Posthumous baptisms

[Chuck Weinstein]

Joel E Schwartz wrote:
>
> (MODERATOR NOTE: Please send for the infofile ldsa...@jewishgen.org
> which will help you understand the situation more
> completely.)
>
> Hello list,
>
> I think this list was a great find. I am new to this geneology stuff
> and have already hit my first problem.
> I hope that someone here can help me.
>
> I read that I could go to the lds church to look up records and stuff.
> I did find my great-grandparents listed.
> Not only were they listed, but they had some ordinances, i think that's
> what they were called, done to them.
> They were baptized, endowed and something called sealed. I became angry
> at this and asked how to get it
> undone. Someone there heard about some agreement that this could be
> undone, as long as there is not
> a lds member that is a direct descendent.
>
> They did some research for me and i found out i have a second cousin
> that's been lds for sometime, and
> she did the research and put my great-grandparents on the list. I don't
> care that she is my second cousin, I
> don't want my great-grandparents baptized, how do I go about this? I
> don't intent to be angry here, but i am.
> They were born Jewish, they lived their lives as Jews, and now they are
> members of a christian church.
>
> ------
> Joel Schwartz
> schw...@juno.com
> Standard disclaimer applies in all cases
> It just doesn't get any better than this!
Joel,

I certainly sympathize with you. The good news is - it only means
something if you are a Mormon. Your great grandparents are no more
Mormon (unless Brigham Young knew what he was doing) than you are. Your
cousin has the right to do as he or she pleases, but it has no standing
in any religion but hers. Having said that, you should know that the
church will not undo their sacraments in a case like this. But I come
back to the idea that you can't undo something that has no meaning. The
LDS church preaches that you have an obligation to baptize your
ancestors so they may await you in heaven. That teaching is the basis
for their efforts at establishing genealogy. It is important to them
that someone who joins the church have the ability to baptize those
ancestors. For that reason alone, they collect all sorts of metrical
records and family histories. They will not baptize anyone unless
requested by a family member, usually a direct descendant. This is a
recent change from a previous position that they would baptize anyone
whose records they acquired. I am in the same boat as you. A distant
cousin has also baptized my great grandparents. Sorry to be the bearer
of bad tidings.

Chuck Weinstein in San Mateo, CA
cm...@ix.netcom.com

[Joel E Schwartz]

I would like to thank all those people that replied for my quest.
I have found some others in the same boat as I.

A couple of the replies interested me (side note: As I type this response
I have requested ldsagree, but based on the replies I don't see what that
would do), in that if I can "convert" my cousin back to Jewish that this
may
help matters. I called my newly found cousin and my hopes were dashed
when I learned that her parents were baptized just last week. I think
this
approach is a lost cause. I guess ldsagree is what I was told about.

Well, at least I can be comforted to know that my ancestors are
remembered.

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