Confirmations for the Dead

[_Equality]

All of the temple work for the dead is completely unnecessary. It has nothing to do with the people who have gone on and everything to do with keeping the members busy with trivial time-consuming tasks. If the principle of proxy ordinance work were true, they could get all the ordinances completed for the entire world in half a day. Just have someone stand in and do a baptism "for and on behalf of all male humans who have ever lived and died without the gospel, in the name of the F, S, HG, amen." There, done. Same for the other ordinances.

[_cafe crema]

Correct me if I'm wrong but marriage = sealing? There are no marriages arranged for the dead, just sealings of those already married in life, or sealings of singles together? Is the latter still practiced much? Are people sealing relatives (and others) to people they had no relationship to in life (i.e., Joseph Smith)?

It has been a while since I have looked at current temple work so I may have the terminology wrong. But when we seal children to their parents and grandparents and so on back we are creating a family unit that by definition excludes those relatives that have not been sealed. So in order for one of those relatives to join that unit that relative would first have to be a member of the Church and then have themselves also sealed to the common ancestor.

Currently I believe the only people that are allowed to be sealed to non bloodline relatives (outside of course marriage) would be children that have been adopted.

What went on from 1840 to 1890ish is a totally different thing. There were no restrictions on who could be sealed to whom, live or dead other than permission from the Church authorities. It was the wild wild west of celestial family empire building back then. BY has a great quote about how some elders would seal themselves to the devil were they given the chance.

From a recent Reuters article

Pope Pius XII was baptized three times and also "sealed" in eternal marriage to a fictional Mrs Eugenio Pacelli. Saint Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order of priests, was also "sealed" to a bogus wife. Catholic clergy do not marry.

Also more recently we have St. Damien of Molokai sealed to a wife he never had.

[_moksha]

Also more recently we have St. Damien of Molokai sealed to a wife he never had.

At least they got Mickie and Minnie Mouse right. Imagine the heavenly hijinx if they had accidentally sealed Minnie to Sylvester J. Katt.

[_Polygamy-Porter]

All of the temple work for the dead is completely unnecessary. It has nothing to do with the people who have gone on and everything to do with keeping the members busy with trivial time-consuming tasks. If the principle of proxy ordinance work were true, they could get all the ordinances completed for the entire world in half a day. Just have someone stand in and do a baptism "for and on behalf of all male humans who have ever lived and died without the gospel, in the name of the F, S, HG, amen." There, done. Same for the other ordinances.

It ceases to amaze me that smart people, even someone like Daniel C. Peterson, continue to believe this temple proxy curelome excrement a.k.a. BS.

[_Blixa]

From a recent Reuters article

Pope Pius XII was baptized three times and also "sealed" in eternal marriage to a fictional Mrs Eugenio Pacelli. Saint Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order of priests, was also "sealed" to a bogus wife. Catholic clergy do not marry.

Also more recently we have St. Damien of Molokai sealed to a wife he never had.

thanks for this, CC!

[_Rollo Tomasi]

All of the temple work for the dead is completely unnecessary. It has nothing to do with the people who have gone on and everything to do with keeping the members busy with trivial time-consuming tasks. If the principle of proxy ordinance work were true, they could get all the ordinances completed for the entire world in half a day. Just have someone stand in and do a baptism "for and on behalf of all male humans who have ever lived and died without the gospel, in the name of the F, S, HG, amen." There, done. Same for the other ordinances.

I always wondered why the endowment ceremony for the dead (which is the vast majority of temple endowment work) was necessary, particularly in light of the covenants to "defend the Kingdom of God" (including agreeing to sacrifice one's life, if necessary) and giving all of one's time, talents, etc., to the LDS Church, both of which seem applicable to the living BUT NOT to the dead (particularly since a dead person has no life to sacrifice). I always got the feeling the reason these were included in proxy work was really intended to remind the living doing the work of what they promised long ago to the Church.

[_LDS truthseeker]

[quote="Blixa"
Correct me if I'm wrong but marriage = sealing? There are no marriages arranged for the dead, just sealings of those already married in life, or sealings of singles together? Is the latter still practiced much? Are people sealing relatives (and others) to people they had no relationship to in life (i.e., Joseph Smith)?[/quote]

The church has sealed hundreds of single women to Joseph Smith after he was dead.

[_just me]

Jesus is sealed to Mary, Mary and Martha, If I recall correctly.

While it is more rare, there are still some instances of non-married (in life) couples being sealed.

[_Aristotle Smith]

My favorite is that they made John Wesley a posthumous polygamist.

SAUCE

ETA: I'm also glad that he's been sealed to his parents nine times.

[_Mayan Elephant]

All of the temple work for the dead is completely unnecessary. It has nothing to do with the people who have gone on and everything to do with keeping the members busy with trivial time-consuming tasks. If the principle of proxy ordinance work were true, they could get all the ordinances completed for the entire world in half a day. Just have someone stand in and do a baptism "for and on behalf of all male humans who have ever lived and died without the gospel, in the name of the F, S, HG, amen." There, done. Same for the other ordinances.

It ceases to amaze me that smart people, even someone like Daniel C. Peterson, continue to believe this temple proxy curelome excrement a.k.a. b***s***.

smart person, even DCP?

uh, no.