-- May 5, 1995
Associated Press Newswire
By Richard Pyle
Mormons, Jews Sign Agreement On Baptizing Holocaust Victims
NEW YORK (AP) Mormons who baptized 380,000 Holocaust victims posthumously were motivated by love and compassion and did not understand their gesture might offend Jews, a church official said.
Mormon record-gatherers who performed the baptisms "were deeply moved by the tragedy of that terrible, terrible event," said Monte J. Brough, a member of the Mormon Church's Presidency of the Seventy. But he said they did not realize that what they intended as a "Christian act of service" was "misguided and insensitive."
Brough spoke Wednesday as Jewish and Mormon leaders signed an agreement to remove the Holocaust victims' names from the church lists of people who have been baptized as Mormons after death.... (1)
-- During June 1996
News clipping, unknown source
Holocaust Victims Names Deleted From IGI
As part of the landmark May 3, 1995 agreement between the Mormon Church and the Jewish community, the LDS Family History Department has completed the removal of the names of Jewish holocaust victims from their International Genealogical Index (IGI) database. New copies of the IGI delivered to the 2800 LDS family history centers in June 1996 reflect the deletions.
The deleted names were saved on compact disks [CD-ROMs] and have been sent to the Museum of Jewish Heritage, the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors, Yad Vashem, Simon Wiesenthal Center and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. (1)
-- Jul 14, 1997
CD-ROM
Victims Of The Holocaust
Copies of the CD-ROM Victims Of The Holocaust (1997) produced by The LDS, were distributed by the Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies to member JGS societies.... (1)
-- May 3, 2001
New York Times (www.nytimes.com)
More Names Found
After a request by the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has promised to remove the names of more than 200 Jews, including Albert Einstein and Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, from the church's genealogical records. Church officials said that after a 1995 agreement with Jewish organizations, the names of several hundred thousand Holocaust victims had been removed from its genealogical database. But others remained. "It's insulting," said Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Wiesenthal Center. (1)
-- Jul 27, 2001
Forward (www.forward.com)
By Ami Eden
Sister Golda, Brother Bashevis: Mormon Baptizers At It Again
Despite a historic agreement with the Jewish community, members of the Mormon Church have posthumously baptized several late prime ministers of Israel and at least 200 other Jewish luminaries. (1)
-- Apr 22, 2003
Press Release, Armenian News Network (excerpts)
Armenian Church Condemns Actions of Mormons
The recent report of the Mormon sect's `baptizing' notable Armenians is ludicrous, laughable and truly scandalous behavior. They have no right nor authority to 'baptize' any deceased Armenian Christian. ...
The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, on behalf of the worldwide Armenian Church, condemns this practice in the strongest possible terms. In a statement from the Department of Inter-Church Relations of the Armenian Church, it is noted: `We call on the Mormon authorities to immediately cease this damaging and outrageous behavior. These actions are a violation against common decency. (1)
-- May 11, 2003
Nu? What's New?
[Online] News About Jewish Genealogy from Avotaynu
Gary Mokotoff, Editor
The Problem That Won't Go Away
First American Jewish Families Used for Posthumous Baptisms
It has been discovered that yet another major Jewish work has been used by the Mormon Church for posthumous baptisms. Most deceased persons identified in Rabbi Malcolm H. Stern's book, First American Jewish Families--some 30,000 persons--have been discovered in the International Genealogical Index (IGI). ... (1)
Endnotes:
1 - A chronicle of the Mormon-Jewish controversy; The LDS Agreement: A JewishGen InfoFile, http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/ldsagree.html
LDS History Chronology: Unconventional Baptisms
Mormon History Timeline: Forms of Rebaptism in LDS History
http://lds-church-history.blogspot.com/
