An agreement of trust, originally reached in May 1995, was reconfirmed April 11 following a meeting between Jewish and Church leaders held to resolve concerns about proxy baptisms done in behalf of deceased Jews, particularly Jewish Holocaust victims.
In 1995, Church and Jewish leaders met and agreed that Holocaust victims — millions of European Jews systematically killed during World War II because of their ancestry — for whom proxy baptisms had been performed, were to have their names removed from the Church's public listing of such ordinance work, and no further work be done. About 380,000 names of Holocaust victims were removed from this listing, an online data file called the International Genealogical Index.
The subject became an issue again when some additional Holocaust names were found on the IGI, possibly submitted contrary to policy of the First Presidency.
Members of the Jewish community, including Ernest W. Michel, representing the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors; and David Elcott, U.S. director of Interreligious Affairs of the American Jewish Committee, were invited to Church headquarters to discuss a resolution to the situation.
They came with deep feelings, especially Mr. Michel, who is himself a survivor of Auschwitz. "It is an emotional issue to me and I would say to the majority of the Jewish community," he said on radio KUER FM 90's RadioWest program April 12. "I am cautiously optimistic about the agreement, in which no Holocaust victim can in the future be baptized, as well as any Jew.
"There will be glitches, but a word that was used is 'trust.' I believe that we have to trust each other, and we are trying to do the right thing, and in doing so help both ourselves, the Jewish community, and satisfy the needs of the (LDS) Church."
At the five-hour meeting, the previous agreement was renewed, it was agreed to form an ad hoc committee of Jewish and LDS genealogists to look at the system and suggest improvements.
Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Presidency of the Seventy said the agreement was reached because of "the personal goodwill that exists among all of those that we have met with at this point from among the Jewish community. That reservoir of goodwill makes it possible to have candid discussions and be open with each other, not to take offense, but to deal with issues apart from personalities and emotions."
He described "a real desire on both sides to find accommodations and places of agreement, as well as to define disagreement. They see us as people of goodwill and integrity; we see them in the same way. They understand that we have core beliefs and practices that can't be compromised. We understand they have deep feelings and emotions concerning the Holocaust, and preserving the memory of the Jews who perished in the Holocaust only because they were Jews." He expressed appreciation to the Jewish community, especially those in Salt Lake City, for their support.
Elder Christofferson encouraged Church members to understand and follow guidelines in submitting names for temple work.
"It is essential that members respect the direction of the First Presidency in these matters," he emphasized. He said the Church is creating a very extensive worldwide support organization that will help ward family history consultants, staff members and patrons at family history centers to be better trained and help members know and follow these policies.
"This is not simply because we want good relations with groups such as the Jewish people, but because we need order in our processes and in our record keeping. The Lord's house is a house of order and if we are going to avoid duplication and eventually have a "book worthy of all acceptation," as the revelations state, eventually we need that kind of order. This is a goal that suits our purposes and at the same time helps address some of their concerns."
Improvements in technology will also help rectify the situation, he added. "We are making genuine efforts."
He said that because of the constant inflow of new volunteers and members, training will be ongoing, always.
"The instances where we have members who are knowingly not following policy are few. We ask their local leaders to correct that. Our members are people of goodwill and we are not unhappy with them." He cited the directions in the Church Handbook of Instructions on the subject:
"Members should identify their kindred dead. . . . Names of non-related persons should not be submitted, including names of celebrities or famous people or those gathered from unapproved extraction projects such as Jewish Holocaust victims" (Church Handbook of Instructions, p. 262).
However, Elder Christofferson emphasized, "if a member of the Church has Jewish ancestors in his or her direct line, it is perfectly proper and legitimate" to submit their names for temple work. "Nobody in the Church who has Jewish ancestors needs to feel any hesitation in going forward in proxy work for them whether or not they may have been Holocaust victims."
Also speaking on RadioWest, David Rencher, director of records and information in the Family and Church History Department, said, "We don't have the liberty to cease (proxy work for the dead), because the Lord has not told us to cease. We express our apology for any pain or misunderstanding the practice concerns and we have agreed we would make accommodation for the Jewish community out of respect for those who did suffer in the Holocaust. Those do have a limit, (but we agreed we) would try as best we could as honorable men to stand behind that agreement."
David Elcott of the American Jewish Committee was also pleased with the outcome of the meeting. He said: "At a time in which so many religious communities around the world resort to violence, the real news isn't about religions in conflict, but that two religious communities with very diverse beliefs and histories can join together and find ways to respect the integrity of each other and find ways to work together rather than to be in conflict.
"That's really the most powerful message of this. The Jewish community came to Salt Lake City with deep concerns about the issue of vicarious or proxy, posthumous baptism, and feelings of hurt over the baptism of Holocaust victims who were murdered exactly because they were Jewish . . . now showing on Mormon lists as being posthumously baptized."
He said despite the deep feelings on both sides, men of integrity and mutual respect met at the table and successfully worked out an understanding.
"God's hand was in this thing; it has had a very positive effect," he said.
E-mail to: jhart@desnews.com
