Why Do Mormons Baptize Dead People (like Anne Frank) by Proxy?

I live in Utah now and can buy land anywhere i want as long as i have the money or can get a loan and pretty much all the banks and credit unions are national companies not Mormon run. I can go to the liquor store a half block from my house and buy and drink what i want and my neighbor sits on his porch every evening and smokes his pipe. sounds to me that you just want to spout off but aren't interested in the truth or willing to fine it out for yourselves. There are Mormons living all around me and they seem like good folks to me and have never tried to shove their church down my throat or anything like that in fact they even offered to come and rake up the leaves in my yard after i broke my leg and when i tried to pay them they just told me to pay it forward. I don't know what the big deal is, the people are already dead and even if they went to their temple and did a proxy baptism in my name it wouldn't change me or even affect me whatsoever! I Believe in Christ and an after life but i also believe in a God that is smart enough to know about all the #$%$ going on in this world and he will sort it all out in the end and the good people regardless of religion will be blessed for being good and the bad ones will be punished as any wise judge would do.If this offends you then go to your church and work harder to improve and expand it and to be a better person and this will do more good than trashing a religion you know nothing about over an article by some person you have never met!

Joseph Smith was a magician before he founded the Mormon church. It would be amazing to see what goes on in those Mormon temples. They are so secretive about their religion or whatever it is.

First off who cares? These are the same idiots that believed some phony found gold plates, read them with a seer stone, then when the needed to be read again, he couldn't find the first gold plates, but found a second set of gold plates. They also believe in magic underwear. I'm not sure which one is the bigger cult scientology, mormons, or catholics. And I was raised a catholic.

What happened to the thief that wasn't baptized? Jesus told him he would be in Paradise.

I have nothing against the Mormons but their dogmatic theology often smacks against the will of the people. Baptizing the dead is what a person can do to their own family members who were not Mormons. It is against their doctrine to do it to strangers. That would be extreme hypocrisy! I have read the Book of Mormon. Its an interesting book about bunch of Jews coming from Israel and finding a new civilization in the New World, 900 years prior to Columbus. From these Jews, you will find the origins of the American Indians and the founding of the white civilization. You will find this book somewhat racial since the Indians were Jewish people who were given the skin of darkness by God because they rebelled against God's chosen leader Nephi and his people were considered to be very fair skin. So dark people vs white people, bad vs. good is reflective part of this book. Conflict between the two races led to the destruction of the latter after many centuries of warfare, pause by period of peace after Christ's visit.. Key element of the Book of Mormon is when Jesus came to the whites in the New World during his resurrection and preached to them. Thus the Book of Mormon became the another gospel of Jesus Christ according to the Mormons. That is the very belief summary of the Book of Mormon. It is not a well written book but it can be exciting due to all the wars and conflicts that was fought, rise and fall of great cities. However, after reading it, I also know this much, there isn't a single archaeological or anthropological evidence that existed today to prove that anything close to what happened in the Book of Mormon ever existed. LDS fielded huge amount of people out there to prove some of the events and they have not discovered a single arrow head.

This is an American born religion. Non-Mormons do not often regard Mormons as Christians but I do since they do accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. Theology aside, that does make them Christians. The Mormons are very sincere people and personally speaking I like them. But there are some dark side to their faith. They were very anti-black until the 1970s. Until that period, black members were denied full fellowship into their church since they were not allow any temple ceremonies. Although they claims that they have more non-white members now in their church membership then whites, all the leadership positions in Salt Lake City are all white. That is like the Catholic Church having only white Cardinals among their rank. In history, LDS were chased out and hunted out from many locations by their gentiles foes who often believed them to be a threat. Mormon prosecution are stuff of legends by LDS historians. They finally found a home in Utah. But yet, Mormons committed the greatest massacre of western history of wagon trains when they wiped out 123 men, women and children at Mountain Meadow in Sept 1857 and the church covered up that crime as long as possible.

To a Mormon, their President is not only the leader of their church but also their living prophet of God. His word is considered to be the literal word of God in making his doctrine or speech. This part does bother me about Romney since as a Mormon, he simply cannot ignored the words of his President and Prophet. In a worst case scenario, LDS President and Prophet could make a social or political statement that is "politically incorrect" and if Romney is serving as our President, he would either have to resign from his Church or from his Office. Unlike the leeway between JFK and the Pope, there is none between the Prophet and his Mormon flock.

I'm not Mormon and don't believe in Mormon teachings, but I could care less if they baptize me by proxy. It won't make a bit of difference to me or to anyone else, much less to God. The only choice God accepts is the one we make in this life. "Behold now is the day of salvation."

I'm sorry, but I'm Morman, and this article is full of false "facts".

Mormons believe that people who do not receive these ordinances do not go to heaven, and that people who haven't been sealed to their families (or who don't obey the church's leaders, including by paying a 10 percent tithe) will be split up from their families in the next life.

This could not be further from the truth. This is a typical "blast" article on a religion that somebody wishes not to find out the REAL answers, or chooses to TWIST them to fit their own personal opinion.

If you wan to know more about the religion, then STUDY it - don't make assumptions on things you don't know. It only proves your an idiot.

