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 A picture of Anne Frank, perhaps the most famous victim of the Holocaust.
February 22nd, 2012
05:11 PM ET
After Anne Frank baptism, Mormons vow to discipline membersBy Dan Gilgoff, CNN.com Religion Editor (CNN) - Reacting to a report that well-known Holocaust victim Anne Frank had been baptized by proxy in a Mormon temple, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says it is committed to disciplining members of its church who conducted such baptisms, which violate church policy. Word of the Frank baptism came a week after the issue of Mormon posthumous proxy baptism of Jews attracted national attention. This controversy surfaced after it was reported that the dead parents of Jewish Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal had been baptized in a Mormon temple. The church apologized for that baptism, blaming it on a technical glitch in its system for submitting names for posthumous proxy baptism. “It takes a good deal of deception and manipulation to get an improper submission through the safeguards we have put in place,” LDS Church spokesman Michael Purdy said in a statement Tuesday, responding to the report about the Anne Frank baptism. Explainer: How and why do Mormons baptize the dead? Though the church regularly conducts proxy baptisms for dead, in what it calls an attempt to give everyone a chance to accept salvation through Jesus, it has a 1990s-era policy against conducting such baptisms for Holocaust victims. The policy was adopted after complaints from Jewish groups, which said it was offensive to conduct Mormon baptisms for Holocaust victims who were killed because of their Jewish faith. “The Church keeps its word and is absolutely firm in its commitment to not accept the names of Holocaust victims for proxy baptism,” said Purdy in his Tuesday statement. The church said it is “committed to taking action against individual abusers by suspending the submitter’s access privileges,” the statement continued. “We will also consider whether other Church disciplinary action should be taken.” According to Helen Radkey, a former Mormon who tracks Mormon posthumous proxy baptisms, the one for Anne Frank was conducted on Saturday in the Dominican Republic. soundoff (1,379 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Next »
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I am a practicing Roman Catholic, regular communicant and active in my parish.
I am personally offended by the practice of "proxy baptism", as should be anyone who choses to practice a religion – or choses not to.
Gotta admire any religion who's motto is "I don't care how many you bring, just Bring 'em Young!"
The funny thing about your comment is that it is completely wrong. In the Latter-day Saint church nobody can be baptized before the age of 8 as apposed to baptizing at birth. They have to be interviewed to make sure that this is their decision and not their parents although at times people of all ages do get baptized for the wrong reason be they 8 or 58.
1 Corinthians 15:29
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?
Sigh.
Joke-->
Head
Joseph, at age 8 a child is told by their parents that they'll be baptized. It's no more their choice than an infant's.
Its all poison, Mormonism, Catholicism, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, religion…all of it…venom. The only thing that springs from religion is hate and intolerance. Go ahead and disguise it as love and compassion but if you polish a turd its still a turd. “Those who believe in absurdities will commit atrocities” – Voltaire
100% agree.
The worst atrocities have been those committed by atheists: Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot, Hitler, Lenin. Over 100 million dead in the last century alone. No one who really follows Christ, Mohammed, Buddha, etc. will commit an "atrocity". Christ taught to forgive and love one's enemies as they way to break the cycle of hate. Sounds pretty good to me.
Christianity does not teach hate. we are to love everyone but not their actions. God loves us all but not the things we do.
Aside from Hitler (who was Christian), those atrocities were not based on the victim's religion.
Pope Urban II, Pope Eugenius III, Pope Claremont, Osama Bin laden, Salidin, Peter the Hermit, Walter the Penniless, Godfrey of Bouillon, Thomas de Torquemada, King Ferdinand of Aragon, Queen Isabella of Castile, Pope Sixtus IV....i could go on...mabye you should do your homework
Hitler was a liar and an atheist, any phrases uttered by him must be viewed in that context. To the national socialist Hitler was god, a view that he readily accepted and fostered. Being one's own god is the ultimate atheist. Mass murderers like those named being atheists have no moral restraint or conscience to stop their atrocities as they are their own ultimate authority.
Actually, "Inconvenient" Hitler was a christian, but probably ended as some kind of pagan. You are simply lying when you call him an atheist. However, little of that matters. Without the support of the German people, who were overwhelmingly catholic and lutheran, Hitler would have been nothing more than another lunatic with a bad mustache. Christians gave Hitler power, and fought for him to the death.
What utter nonsense! This is anotherr prime example of the NON-NEWS that our current media platforms fill
our minds with everyday. You treat this story AS IF there is some truth to it at all. You might as well be describing spells conjured on the toilet by mastuubating witches. The Mormon religion is a mental fabrication just as are all religions.
