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FAIR is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing well-documented answers to criticisms of the doctrine, practice, and history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
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==Criticism== | ==Criticism== | ||
− | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has done and continues to carry out proxy baptisms (baptizing for the dead) for Jewish Holocaust victims. These baptisms continue to be performed in spite of continual requests from the Jewish community to end the practice and remove all Jewish Holocaust names from the Church's | + | The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has done and continues to carry out proxy baptisms (baptizing for the dead) for Jewish Holocaust victims. These baptisms continue to be performed in spite of continual requests from the Jewish community to end the practice and remove all Jewish Holocaust names from the Church's genealogical records used for posthumous baptisms. |
==Response== | ==Response== | ||
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===Mistakes in the database=== | ===Mistakes in the database=== | ||
− | + | Despite critics' claims, fingers should not be pointed at the Church in this instance. | |
+ | :Gary Mokotoff [...] who will head the Jewish side of the joint commission, said that individual church members had managed to circumvent the current monitoring process by misspelling names. "There's guaranteed to be a trickle going through the screen," he said, "but it's been very embarrassing for the Mormons." Mike Otterson, director of media relations for the church, told the Post that the church was working on creating a mechanism to prevent "overzealous members" from violating the agreement.{{ref|jpost}} | ||
===Counsel of LDS leaders=== | ===Counsel of LDS leaders=== | ||
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==Endnotes== | ==Endnotes== | ||
+ | #{{note|jpost}} Jerusalem Post, "[https://secure.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/823852711.html?dids=823852711:823852711&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Apr+15%2C+2005&author=SAM+SER&pub=Jerusalem+Post&desc=Jews+and+Mormons+tackle+%27proxy+baptism%27+controversy.+Huge+numbers+of+Holocaust+victims+are+in+church%27s+baptism+database Jews and Mormons tackle 'proxy baptism' controversy]" ''jpost.com'' (accessed 2 June 2006). | ||
#{{note|rmn}}Elder Russell M. Nelson, "[http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Ensign/1994.htm/ensign%20november%201994.htm/the%20spirit%20of%20elijah.htm?f=templates$fn=default.htm$3.0 The Spirit Of Elijah]," General Conference, October 1994. | #{{note|rmn}}Elder Russell M. Nelson, "[http://library.lds.org/nxt/gateway.dll/Magazines/Ensign/1994.htm/ensign%20november%201994.htm/the%20spirit%20of%20elijah.htm?f=templates$fn=default.htm$3.0 The Spirit Of Elijah]," General Conference, October 1994. | ||
==Sources== | ==Sources== | ||
*SAM SER, "Jews and Mormons tackle 'proxy baptism' controversy. Huge numbers of Holocaust victims are in church's baptism database," ''Jerusalem Post'', Online Edition (26 April 2005)(accessed 1 June 2006).[https://secure.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/823852711.html?dids=823852711:823852711&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Apr+15%2C+2005&author=SAM+SER&pub=Jerusalem+Post&desc=Jews+and+Mormons+tackle+%27proxy+baptism%27+controversy.+Huge+numbers+of+Holocaust+victims+are+in+church%27s+baptism+database *] | *SAM SER, "Jews and Mormons tackle 'proxy baptism' controversy. Huge numbers of Holocaust victims are in church's baptism database," ''Jerusalem Post'', Online Edition (26 April 2005)(accessed 1 June 2006).[https://secure.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/823852711.html?dids=823852711:823852711&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Apr+15%2C+2005&author=SAM+SER&pub=Jerusalem+Post&desc=Jews+and+Mormons+tackle+%27proxy+baptism%27+controversy.+Huge+numbers+of+Holocaust+victims+are+in+church%27s+baptism+database *] | ||
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==Further reading== | ==Further reading== |
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has done and continues to carry out proxy baptisms (baptizing for the dead) for Jewish Holocaust victims. These baptisms continue to be performed in spite of continual requests from the Jewish community to end the practice and remove all Jewish Holocaust names from the Church's genealogical records used for posthumous baptisms.
In 1995 an agreement was signed between the Church and leading Jewish authorities which officially ended baptizing Jewish Holocaust victims after it was found that that there was a substantial number of Holocaust victims in the Church's temple records as having been baptized.
Controversy over the matter sparked up again in 2002 when it was found that there was still thousands of names of Holocaust victims in the Church's records. The Church responded by re-enforcing it's policy which required members to only perform proxy baptisms for their traceable ancestors, and established a committee with Jewish leaders to investigate why there were still names of Holocaust victims in the database.
Controversy over the subject again came up in 2006 when it was discovered that there were still many Holocaust victims' names in the database.
Despite critics' claims, fingers should not be pointed at the Church in this instance.
Church general authorities have asked members to concentrate on completing the work for their own ancestors. Elder Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve taught:
While work toward the complete removal of all Holocaust victims' names from the Church's database continues, controversy and frustration will undoubtedly continue to surface. It is important to remember that progress is in fact being made and that eventually this conflict will slip into non-existence.
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