Wednesday, February 22, 2012

“Against the Policy of the Church”

“The LDS Church has suspended access to its genealogy database for a church member who last month had a posthumous proxy baptism performed for the parents of famed Holocaust survivor Simon Wiesenthal,” according to the Salt Lake City Deseret News last week. (Read the entire article here.)

Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League and Holocaust survivor was quoted as saying he hopes the Church “will increase its vigilance of its computer system, launch an education program for its members and appropriately discipline those church members who violate the policy.”

It occurs to me I can play a small part in educating Church members that read my articles. So, if you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, please listen.

Before you can clear an ancestor’s name for temple ordinances, you are presented this screen:

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Before you can click the button to go on, you must check the box that is labeled “I have read and will comply with the above statements.” Before indicating that you will comply with Church policies, you are expected to read them. Click the underlined words, “Church policies.”

Read the policy and you will see that you are not to submit individuals that you are not related to (except for close friends—with family member permission).

The policy becomes most restrictive regarding Jewish Holocaust victims. Read it and comply.

Remember, I am not a spokesperson for the Church. But to the best of my knowledge, the leadership of the Church took this incident very seriously and involved brethren from the highest presiding quorums.

You may lose temple submission privileges. In my opinion, you also lose your integrity.