I recently discovered that my grandmother's name, birthday, date of death, last residences, and social security number on this website. I was shocked that I would find her social security number and then annoyed when I found it was connected to the Mormon church. My family has no Mormon connections (though we do have some crazy JW in the family). We've had a few missionaries visit the house, a house we bought from my grandmother, but we have always told them to go away. How did they get her info? I've asked other family members if they have spoken to any missionaries about grandma and the answer has been no. More importantly how can we get it off?

They have people that look in to death info newpapers, old church records of all the differ churchs you name it they look in to it LDS is like a big PI company.

And I thought this cult couldn't get any creepier... I'm working on searching other family members. So far, they only have my grandmother's info.

In my case it is my great-grandmother (and namesake) who baptised all of her children into the Episcopal church. She has no Mormon descendants. I find her posthumous baptism into the Mormon church to be incredibly rude and disrespectful to my family and our chosen religious and spiritual beliefs.

To add insult to injury, the dates for her birth and death were just slightly off for all three (!) times that she was dead dunked.

I have assumed that a descendant of one of her siblings did the deed, but I do not know for sure.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/03/2011 12:05PM by summer.

Or is it that you were a tBM and can log in differently than a nevermo?

I can't tell you how I found the information, but I did at one time. I don't think it's available to nonmembers at present.

It's not readily available to nonmembers with the new web site design. You can still get into the IGI by using the old web site format. I don't know if that will eventually disappear. It probably will. Of course leave it to the Mormons to preach about honesty and what a wholesome group of people they are and then get sneaky and deceptive and hide this information.

You know, the LDS genealogical library is available to all, and is a real treasure, if you do genealogy, Mormon or not. They copy databases, they index records, etc. I know many non-LDS people who really love the place. I used to do genealogy and enjoyed it.

There will be records of many people in your family there. I don't know if I'd freak over that.

Even the dead dunking of people in your family shouldn't end up causing you to freak. I mean none of us believe it is necessary, and doesn't change anything, right? That's what I believe.

elcid Wrote:
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> Even the dead dunking of people in your family shouldn't end up causing you to freak.

I used to feel the same way until I saw my great-grandmother's name in their database. As a nevermo from a nevermo family, it feels invasive and disrespectful to me. Within the space of one minute, I began to have some understanding of why the Jewish people have been so outraged over this.

I think that the database set up by the Mormon people is great, it's free, and I've gone down to the local genealogy place as well. Dead dunking the relatives is not cool, and I really don't care if you have this great genealogy set up or not. It's disrespectful, it's hateful. How dare they. This isn't just saying a prayer for the deceased loved one in Sunday service, which can get people's dander up as well. They are performing a ritual and then *listing* the deceased as a baptized Mormon in permanent records. Basically they're going to do what they want to do, and if they can't getcha when you're alive and breathing and probably told them to pound sand more than once, they'll getcha after your dead. They don't even ask permission from family members. If they didn't list the deceased *as a Mormon*, they probably wouldn't be getting the flak that they do over this ritual.

Summer- I am also named after my grandmother.

I could care less that they baptized her after she died. I care more about the fact that her social security number is placed on an easily searched website. I was unaware that social security numbers were public information after you died.

IIRC there is a Social Security database that allows you to search via SS numbers of deceased people.

Social security numbers are available online for all deceased even on non-LDS sites. Lookup social security death index info. I'm not sure it's the best but that's the way it is ...

So THAT'S where migrant illegals go for names and SSNs. Always wondered about that.

Ron

Hi there, Speaking of death prediction, I find it really odd that one of the on-line death prediction services showed me the same death date that I was foretold in my dream about a year ago. http://yourdeathdate.info/1/index.html - I can’t explain this coincidence in any other way except that there must be some kind of magic involved here.

I just checked the website, and I'm not listed there, not as having been born or anything.

The US Social Security Administration publishes a Death Master File for every person with a social security number who has died since 1962. This file typically includes the very information you mention, such as birth date, death date, last residence, etc. This is all public information. The LDS Church has simply created a link to a public database to advance their genealogical program. Apart from the church, many other organizations also link to the Social Security Death Index.

Having said that, I understand your concern about the LDS Church using these records to posthumously baptize your relatives. In my mind, it diminishes the memory of our deceased loved ones by overshadowing their family and cultural legacies with an unwanted connection to Mormonism.

As my father-in-law once said, "The Mormon Church has an amazing family history program that has some value in its own right, but they do it for a totally bizarre reason." Amen to that.

that if people had a way of finding out which of their OWN relatives had been ushered into the Mo-Light, they would be shocked. It would feel much more invasive to them than us, who know their whole schtick.

Can a non-member then access genealogical information somewhere and find out which of their relatives has been processed? Perhaps so that their now-Mormon relative can inspire them as to whether or not the BOM is truuuuuue?

Anagrammy

I also found my father's information on familysearch.org. I was shocked and very bothered that he had been dead dunked - even if I don't believe in it.

But then as I looked at it more - I'm not sure he was baptized...maybe it is just his information?

If it is on familysearch.org does it mean for sure that he was baptised? Or could it just be a database??

We are all nevermo's.

Carrie

It has been more than ten years since I did family history research within the Mormon Church. Back then, we used different kinds of databases or records. At the initial stage of investigation, the microfilms were simply collections of raw data gathered from various jurisdictions and localities around the world. They had no connection to the church, except for the fact that the church had compiled the records and made them available to researchers. As an example, you might find birth or death indexes from a specific county or state. These records were primarily used to identify ancestors for temple ordinances.

Once an ancestor was identified, the names were submitted to the church for approval using a computer program called "Temple Ready." Essentially, the program checked each submission against official records to avoid the duplication of ordinances. Once approved, the program issued a blue index card for male ancestors, a pink index card for female ancestors, and a yellow card for any temple sealing. These cards were carried to the temple and date-stamped as each ordinance was completed, such as baptism, initiatory, endowment, etc.

All completed ordinances were entered into a global database called the International Genealogical Index (the IGI). Here's where is gets a little murky for me. It was my impression that the majority of records stored in the IGI were names that had already received temple ordinances. However, sometimes names appeared on the IGI for other reasons.

It used to be that all completed ordinances were listed for the public to see, but like I said, it has been more than ten years since I did any research for the church. Things have probably changed since then.

In short, it is a very complex process that involves many stages. Looking back, it is totally bizarre that I used to spend so much time trying to figure out these names for temple submission.

Actually, one correction... I think the "Temple Ready" program created an electronic file that was submitted to the temple. Then the temple issued the blue, pink, and yellow index cards. At least, that's how I remember it.

Like I said, it has been a long time, so some of the details may be a little different than what I remember.

If they were using it for geneology purposes, then I'd be more okay with it. I did spend the evening searching for other deceased relatives (including mother, other grandparents, and aunts/uncles). She was the only one that I found. I did find out that my grandma did call and ask for a BOM once but found it "creepy".