Please no more. It:s uttterly rediculous that CNN fills our time with such stories. Please report on things which are important:i.e.Syria,the defict,etc.
No matter what the story, there is always some conceited idiot who thinks he has a better idea of what makes for a good story.
and what do you believe?
then dont click the link and read the story..... is it really that difficult?
Free your mind from the bondage of religious dogma!
LMAO.......... 🙂 Thanx Jim,........... I feel free npw
It's a disgusting practice that the mormons have been doing for years. They're basically saying that their way is the only way, and to hell with anyone else's beliefs. I know the people they're baptizing are dead, and don't care. But their relatives, and those of their faith, find it offensive. The mormon's are hijacking their dead and not only baptizing them but converting them to mormonism – that's what a baptism is. Millions of Jews died because they were Jewish. If they didn't renounce their faith to keep themselves from dying, they don't want their faith renounced for them in death either. If someone decides to convert while they're alive, great. But respect those who died with the only dignity they had, their faith.
It is not an automatic conversion. They have the option to choose or not.
Pretty much all religions say the other religions are incorrect, and Mormon Proxy Baptism doesn't do anything but give a person the option after dying to get the benefits of baptism.
from what I was told the church members are only supposed to proxy their own family 4 generations back, so I have no idea how wards are letting their church members submit these names. I'm the lone non-Mormon in my family. I don't believe in any of their beliefs, so who cares what they do after I'm dead? It's not like they're digging up anyones bones and dancing on the graves. They say a few words and then dunk someone in a tank of water. Horrifying I know!
Fred – for those of us from majority non-LDS families, the idea of our LDS relatives submitting the name of a person who specifically stated they did not want to be part of the church is horrific. It's an incredibly disrespectful behavior toward the dead.
sickening...this is one of the main reasons I am no longer a part of the LDS Church. Its a disgusting act to "baptize" a person who throughout their life, chose a path different to the one you follow. Once they've past you think you have the right to alter their legacy? Pathetic, ignorant, cowardly, and so many other things. Most LDS people are very nice but the system in that church is cold, spiteful, and hypocritical. Maybe I should make the breakup official and give back my CTR ring.
me too, joe.... thing is, i tried to formalize my resignation in writing to utah and they refused to accept it... said i need to go meet with local authorities.... then after a few years, member services is trying to locate me so my records can be sent to the correct ward.... my ctr ring was gone long ago... best of luck.
i have renounced the church personally and I will never again attend a sunday service or partake of a sacriment, let alone bless one. With all my passion against it however, I cannot brake it to my father. We were sealed to my mother shortly before her death and he is a firm believer that its the only way we'll ever see each other again after this world. I'll die before I told him I left the church.
wow, sorry about the horrendous spelling and grammar. I guess I was in a rush to get that out 🙂
joe.... i havent told my father because he would be angry... but i told my mom she can visit me in a lesser kingdom or outer darkness. leaving the church brought me peace.... and a realization of the lifelong brainwashing. somedays i feel like i need deprogramming.
The headline should read "Random Dominican Mormon baptizes Anne Frank". But that wouldn't sell anything now, would it? These baptisms are not organized in Salt Lake and sent out to be done in some foreign country. Names are submitted by individual members on the web and baptisms carried out locally. Some ignorant member has done this, not the leadership in Utah.
The reason we do baptisms for the dead is to offer our deceased ancestors an opportunity to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ. We believe all men and women, regardless of when they lived, should have the opportunity of accepting Christ. It is not binding or automatic. It is a gift.
You cannot be a Mormon and a Christian.
You cannot be a Mormon and a Christian
you have no right to do that. if god put them on earth before the restoration as we were taught, and he is "all knowing" as he is supposed to be, then he will fix the problem. These baptisms, along with the idea that I could be equal to God, are the two reasons I gave up the church. Believe what you want but you have no right to speak on behalf of those who can no longer make their own choices.
to justsayin: LDS people follow the same bible as you (if you are a christian). They believe in jesus and that he died on the cross, though they refuse to worship it. Most Christian churches recognize the LDS as a christian church so.... yes you can call "mormons" Christians
Just sayin': Tell me what you mean by "not Christian"...
I read the Bible daily and try to live by its teachings. I worship Christ and accept Him as my Savior. I've been married to the same woman for 30 years and have never had extramarital affairs. I pay taxes, live an honest life and work hard for my living. You don't know who I am so I do it anonymously.
Why don't you get to know some Mormons and see whether or not we measure up?
Why can't God or Jesus handle this once the person is dead? They can't start the dead persons paperwork till you do your little ceremony of robes and curved daggers? Seriously?
