from web site
April 9, 2005, The Salt Lake Tribune - AP, Jews, Mormons to meet over baptism for the dead, by Mark Theissen,
Jewish leaders say Mormons continue to posthumously baptize Jews and Holocaust victims into the LDS faith, and promise to confront church leaders with a decade of frustration over what they call broken promises.
''We have proof, and we are bringing that,'' said Ernest Michel, chairman of the New York-based World Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors.
Michel plans to show posthumous baptism records to church officials in meetings Sunday and Monday - records he said prove tens of thousands of Jews, including some who died in Nazi concentration camps, were posthumously baptized over the past 10 years and as recently as last month.
A 1995 agreement signed by Jewish leaders and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints called for an immediate halt to unwanted proxy baptisms. After evidence was found in the church's massive International Genealogical Index that the baptisms for many Jews - including Anne Frank - continued, the two faiths reaffirmed the agreement in 2002.
New York Jews have bitterly complained that the baptisms never stopped, and last year asked Sen. Hillary Clinton to intervene. The New York Democrat met with Sen. Orrin Hatch, a Utah Republican and active Mormon, though neither side would comment.
Michel said Mormon church leaders invited them to Salt Lake City for what he said would be ''a very serious discussion.''
Kim Farah, a church spokesperson, said in response to an inquiry that ''the Church won't be commenting at all on this issue for the moment. We are looking forward to discussions with our Jewish guests.''
''We look forward to a decision-making conversation,'' said David Elcott, director of interreligious affairs for the American Jewish Committee in New York. He has served as an intermediary between Michel and Mormons and will act as well as a facilitator at the meeting.
The Mormon church has long collected names from government documents and other records worldwide for posthumous baptisms. Church members stand in to be baptized in the names of the deceased non-Mormons, a ritual the church says is required for the dead to reach heaven.
The practice is primarily intended to give salvation to the ancestors of Mormons, but many others are included by a church that believes that individuals' ability to choose a religion continues beyond the grave. Most Catholic popes have been proxy baptized, as have historical figures like Ghengis Khan, Joan of Arc, Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin and Buddha, according to Salt Lake City researcher Helen Radkey.
Mormon church President Gordon B. Hinckley, 94, called the proxy baptism process a ''revealed truth'' when the LDS church held its 175th annual conference last weekend.
''We serve in behalf of those who have died without a knowledge of the gospel. Theirs is the option to accept or reject the ordinance which is performed,'' Hinckley said.
However, the church directed its members after 1995 to not include the names of unrelated persons, celebrities and Jewish Holocaust victims for the baptisms.
The church also assumes that the closest living relative of the deceased being offered for proxy baptism has consented.
Carol Skydell said that didn't happen when her paternal grandparents and aunt and uncle apparently were baptized by proxy. Skydell, another researcher, found their proxy baptism records in the Mormon International Genealogical Index in 2002.
''Nobody asked me, nobody asked my cousin. It's ridiculous,'' said Skydell.
Both Skydell and Radkey said they documented numerous cases of Jews whose names, after being removed from the Mormon index in 1995, showed up again as re-baptized.
Church leaders have blamed some of the baptisms on overzealous members, which both Radkey and Skydell say exposes a major flaw with the church's genealogical index.
''They have no control over what is going on,'' Skydell said.
yeezy shoes
nfl jerseys cheap
eahawks jerseys
parada bags
michael kors outlet online
ralph lauren outlet online
nike tn pas cher
thunder jerseys
mbt
phillies jerseys
chaussure louboutin pas cher
nike air max 95
marc jacobs outlet
cheap oakley sunglasses
ralph lauren sale
coach outlet online
coach outlet online
pandora outlet
michael kors handbags
fitflop shoes
hermes bags
christian louboutin shoes
yeezy boost 350
louboutin outlet
toms
polo ralph lauren outlet online
pandora charms sale
air max outlet
coach factory outlet online
longchamp bags
salomon outlet
polo ralph lauren outlet online
fitflops sale clearance
air jordans
birkenstock shoes
longchamp bag
nike outlet store
moncler jackets
cheap oakley sunglasses
oakley sunglasses outlet
cheap air jordans
sac longchamp
kate spade uk
michael kors outlet canada
discount oakley sunglasses
cheap nike sneakers
mulberry uk
christian louboutin shoes
kate spade purses
toms outlet
coach factory outlet
louboutin outlet
michael kors
coach outlet online
air max
longchamp pliage
coach outlet online
mlb jerseys
gucci borse
pandora jewelry
ray bans
cheap jerseys
discount oakley sunglasses
tory burch outlet online
ralph lauren outlet online
adidas
adidas nmd r1
burberry outlet
fendi bags
michael kors bags
kate spade outlet online
louis vuitton outlet online
yeezy boost
coach factory outlet online
cardinals jerseys
moncler pas cher
yeezy boost
ed hardy store
coach factory outlet
purs jerseys
adidas nmd runner
ray ban sunglasses discount
polo ralph lauren
patriots jerseys
christian louboutin shoes
cheap jordan shoes
birkenstocks
mlb jerseys
red bottom
ralph lauren sale
michael kors outlet online
texans jerseys
nike blazer low pas cher
nike outlet
coach outlet online
rolex replica watches for sale
rolex watches
michael kors uk
marc jacobs
discount nike shoes
pandora
coach factory outlet online
adidas uk
ralph lauren
mulberry bags
coach outlet online
christian louboutin
rockets jerseys
true religion
coach purses
salomon outlet
coach outlet online
kate spade bags
ralph lauren outlet
coach outlet store online
adidas sneakers
lakers jerseys
coach outlet store online
true religion jeans outlet
adidas sneakers
jimmy choo shoes