So, as I’ve been going through all this genealogy BS, I’ve come across a metric ass-load of references to the phrase “sealed to parent/child,” along with recent-ish dates. Wondering what on earth that might mean, I went a-Googling. Lo and behold, it refers to LDS baptism and binding. Basically, no matter when you died, or, apparently, what your faith was when you keeled over (boggle), your present day descendants, if they are endowed[1] LDS members, can opt to have you baptized and sealed to them. In other words, your spirits are then eternally bound together.
Now, I’m all for folks practicing whatever sort of religious nonsense floats their boats, but I think it’s of the utmost importance for people to have free choice of which flavor of Kool-Aid they prefer to drink. I’m squicked out by the thought that hundreds of years after someone’s death, their descendants can fool around with their eternal souls. I think that definitely qualifies as spiritual “Bad Touch.”
I’m just trying to imagine how some of the Quakers I’ve been researching would react if they found out their souls were being enshrined against their wills in some sort of Mormon death cult. I mean, these were folks who took their own brand of religion seriously enough that they were willing to come to the “new world” in order to practice it freely. They also don’t strike me as folks who were into super secret rituals.
They’ve also tried to co-opt CS Lewis’ immortal soul. And, not just once or twice, either. There have been multiple endowments (again, whatever the hell that means), posthumous baptisms, and sealings performed on his, um, behalf. It’s not like he was some sort of vaguely spiritual person who might’ve converted to Mormonism if he’d gotten half a chance. It would have been plenty bad enough if he were. However, he was devoutly C of E. I can’t imagine that he would’ve consented to being converted to Mormonism.
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[1] What endowment means is anyone’s guess. It apparently entails participating in an uber-s00per-s33kr1t ceremony that none must speak of ever after.
red paper boat 