You said "Last week, an official representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints -- also known as the Mormon church -- apologized for the proxy baptism of the parents of the late Simon Wiesenthal, a Jewish Holocaust survivor." Not so. More lies from Yahoo. The statement from the church stated that the parents were included in a list of names submitted FOR baptism. The church official was apoligizing that one member of the church submitted the names when they shouldn't have done so. The statement also stated that the names would not have made it to baptism, but would have been removed during the vetting process. I am a journalist myself and truth is important. The church official NEVER stated that the baptisms had been done. I believe the church. I do not believe Yahoo, since you have proved time and time again to be inaccurate.

I'd like to see the Jews posthumously converting Mohammed to Judaism :)

Most religious beliefs are silly at best, destructive at worst. This is in the silly sector.

There are a number of things happening here. 1) it is against every single policy of the LDS Church for ANYONE other than a DIRECT DESCENDENT of a person to submit their names for any temple work. If you want to submit work for extended family members you must have written permission from the nearest living family member to submit the work. The majority of LDS members follow the rules. 2) There are computer filters in place to try and catch and keep out those people listed in the Holocaust databases, but you can get by these. Ask any hacker how to do it. Security is always behind the hackers. 3) You have a small number of idiots that don't feel like the rules matter and go ahead and lie and go to great effort to get past these filters and rules. The why's run from they think that they are doing something nice, to those that would really like to give the LDS faith a black eye when they 'find' these errors.

Is the LDS Church going to stop doing proxy work for the dead? No. Is this making us popular? No. Were we popular before? No. What should happen to those that submitted these names? I personally think they should be excommunicated, but then I don't know the why yet.

If you think about it, the reaction of the commentors here is the same knee jerk reaction as the Muslims over the accidental burning of 4 of their Korans. Everyone is screaming about Rape of their dead, insulting their families, how dare those people force us all to be Mormons. No one is forcing anyone to be anything. For a group of people that are happy to label us as cults and fake, we suddenly have a whole lot of power to control the eternitys.

Let me say this again, do I think what was done was right? No, I don't. I think those involved should be punished and made an example to those who might think to repeat the behavior. I also don't think saying to people 'get over it', is right either. It is a shock for someone who has specifically asked in life NOT to have this done, to find someone ignores the living close family members and goes ahead and sneaks it in anyway.

Considering the 'whistle blower' I tend to wonder what the back story is. She was initially trying to peddle information to the Catholic church, but it wasn't paying enough. It is amazing that she is able to find information about something that happened in the Dominican Republic just 4 days after it happened when the computer records are not updated that fast. Wouldn't it be poetic if it turns out that she's the submitter.

If you don't believe in it, then what does it matter?

Next thing you know they will want their circumcised foreskin.....

Everyone one of you has done something in your life that someone in this world would not agree with, I assure you. Every church does something that is not seen as "normal" in other believers eyes. The LDS church has beliefs and their beliefs do not harm you. Everyone has their own beliefs but in the end if you lived a good life nothing else matters. But i'm pretty sure it does say somewhere to not judge others so maybe we should all just take a step back and worry about ourselves

Peter 4:6 Before Jesus was resurrected he taught those who were dead, giving them a chance to accept Him. We all have free agency, even after death.

According to the "Introduction" of The Book Of Mormons", ...I qoute..." Concerning the record the Prophet Joseph Smith said: " I told the brethren that the Book of Mormon was the most correct of any book on earth, and the keystone of our religion, and a man would get nearer to God by abiding by its precepts, than by any other book."......Unqoute.

However,

"I was able to obtain The Book of Mormon intitled, " Another Testament Of Jesus Christ". To my surprised after reading this book, I found out that the some contents of this book were copied from some chapters of the "Holy Bible" such as Isaiah gospels of the "Old Testament", several chapters from Matthew's gospels from the "New Testament", some verses from Revelations of the Holy Bible KJV & NWT. Can we assumed plagiarism by the Mormons?"

If you try to read the Holy Bible, ( KJV, NWT, & Catholic version)and compare to the Book of Mormon, then you will know what I am talking about.

Baptism by proxy? read " Revelations" chapt. 20, verse 12 & 13.

Perhaps Jews should start circumsizing deceased Mormons.

There is no "spirit prison" or "limbo"; both are totally unbiblical. Water baptism is an outward symbol of an inward change. Therefore "baptising" the dead is futile, but most important it's "bizzaro world" in the extreme. Where do people come up with this stuff?
With all due respect to our brothers and sisters in the Mormon Church, this is not right-thinking. And with all due respect to the Catholic Church, how can you believe in Limbo?
Jesus said, "let the children come unto me for such is the Kingdom of Heaven." "He also
said, if anyone caused a child to even stumble, it would be better for that person to have a millstone tied around his neck and be cast into the sea." And yet you have this man-made doctrine that reads, if a child dies before water baptism, they go to some empty place called Limbo. What utter un-Godly nonsense! You don't know HIS word! No wonder God said, "my people perish for lack of knowledge!"

All sin was dealt with at the cross of Calvary. If you believe the Bible, and you are worried that your loved ones who have passed on might not be in heaven...read the 2nd book of the apostle Peter. Wherein Peter writes, this gospel Jesus preached even to the dead, so that although they may be physically dead, they may be alive to Christ in the spirit.

Read the Bible!

stupid mormons and their neurological disorders...

The whole Mormon temple thing is just "borrowed" Masonic rites. Joe Smith built a "temple" in Ohio, but they didn't know what to do with it. They were chased off to Illinois, built another "temple", Joe became a Mason, took good notes, and all of a sudden they had something to do in their new "temple." I'm not sure whether this happened before or after he started taking 12 year old girls and stealing other men's wives to marry him in the "temple."