 |
| Death, a rebirth into a new life |
| "Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and to be spiritually-minded is life eternal." From the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 9, 39 |
| This is the information we got from a co-Stake President of the largest stake in San Antonio |
| Orientation toward death: What is life? Death is just part of it. It is not a beginning and end, but the same as birth, a birth into a new life. Orientation toward afterlife: The belief in the afterlife consists of three kingdoms of God and a hell. But Mormons believe that hardly anyone is bad enough to go to hell and therefore almost everyone is going to a better place after this life. Funeral Rituals: The funeral consists mainly of a eulogy, or series of them, by people who knew the deceased well. The funeral is considered a celebration of the deceased's life. Many non-members of the Mormon church will be in attendance, as it is open to all friends and family of the deceased. There is a special Family Prayer held for the family before the formal funeral. Cremation is discouraged, as it is believed to be disrespectful to the body, and the grave is consecrated as the body's final resting place. Funerary symbols: Tombstones or grave markers are used, but the information and decoration on them is generally left up to the family of the deceased. The Mormon faith makes a point not to employ symbols that people get attached to, such as the cross or crucifix. Likewise, there are no religious objects (such as Bibles) that are passed down from generation to generation. Is there a belief that the dead can interfere in the lives of the living? There is no such belief on a large scale. The general feeling is that the dead are in a better place and have no interest in interfering in the affairs of the living. Are there special cemetaries for the faith? No. But the grave is consecrated as the final resting place. What sets the Mormon faith apart from Catholicism and Judaism? There is less ritual than in the Catholic church, i.e. extreme unction. Also, while Jews concentrate on this life, Mormons believe that the afterlife will be much better and therefore are less probable than Jews to, for example, keep a family member on life support for an extended amount of time. Why do you think that belief in an afterlife has increased over the past three decades? When people are faced with their own mortality, belief increases, such as what we saw in the aftermath of September 11th. This is across the board, not just in the Mormon faith. Why does belief in an afterlife increase with more education for your religion? It is believed that any principle of intelligence that you achieve in this life carries over to the afterlife with you, especially in the form of wisdom which is the proper application of knowledge. What about Mormon posthumous conversion? If people don't get the chance to convert to Mormonism in this life, or they decided not to, they can have that option in the afterlife. A service is performed in the temple for someone already passed which gives them the option (in the afterlife) of either accepting the offer to convert or rejecting it. There is always the option, and many will not take the option if they already denied it on earth, as Mormons believe that personality carries over into the afterlife as well. |
 |
 |
 |
 |