Abraham H. Cannon Journal Excerpts, Vol. XVI, January 7, 1892; “. . . At two o’clock I attended the meeting of my quorum at the President’s office, where all the Presidency were present as well as F. D. Richards, Francis M. Lyman, John W. Taylor and myself; George Gibbs, clerk. The manner of clothing the dead sisters who have had their endowments, was first considered. It was agreed that when the coffin is closed containing the body of a sister who has been through the temple, her veil should be placed so as to hide her face, so that when her husband meets her on the other side he may lift the same from her countenance. This is in accordance with the instructions which President Young gave during his life. The carelessness of the Saints in regard to their Temple clothing was talked about, and it was voted that instructions be sent to each Temple that those who receive the ordinances of the House of God be told especially to be careful not to expose their clothing to the public gaze. This clothing is as sacred as the ordinances themselves.”
Ezekiel 43:7-9; “And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcases of their kings in their high places. 8 In their setting of their threshold by my thresholds, and their post by my posts, and the wall between me and them, they have even defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed: wherefore I have consumed them in mine anger. 9 Now let them put away their whoredom, and the carcases of their kings, far from me, and I will dwell in the midst of them forever.”
Necromancy can take on many forms, which in this case is also an abomination in the eyes of God. Fawning over a dead body in this manner isn’t biblical and should always be avoided.
Aside from the obvious unbiblical practices Mormons go through with their dead, there are some obvious basic common sense questions begging to be asked. Holman’s Bible Dictionary gives the following info on burial;
“Israel’s mourning rites reflect in part the belief that death is something evil. All contact with death—whether it happened by touching a corpse, the bones of a corpse, a grave, or a house which contained a dead body—made the Israelite unclean and in need of purification. In addition to personal sorrow, the mourning rites reflected at least to a degree the mourner’s humiliation because of his necessarily close contact with the body of the deceased.”
While cultures have changed over the years, there’s still something to be said about the behavioral customs going on in Mormonism. You’ll take notice there’s no mention of the tragedy in death, let alone the Lord. The rituals are a teaching of Brigham Young and Joe Smith.
If the body decays, what’s the deal with covering the deceased wife’s face?
If Jesus remakes the body at resurrection, where will the woman get a veil to cover herself?
Why is the wife’s face still covered if Jesus ha already resurrected everyone?
For a moment, consider the scenario above with Jesus waiting in the wings…
I’ve lost count how many Mormon funerals I’ve been to in my 50+ years and the story above plays itself out each and every time. It’s tragic and overwhelming to those who have loved ones trapped in this nightmare.
Please, remember to be diligent in your prayer and carve out enough time to pray for all involved!
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