Second Anointing

[_honorentheos]

Well I am sure you ran into it as you finished the journal but it appears that it was quite common to do proxy 2nd anointing. This is from page 106 of the same journal.

April 17, 1897: At 2 p.m. President Lorenzo Snow and Brother William Salmon
called and stayed for 1« hours and we conversed together. He gave me a list of
Salt Lake temple work since the commencement May 22, 1893 to March 31, 1897,
showing 142,679 baptisms for the dead, 3,646 for health--5,908 living
Endowments--81,933 dead endowments; ordinations 53 living--32,739 dead;
Sealings 2,590 living, 21,288 dead; children to parents 6,147 living; 17,936
dead; adoptions 67 living, 694 dead; 2nd anointing 1,017 living, 17,936 dead.
Totals: living 19,428; dead 297,794--317,222.

Thanks for pointing this particular entry out, Fence Sitter. I had posted on it a little over a year ago in the telestial forum with only a short comment from Shades, here

At that time, it struck me that the number of vicarious sealings of deceased children to their parents was the same as those receiving 2nd annointings (17,936 each) which seems to defy coincidence. At that time I had not looked into the matter further thinking that if this was the common practise then it may be difficult to find out more about how people were identified for this ordinance.

But since then, I reread the journals and found the entry I quoted to you about Ben Franklin. It jumped out at me then that this was evidence that the ordinance was performed vicariously for an adult non-Mormon, and someone we know today was an adulterer and rejected established religious authority and direction (i.e. - it's impossible to believe that Franklin would have joined the church in this life if made accounted with it). That makes things more interesting.

I wish you the best of success in your research.

[_Fence Sitter]

But since then, I reread the journals and found the entry I quoted to you about Ben Franklin. It jumped out at me then that this was evidence that the ordinance was performed vicariously for an adult non-Mormon, and someone we know today was an adulterer and rejected established religious authority and direction (i.e. - it's impossible to believe that Franklin would have joined the church in this life if made accounted with it). That makes things more interesting.

I wish you the best of success in your research.

I think a previous portion of his journal may shed some light on this. On page 19 he quotes BY about the elders building up their kingdoms. Here is the passage.

The God I serve will reward every man openly without his
being under the necessity of going secretly and privately palming himself on
the credulity of innocent, ignorant females. Such jealousies do exist, and
were I to say to the elders, you now have the liberty to build up your
kingdoms, one half of them would lie, swear, steal, and fight like the very
devil, to get men and women sealed to them. They would even try to pass right
by me and go to Joseph thinking to get between him and the Twelve. Some have
already tried to use an influence against me, but such jealousies and
selfishness shall be stopped and if the brethren don't stop it, I will blow it
to the four winds by making them all come and be sealed to me and I to my
father and he and all this Church to Joseph. When I go astray and give wrong
counsel and lead this people astray then is time enough to pull me down and
then God will remove me as he has done all others who have turned from the
faith.
But to return, I have gathered a number of families around me by the law
of adoption and seal of the covenant according to the order of the priesthood
and others have done likewise, it being the means of salvation left to bring
us back to God, but had the keys of the Priesthood been retained and handed
down from father to son throughout all generations up to the present time,
then there would have been no necessity of the law of adoption, for we would
have all been included in the covenant without it and would have been legal
heirs instead of being heirs according to promise.

It appears that the Elders were trying to build up their extended families here on earth. I know that Brodie mentions that hundreds of living women had themselves sealed to Joseph Smith Jr after his death and that famous people were frequently part of the proxy work. Also later on in his journal Woodruff talks about getting a block of land in Salt Lake (along with all of the other twelve) for their "inheritances". (pg 22). It looks like the larger your "family" was the more power you would have in the hereafter. Maybe that included grabbing dead famous people for your family. I am sure that "Uncle Ben's" peccadilloes would be far outweighed by the prestige of having him in the family.

I can see some of the conversations now between the Twelve. "Okay I'll trade you George Washington for John Adams, but you are going to have to throw in Patrick Henry to make it worth my while."

It's like some bizarre version of Celestial fantasy football.

[Guest]

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[_honorentheos]

It's like some bizarre version of Celestial fantasy football.

LOL!

Someone should create an online multiplayer game with this as the premise, just for the hell of it. Maybe not Mormon-related. But like Battlestar, take the concepts of Mormon priesthood "adoption" and make some crazy fantasy world out of it.

[_Blixa]

It's like some bizarre version of Celestial fantasy football.

LOL!

Someone should create an online multiplayer game with this as the premise, just for the hell of it. Maybe not Mormon-related. But like Battlestar, take the concepts of Mormon priesthood "adoption" and make some crazy fantasy world out of it.

Now that is some fantasy football I could get behind...