “cannot stem the tide” this type of emotional button pushing by Reuter’s is both wrong and misleading. They make it sound like the world is in an uproar over baptism for the dead and that the churches temples have been overrun and are now being controlled by church member bent on saving Elvis and every Jew who ever lived.
It’s puzzling that people are offended by baptism for the dead and taking actions against it when they don’t even believe in the merits of the practice. I guess some people have a lot of time on their hands. Â
One reason I joined the church was the strong belief in family and family history work. Recently when doing my family history work I have found a number of direct ancestors whose ordinance work has already been done, some with serious errors. The Bible tells us that the spirit of “Elijah shall turn the hearts of fathers to children and the hearts of children to their fathers.” This doesn’t say that their hearts will be turned to their uncles, aunts, cousins, and every in-law and their decedents that is possible to come up with.
Left by Glenn Woodall on 03/04/2007One way the Church could strengthen its’ database is to require source information be included with each name submitted for Ordinance work. Right now, as far as I can tell, that’s optional. The LDS Church acts as a publisher of family history records. In any other kind of historical work the sources of all information is critical in determining the accuracy of the work. The Church should follow this same standard.
What I would also like to see is a requirement that the submitter prove a direct connection to the family line. First, the direct ancestors - parents, grandparents, great grandparents etc. - should be identified and their ordinance work completed. Next, perhaps, the brothers and sisters of those individuals done. That’s where it should end. To continue to perform ordinance work for in-laws and their decedents and ancestors opens up many questions as to authenticity and accuracy, let alone the possibility that the opportunity to “turn their hearts to their fathers” is lost.
This isn’t to say that the records should not be researched and the names collected into a database. It’s just to say that the ordinance work should be carried out by direct decedents whenever possible. If a researcher is not a direct descendent, then that work should be left to those that are. If ancestors do not have their Temple work done before the Millennium, then that is what the Millennium is for.
The entire Temple experience could be greatly enhanced by at least placing firm requirements on the data submitted. Otherwise, the names carried into the temple become questionable and the spiritual feelings are less inclined to come forth.
The Temple is a sacred place. The work is sacred. Our honored dead are sacred. The ordinance work performed should be sacred with deep meaning for those who perform it. To conduct faulty research, to engage in a competition to gather as many names from as many records as can be found, does little to strengthen this Holy Work.
My daughter has converted to Mormanism. I have listened to her and her missionaries and other church members. I have done exhaustive research on my own. I will not convert. With all my heart I do not want my name on the rosters of this church, I do not want to be baptized by anyone after my death. It is my personal wish, as well as the wish of my parents and was the wish of my grandmother before she recently passed.
Yet, this church requires my daughter’s geneology chart. Why doesn’t this church respect the wishes of others? I don’t want to have to “decline the offer” in the next life, I’m declining it now. I do not want my name uttered in a Mormon temple.
I mean no offense at the question I’m about to ask. It is my personal belief and of course I have a right to my own belief. How do I, and my family, assure our wishes are respected by the Mormon church? I’ve heard of families who have to sue to get their ancestors names removed from the Mormon membership roster.
Left by Deb on 02/17/2008