Why did the LDS (Mormon) Baptize Holocaust Victims after their death?

Question

Anyone else find this to be the equivalent of spiritual hijacking?

Answer 1

because there wasn't any US law that said they couldn't.

Now that a law DOES exist, they only do baptisms for the dead for those whose descendants are members of their church and submit their names to the Temples, whether the ancestors were holocaust victims or not.

EDIT: mormon_4_jesus, here you go:

http://nowscape.com/mormon/hitler_temple_3.htm

Answer 2

If you don't share the LDS faith, then how can you believe that our baptisms of the dead have any effect on them? If it is all a crock, like many believe, then there is no power or effect of the baptisms performed.
If you believe that all baptisms have effect then how is it any different than the Catholics and other denominations that baptize infants? Isn't that "spiritual hijacking" as well?
For those of us that believe in the LDS faith, we strongly believe that every person to have ever lived on the earth that reached the age of 8 needs to be baptized and other ordinances in order to receive exaltation. For those that are living, they make the choice before the ordinance. For those that are dead and it is performed vicariously, they can make the choice after it is performed.
A Mormon (or any faith) could kidnap you and forcfully baptize you, but do you believe it would have any effect on you spiritually? Only if you allow it too. That doesn't change with death.

Answer 3

Because they believe that everybody, to get into the Celestial Kingdom (the LDS/Mormon equivalent of heaven), that everybody has to have been baptized, either while alive or by proxy if they are dead. The people who are dead are believed to be in a sort of spiritual holding place, where they can be taught the LDS/Mormon gospel and can accept the teachings as well as their baptism, or reject it. Every faithful LDS/Mormon tries to baptize as many people as they can because they believe they are helping souls get to the Celestial Kingdom.

Answer 4

confident, the Mormons will "baptize" particularly lots absolutely everyone whose call they could get their hands on, with out the permission of their surviving kinfolk, and regardless of their faith whilst they have been alive. And, opposite to what somebody claimed above, they did no longer stop the prepare of baptizing Holocaust victims after promising to accomplish that. The call submission technique is rather poorly regulated, if in any respect. they frequently recycle names, as properly to baptizing lifeless celebrities (regardless of the meant "rule" in place that announces they could desire to in ordinary terms positioned up names of their very own kinfolk) and persons such because of the fact the Jews who've asked to be excluded from the prepare. certainly, after promising that not extra Jews could be posthumously baptized, they went forward and complete the ordinance for Simon Wiesenthal, the well-known Nazi hunter.

Answer 5

If you believe that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is false, then you should not be concerned with this, because it has no effect on reality.

If you believe the Church to be true, then you would support it. As members of the Church, we believe that all must baptized to be saved. Since many died without either (a) hearing the Gospel preached or (b) having the opportunity due to social pressure to hear it preached and be able to follow through, many people must still be baptized to have a chance.

Since they are dead, they cannot be baptized themselves. However, Heavenly Father has prepared a way that they may be. If we on Earth are baptized in their behalf in His Holy Temples, then they have the chance to accept the truth of the Gospel.

If you believe this, it is beautiful. If you do not, then it is simply people being dunked in water and other people writing check marks next to still other people's names.

I can testify that this is true, and if you allow yourself the opportunity to learn about it and prayer about it, you will learn that as well.

Answer 6

Why do Catholics light votive candles? Both are examples of religious practices that focus on the spirtual welling being of others. Would you object if someone lit a candle for you?

The final passages of the Old Testament in Malachi 4:

5 ¶ Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

This is what is meant by "the Spirit of Elijah". We are not only to find our path to salvation, but to open the path to those who died without a knowledge of the Gospel.

Peter wrote that Christ went to minister to the dead. Why would he have gone to them unless they had a means to accept the odinances of the Gospel: 18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

Although the Church has a First Amendment right to do what ever it wants. It has a responsibility to be sensitive to the families who do not wish to have this done. Accordingly it removed these names from the records and instructed members to perform the ordinances only for direct family members if they were alive in the past century.

Answer 7

Not really.

One of the main reasons Mormons "baptize for the dead" is that they believe all they are doing is giving those who have 'passed on' the opportunity to 'accept or reject' the message that will be given to them. They (the Mormons) believe that these (and other ordinances) must be done in this physical world in order for them to take any effect in 'the world to come'.

For all those 'other christians' and non-christians alike who think, feel and believe this practices is 'weird' or NOT 'christian', I ask you to explain the verse at 1 Cor15:29 (KJV) which states:

"Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?"

Ciao,

Answer 8

Not if you believe that the dead still have their free agency, and can choose if they want to accept or reject the baptism done for and in behalf of them. That's what we believe, that they are where ever God put them when they died, and if someone is baptised for and in behalf of them, they can say to God, "Yes, I accept this baptism " or "No, I don't accept it".

edit: norrisbot, what law is it that says that we can't freely practice our religion? There was never a law made, never a court case posted, that ever said that the church can't practice it's faith freely.

Answer 9

Well, they believed they were doing them a favor. Personally, I don't see how anyone can "hijack" your soul. I suppose if I were a deeply religious person (especially a Jew) I would find this slightly offensive. But I don't think I'd waste too much time suffering over it.

Answer 10

So that they (the victims) can be saved like all the other mormons. They do this to just about everyone they can think of. Many former popes and other prominent religious figures have also been baptized. Personally, I find it completely repugnant that they would try to force their religion not only on the living (who can at least defend themselves) but on the dead as well.

Answer 11

No...but I do find it to be an amazingly silly waste of time and energy.
See, the mormons believe that if you die without having had the chance to accept the *one true religion* (mormonism), you'll get a chance to accept it in the afterlife. But since you can't get to the highest level of heaven, even if you accept mormonism, unless you've had a mormon baptism and done the mormon temple rituals, they must be done or you're doomed. So they do them "by proxy" for people that have already died, just in case they decide to accept it in the afterlife.

All religion is myth and superstition. This just shows how far the sillyness surrounding it can go.

Peace.