John pretty much covered the actual doctrine of the the church. But, officially, the church does not authorize random baptism for the dead (which is what it's called). It's designed for church members to do this for their deceased family members.
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http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/02/29/slain-journalist-daniel-pearl-posthumously-baptized-by-mormon-church-reports/>
>That's an interesting religious practice I hadn't previously encountered.
>
>Being non-religious myself, my first thought is I can't recall ever seeing anything else as patronizing in my life.
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>I'm also thinking religious folk will use much stronger language.
Craig Berntson
MCSD, Microsoft .Net MVP, Grape City Community Influencer