Anyone who is a follower of Christ is a Christian. They're also wasting their precious gift of life on supernatural mumbo jumbo nonsense.
then it is church leadership's responsibility to find and fix the loopholes of its system so random, ignorant members do not use the church to victimize and revictimize....
To joe
No they do not. Mormons use the Bible only as they interpret it. The Jesus that Mormons use is not the savior that is known to Christians. The Jesus Christ that Mormons utter is no different than any other person using the phrase as a curse. Joseph Smith the convicted con man that began Mormonism and all the early "prophets" considered Christianity the enemy and FLDS still do. In order to steal legitimacy and appeal to a wider array of people the Mormon leadership conspired to present a facade more in keeping with established Christianity, but as with Mormonism itself it is all a fraud. This was done about the same time the leadership pulled back on it's racial prejudices.
It matters not who did but the fact that it was done. The agreement was made with Israel that Holocaust victims would not be baptized and the actions of all members, brand new or not are accountable. As Steve points out, since Hitler was taught Christian (although Mythos of the 20th Century established a pagan religion), those not of that religion will always find fault all members. So all atheists are Josef Stalin having millions killed at will, all muslims are terrorists, and all mormons are random baptizers by proxy. If that's the worst they can come up with, they must not be that bad.
to just sayin: "use the bible as they interpret it" is there a religion that doesn't do this? Me thinks not
joe : Mormons "USE " the Bible for their own private interpretation. A practice that is forbidden by the Bible.
Prayer changes things .
Prayer changes people. Mostly from live people into dead people when you say the wrong one in front of the wrong group. Religion has held us back. It is possible to have an ethical life without resorting to invisible sky people and to make law without having to invoke some guy living in the earths core as somehow making people behave badly.
Trolling changes nothing.
science is one of God's gifts to mankind, not a god.
It does change things. It transforms useful time into wasted time.
Prayer changes things
A good man prays
A great man acts on prayer
Prayer is talking with God
Prayer changes things
more stupid mythic tricks for the brainless.
Religion is just plain Ole DUMB! Absolute delusion on a grand scale.
It is the "opium of the masses".
Actually a religion that teaches to forgive and break the cycle of hate is the most intelligent thing there is. It could save our race. Pity that we don't always have the courage to live what we believe.
The Big Bang Theory proves A God exists. The balloon-borne microwave telescope (called "Boomerang") examined the cosmic background radiation left over from the Big Bang.The angular power spectrum showed a peak value at exactly the value predicted by the inflationary hot Big Bang model dominated by cold dark matter. This model predicts a smaller second peak, which seems to be there, but cannot be fully resolved with the initial measurements. The presence of the second peak would all but seal the reliability of the Big Bang model as the mechanism by which the universe came into existence.
How does this study impact faith? The Bible says that the universe was created in finite time from that which is not visible. In addition, the Bible describes an expanding universe model.The Bible describes the Creator being personally involved in the design of the universe, so that we would expect to see this kind of design in His creation.
How does this discovery impact atheists? Those who favor naturalism had long sought to find the simplest explanation for the universe, hoping to avoid any evidence for design. A Big Bang model in which there was just enough matter to equal the critical density to account for a flat universe would have provided that. However, for many years, it has been evident that there is less than half of the amount of matter in the universe to account for a flat universe. A cosmological constant would provide an energy density to make up for the missing matter density, but would require an extreme amount of fine tuning. The supernovae studies demonstrated that there was an energy density to the universe (but did not define the size of this energy density), and the recent Boomerang study demonstrated that this energy density is exactly what one would expect to get a flat universe. How finely tuned must this energy density be to get a flat universe? One part in 10 to the120,6 which is:
1 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000
Research what top atheist Scientist have been quoted in response to this evidence.
This is not grand delusion, it is grand proof.
I'm a Buddhist, we believe the soul lives on but in another body. All that really means is that you should be a good person in this life so you can be someone's lazy spoiled dog in the next life and not an ant to be squished. F.Y.I. Judaism, the Christian Faith, and the Muslim Faith can all be traced back to Abraham, it's just different interpretations of the same "stories" meant to be an example of how to live life as a good person. Nothing more. Just curious, was I the only one who took religious history in "Catholic High School" or am I just the only one who remembers it?
Not quite. As a person who has traveled well and studied religion, Judaism, Muslim and Christianity all worship the God of Abraham, but the story is not interpreted different but stops at different points. Islam stops at Isaac, instead breaking off and following Ishmael, the oldest son, stating that prophets go from father to son via the oldest son. This is what the Quran is, the story of prophet Muhammad, what happened with Ishmael through the Prophet Muhammad, father to son.
