The right information: BNR about Utah and Mormons

There are many people who believe everything the media writes. I don't and when it comes to a subject that I am passionate about, I can get the jitters about incorrect facts. Journalists should do their job better, I think. But let me help, I thought, and so from now on I will provide corrections on my blog to articles and broadcasts that I believe contain errors or incomplete truths.

This time over “Utah: Land of Lucky Luck”, an article from BNR Nieuwsradio.

1. that family archive is a powerful marketing and tool

They certainly write the truth here about the extensive archive of the Mormons with everything related to genealogy. If you want to look up family trees, our church's archives are legendary. By the way, it is free for everyone to use. On www.familysearch.org then you can find out everything about it and work on your own family tree.

The reason why Mormons are so concerned with family history is because we believe that as a family we are bound together forever. That is why we think it is important to know who our family is and was.

Because we also believe that Christ and Heavenly Father are righteous, we also believe that everyone deserves the opportunity for eternal life—even those who have never had the opportunity to encounter the gospel of Christ. That is why we do vicarious baptisms: we are baptized in the name of our ancestors so that they  have the choice to adopt this ordinance or not in the hereafter.

So the archive is not set up as such at all  decoy or so. It serves a clear purpose: both for Mormons and for all genealogists in the world.

2. based on the teachings of John Smith, an additional American apostle

The prophet who accomplished this restoration at the behest of Christ was  Joseph Smith. He was not an apostle, but he was a prophet. In his time he sought an answer to the question of which church was the right church and received an answer to his prayer from God that over the centuries the church of Christ had been lost because so many people, most of them in good faith, had changed things. So it was time for Joseph Smith to restore the Church of Christ according to the practices of the Church Christ Himself founded 2,000 years ago.

That is why we have the structure in the church that you can also find in the Bible. Elders, seventies, but also prophets and apostles. Why would God have spoken through His prophets for centuries and then suddenly remain silent since the birth of Christ? We believe that our church is led by a living prophet. Currently that is Thomas S. Monson.

He is assisted in his tremendous work by twelve apostles, just as Christ had twelve apostles. These apostles and prophet, just like everyone who has a calling or assignment in our church, are volunteers who come from all over the world.

3. The Mormons passionately followed his polygamy

Smith had 32 wives, and Mormons passionately followed his polygamy until Utah joined the United States in 1896.

Yes, there was polygamy in the early days of the church. There are different stories about Joseph Smith's number of wives, but it is true that he was sealed to several. See, Mormons believe that marriage is not single  till death do us part, but that as husband and wife we ​​can be sealed together for eternity. This is even necessary if we want to make progress in the afterlife. Many of Smith's marriages were only aimed at eternity and did not mean that he had an extensive harem here on earth.

It is not true that Mormons passionately followed that example. It was limited in number and even more likely to be done secretly. There was also a lot of opposition within the church. But it was a commandment from the Lord, and as we read the Bible we find that almost every time God began a new dispensation, he commanded his prophet to take wives and concubines.

not so much out of principle as out of the belief that a citizen must obey American law

The rule is very clear: the rule applies by default “one man, one woman”, unless God, for certain reasons, judges that an exception is necessary for a certain period of time. Think, for example, of Abraham, Solomon and David.

Polygamy was stopped in 1890 after revelation from God. Since then, the basic rule of “one man, one woman” has resumed. Anyone who does not comply cannot be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There are still groups that also call themselves Mormons because they once split from our church, but they now have nothing to do with our church.

If it were only for American law, Mormons would still practice polygamy in countries where polygamy is allowed.

More information can be found on the website mormon.org.

4. Posthumous baptism is also a tradition among Mormons, although the church formally abolished the practice twenty years ago.

Just factually wrong. As I explained, we do this because of our ancestors  a choice to give. But we still do that in our temples.

Baptism is therefore essential for eternal salvation in the kingdom of God. The New Testament records that baptism was performed for the dead in the time of the apostle Paul (see 1 Corinthians 15:29). This practice was restored with the restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Because not everyone who lived had the opportunity to be baptized with proper authority, baptism is performed for them vicariously, meaning that a person can be baptized for a deceased person. Baptisms for the dead are performed by members of the Church in temples throughout the world.

People sometimes wonder if the remains of the deceased person are somehow involved. That is not the case. The person acting as alternate will use only that person's name. To prevent duplication, the church keeps track of which deceased persons have been baptized. Some people mistakenly believe that the names of deceased people who have been baptized are added to church membership records. That is not the case.

5. Alcohol may be served in bars, but not at a hotel swimming pool, for example.

That actually has nothing to do with Mormons. In the US you are rarely allowed to visibly consume alcohol. Just look at movies and the famous brown paper bag in which people put the bottle of liquor.

6. Every Mormon young man is expected to work as a missionary for six months after completing his studies

Two mistakes in one fell swoop. Every Mormon young man who is able is expected to serve a two-year mission after graduating from high school, or more accurately when they are 18 years old. Girls can go at age 19 and serve missions for 18 months. For them it is an option. For boys too: it is considered a priesthood obligation, but there are no sanctions if you don't serve a mission.

7. He drank Coca Cola, despite the caffeine

It Word of Wisdom states that it is not permitted to use drugs, coffee, tea, alcohol or tobacco. There is no caffeine involved. There are Mormons who interpret it that way, but there is no guideline on that. So you won't see a true Mormon drinking coffee (not even decaffeinated), but you will find plenty of them who do drink cola.

And now I just hope that Bernard Hammelburg reflects these facts correctly in his report.

update 2/8/16

I have noticed that some things have been adjusted, such as Joseph Smith and the prophet, but other untruths have remained.