(BBC) Mormons baptise deceased parents of Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal

Posted by Kendall Harmon

The Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center denounced the news.

"We are outraged that such insensitive actions continue in the Mormon temples," said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, a spokesman at the centre.

The Mormon religion allows baptism after death, and believes the departed soul can then accept or reject the baptismal rites.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Death / Burial / Funerals • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * Religion News & Commentary • Inter-Faith Relations • Other Faiths • Judaism • Mormons • * Theology • Eschatology • Sacramental Theology • Baptism

6 Comments
Posted February 15, 2012 at 7:32 am [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]



1. David Hein wrote:

Campaign note to Mitt Romney: Keep all particularly eccentric Mormon practices out of the news. Better yet:...

February 15, 10:15 am | [comment link]
2. St. Jimbob of the Apokalypse wrote:

Quite formalized, but it’s only a degree or two away from christian prayer commending the souls of the dead (baptized or not) to the mercy of God.

February 15, 10:56 am | [comment link]
3. paradoxymoron wrote:

A bunch of meaningless hocus-pocus if you’re not a Mormon. BFD.

February 15, 12:32 pm | [comment link]
4. Katherine wrote:

Agree, #3. There is no reason to be outraged by this sort of thing, since it only means anything to Mormons.  To non-Mormons, nothing whatever has been done to their ancestors.

February 15, 2:09 pm | [comment link]
5. Milton Finch wrote:

It is just a horrible Mormon interpretation of 1st Corinthians, 29!

We should all enter our baptism as if we were dead.  Paul speaks immediately in verse 31 that he dies daily…in other words, he IS dead to sin by putting the deeds of the flesh to the cross.  Dead in the flesh, alive in the Christ.  Going into or under the water dead and coming up alive in Christ.

February 15, 4:05 pm | [comment link]
6. Ad Orientem wrote:

I can understand the aversion to the whole thing.  Who wants to hear that departed loved ones were the object of this lame cross between neo-paganism and necromantic witchcraft?  But yea, if your Christian these silly misguided people should not bother us.

February 16, 2:31 am | [comment link]
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