Judaism story is the old testament. Now that would be where the Christians break off, then since Judaism is a living religion, it continues with the teaching of the Rabbis, the commentaries and so forth over the ages. Christianity believes that Christ fulfilled the prophesies of the old testament, overcoming sin and death. Now each has its unique branches and those are the different readings of the same books.
I think this story is here because CNN wants to embarrass Mormonism in an indirect attack on Mitt Romney. CNN is obviously actively campaigning for Barack Obama.
What a ridiculous thing to say...not a deep thinker, are you?
This story is here because it points out how ludicrous the act of baptizing those without a say is. It is not anti-republitard or anything like that. CNN has to remain neutral on the topic regardless of what each individual may think.
God keep our land
Prayer borrowed from the Canadian national anthem, a country founded and run on biblical principles and doctrine.
Lets attack Romney because Santorum is surging. That makes sense.
O.T. How do you know the intent isn't to benefit one of Romney's GOP rivals?
1 Corinthians 15:29 / 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?
I say we have a Rabbi preform services at Morman funerals. Let's see if they like it.
Neil, No one in MormOn church leadership wants jewish holocaust victims baptized by proxy. The process is done locally by individual members. It's not top down directed.
Most Christian religions believe (and have for centuries) that if you are not baptized, you are damned. That means 99% of the world's population has no chance. Mormons believe everyone who has ever lived can have the opportunity to accept Christ through baptism. It is not binding on them nor automatic. They choose to accept it or not.
"It is not binding on them nor automatic. They choose to accept it or not."
How is that true when you are baptizing the dead who obviously can't speak for themselves?
Mormons are not Christians
You stay classy, Momons!
Israel should be planning an attack on Utah. That is where there other enemy is besides Iran. That is just sick to do such a thing. She died because of her religion and now these jerks want to take that away from her just like the Nazis took her life.
YOU ARE an IDIOT! It was the US Mormon church – it was son nutcase 'mormon' in the Dominican Republic. They are HARDLY Americans. I don't consider Irish Catholics and Mexican Catholics the same either – don't open your mouth if you are too lazy to read the article and look up the subject matters.
I couldn't agree more. I'm just enraged that this so-called church (read: cult of hubris, like Romney) would do such an atrocious thing to Anne Frank - a courageous young woman who died because of her religion. You'd think Romney's clan would have some respect and not shove their nonsense down people's throats.
Read 1 Corinthians 15:29 – 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?
God is no respecter of persons
Baptism of the dead is mentioned in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 15:29). What is more interesting to note and is never clarified in articles like this, is that this cermemony baptizes people into the Mormon Church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not recognize any other baptism as legitimate unless it is through their church, which they believed is the only "True" church on the planet. Just the facts.
Don't Mormons believe that they are the "lost tribe of Israel"?
The Bible says "baptized for the dead", but this statement must be taken in context. Paul was affirming a resurrection of those faithful who had been, and continued to be, killed for their faith in the Lord Jesus. Notice how verse 32 talks about fighting beasts "after the manner of men", which was a common practice of the Romans in their coliseums. In other words, he was saying: "If there is no resurrection, why should we bother being baptized? What's the point of constantly placing ourselves in jeopardy if there is no eternal reward?" Read verse 30: "And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?" Baptism was an outward expression of faith that instant marked one as a potential target in those days, hence the phrase "baptized for the dead".
Corey Finney, I've had Catholic Priests and others who study ancient Christianity (not Mormon) corroborate the practice of proxy baptism for the dead in the early Christian Era. Most Christian faiths consider lost anyone who is not baptized or who has not accepted Christ (which is what someone who has received baptism effectively signifies). By offering these people baptism by proxy, everyone who has ever lived gets the same opportunity. We see it as fair.
But no one is forced to accept it.
You can be a Mormon or a Christian, not both.
The Mormon Church has my permission to baptise me when I'm dead. If that's how they get their kicks, it won't bother me. That's because I'll be, you know, dead.
This is by far, the most intelligent post I have read thus far.
I think that there is a slight that the emergence of these news stories are in some part, even some small part, politically motivated.
I don't think there's any politics in this travesty. It's a horrible thing to do to one's family and fellow Jews to think this cult will strip you of your dignity and strong-held beliefs and conviction. How outrageous.
Religion is something humans use to help comfort them in the thought of death. I might be wrong, who knows? We will either find out the answer when we die or we will just die and thats it, nothing else. Myself, I like a little comfort when thinking about the end of my life.