A Temple System Out of Control Or Unofficial Thumbs Up for Polygamy?
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints excommunicates any church member who practices polygamy. The Church has publicly disowned Mormon fundamentalists, representing the sects of Mormonism which embrace early Mormon teachings that made polygamy a central part of the Mormon faith — the ongoing legacy of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism.
While the LDS Church says it does not sanction polygamy, behind closed temple doors, and in Mormon databases, many excommunicated Mormon fundamentalists (and their plural wives) have been reclaimed through posthumous rituals for the dead — and, in numerous cases, posthumously reinstated through “resurrected” original LDS ordinances, including baptisms.
Reinventing its polygamous history, the LDS Church is ushering deceased excommunicated Mormon fundamentalists — such as Rulon Clark Allred; Rulon Timpson Jeffs; and members of the LeBaron clan, including notorious killer, Ervil Morell LeBaron — back into the LDS fold.
The LDS temple system is systematically validating the plural marriages of many deceased Mormon fundamentalists who, when they were alive, were excommunicated from the LDS Church because of polygamy. Some of these polygamists have been posthumously sealed in LDS temples to plural wives they married — after the LDS Church officially suspended polygamy.
Why does the LDS Church condemn the practice of polygamy — including the polygamy of Mormon fundamentalists — as the LDS temple system consistently validates deceased Mormon fundamentalists and many of their plural marriages?
Pensito Review contributor Helen Radkey is a Salt Lake City-based researcher into the practices of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints whose groundbreaking research showing that the church was continuing to posthumously baptize victims of the Holocaust sparked outrage in recent years.
© Copyright 2009, Helen Radkey — Permission is granted to reproduce, provided content is not changed and this copyright notice is included.
Temple work that is done for deceased individuals is by no means declaring them forgiven, clean, converted, etc.
It is our belief that ALL people will be givent a chance to accept the gospel in the next life. Whether they accept it or not is between the individual and God. We perform their ordinances hoping that they do repent and accept the gospel. Besides, it’s not “the church” who performs these ordinances. It’s individual members. For example, if my grandfather died outside of the gospel, I can take his name to the temple and perform his temple work. It doesn’t matter if he was a polygamist, a murderer, or even a baptist. I can still do his work if I chose. The Church leaders are not going to stop me as Ms Radkey seems to advocate them doing. I’m not going to declare any person as beyond the grace of Christ and Ms Radkey shouldn’t either.
Her little anti-mormon diatribe is twisting the truth.
What a suprise.
Kevin, what you’re doing is as silly as it is presumptuous and — particularly in the case of Jews killed in the Holocaust and others committed to their non-Christian faiths — offensive.
Calling Temple Work “presumptuous” shows a lack of understanding on your part. NOTHING is presumed.
IF AND ONLY IF a deceased individual chooses to accept the gospel in the next life, their baptism in the temple is valid. Otherwise it is completely meaningless. How in the world can that be construed as something offensive????
All of the anti-mormons, who are running around claiming that “the Mormons are baptizing Jews against their will”, either don’t know what they are talking about, or more likely, are lying through their teeth.