Jewish leaders traveled to Salt Lake City yesterday to meet with Mormon higher-ups about the little problem of the Church of Latter Day Saints’ practice of baptizing deceased Jews. A review of the LDS database has revealed that thousands of these baptisms have been performed over the past ten years, including those for Holocaust victims who have suffered enough without the indignity of some Jesus-lovin’ stranger taking authority over their souls. We always thought baptism required dunking the head under water, but the Mormon church has developed a system to get around such a silly rule:
Through its unique practice of proxy or vicarious baptisms, names are forwarded for baptism, and church members stand in for deceased non-Mormons. The church believes the ritual is required for the dead to reach heaven.
So to make sure we understand: A live Mormon stands in for a dead Jew, and this will rearrange Heaven so that everyone can party on the same vibe? The Jewish leaders who met with LDS said they believe the Church acted in “good faith,” but they’d appreciate it if it stopped immediately. The Mormons didnt exactly say ‘yes, we’ll stop messing where we don’t belong,” but the Utah news folks call the situation “resolved.” The AP story shows it to be anything but.