Famous people baptized for the dead by Mormons

Famous. Infamous. Posthumous.

Business Insider lists 10 well-known dead whose honor it is to have been posthumously baptized in a Mormon Temple. You can have a look by clicking here. 

Now, before you go getting all worked up, you may find it helpful to be clear on what you’re getting all worked up about.

Mormons do NOT claim that posthumous baptism automatically turns your late relative, friend, celebrity, or hero into a Mormon. That’s a common misconception. 

Mormons believe that the dead remain free to choose. But since there’s no knowing how the dead will opt, they do baptisms for ’em all. 

Here’s the doctrine: In the hereafter, Mormon missionaries knock on doors just as they do here. Should they happen to persuade a deceased to become Mormon, then and only then does the baptism become valid. If the deceased declines, the posthumous baptism is of no effect.

The only thing that remains unclear from a doctrinal standpoint is if in the hereafter Mormons still manage to knock on your door just as you’re sitting down to dinner or to watch TV.

Though not on today’s list, at least one and most likely many more posthumous baptisms—perhaps as many as fourscore and seven—have been performed for President Lincoln. In the TLC cult, they not only baptized Abe—they spoke with him. Joanne talks about that in Chapter 8 of the book.