i really must sort out comments for when i ask questions round here!

thanks to john robinson of a site for sore eyes

and to kirsty neill for sending me details of why the mormons are so big on

family history. apparently the mormon religion allows for the baptism of

dead ancestors, something which makes me feel a bit icky about using their

resources. i’m of the opinion that religion is a personal thing and something

you decide on for yourself. baptising people posthumously doesn’t seem on

to me, though from my own point of view i don’t really think it does any harm either. john sent me a link to an old wired article that explains:

The obsession with genealogy really took off in 1836. That

year, when Joseph Smith’s controversial teachings were already arousing the

hatred that would eventually get him killed by an Illinois mob, Smith announced

that the Hebrew prophet Elijah had appeared to him, granting the Mormon priesthood

the ability to “seal” families together for eternity, a power that eventually

carried over to dead ancestors and then to the mass of expired humanity.

Mormons began to anticipate a heavenly reward that would fill many modern

Americans with terror: an endless family reunion. Central to this process

is the Mormon religious practice known as the salvation of the dead.

Nothing

ghoulish is required. The Mormons baptize and seal the dead by proxy. Inside

the temple, a living member of the church gets dunked in a baptismal font

and listens to a recitation of Mormonism’s teachings on behalf of the deceased,

whose spirit thus gets a chance for salvation.

thanks for the information!