Believers Do the Darndest Things

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Baptism by Proxy

Baptism is a ritual normally reserved for the living, but Mormons don't discriminate against the dead. Latter-day Saints believe that no one should be denied the opportunity to be baptized -- even if that person is six feet under. Mormons boast a vast genealogy research network for members to baptize their ancestors and it has gotten some temples into a bit of trouble. Mormons have submitted names of dead popes, presidents, and Holocaust victims for proxy baptism. The Church does say that the baptized are able to accept or reject the rite, but that hasn't yet calmed relatives of the unwilling.

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