It’s Been My Lucky Day
Things are getting so bad my wife commented the other day that one of us was going to have to get a job. I told her I was going to miss her.
She yelled in from the kitchen last night, “Do we have any soup stock,” I told her I didn’t know but if it’s as bad as our WAMU stock, we were in trouble.
One of my sons called the other day and said, “Dad, how about a loan to tide things over a while?” I said, “Great, send as much as you can.”
But things perked up today!
First I got this e-mail from a Muslim AID group, awarding me $3,000,000.00. Can you even believe it?
Dear Sir/Madam,This is to notify you that you have been chosen by the board of trusteesISLAMIC AID as one of the final recipients to receive CASH DONATION/AWARD foreconomic development, and poverty alleviation. In line with its aims, andobjectives, ISLAMIC AID is giving out $300,000,000.00 (Three Hundred MillionEuro) to 80 international recipients worldwide Your email address was selected based on an internet random Selection exercise and you are thus confirmed one of the lucky recipients entitled to receive $3,000,000.00 Euro as cash donations from ISLAMIC AID.
Minutes later, I hit the jackpot again! Someone was sending me a bunch of money from Hong Kong!
You have emerged Winner from this Week’s Draws. Information in your Email account was chosen. ,Amount Won:￡700,000.00 Date Of Draw March 2009
Then they fell onto my screen like manna from heaven.
Hello Ned Confirmation: #458-903 Your $250 eBay gift card is ready to be picked up.
Hi Ned,Whiten Your Smile 7 Shades in Only 7 Hours.Now You Can Try It Free*...Everything You NeedFor A Beautiful, Brighter, Healthy Smile.
Dear Ned
The British Prime Minister in conjunction with United States GOVERNMENT &WORLD BANK, UNITED NATION ORGANIZATION do hereby give this irrevocable order and we have been empowered and authorized to release your contract payment/winning prizes/inheritance payment to you, But we are only advised to pay you part-payment of your funds which is $5,000,000.00 Five Million United States Dollars Only.
Ned: Tired of payíng ridicuIöus prices for Viagra & Cialis? How about one hundred 100% free Viágra & Cialis?
When I saw this one, I ran in to tell my wife. She smiled and told me to get away from the computer and go take my nap. She said I’d never live that long.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
IT WAS JUST ONE OF THOSE DAYS
Just One of Those Days.
Saturday was going to be one of those days… I Jumped [well, more like rolled] out of bed with a rare burst of energy. Great day to get a lot done around the house. Things that my wife has been gently suggesting I tend to.
After I showered and shaved, I noticed that the hand towel rack was still loose when the towel fell to the floor. I meant to fix that when she mentioned it around Christmas time. I finished dressing and headed right for the garage to get a screwdriver from my workbench.
When I went to open my tool box, I had to move a pack of outside lights I had bought a few weeks back when the HOA sent the letter telling me that my outside garage lights were out. I figured I better cross that one off my list right now. After bringing out the ladder, I laid it against the side of the house under the light fixture, kind of cramming it in against the very full bougainvillea growing there at the side of the garage door.
I did notice the hose lying out by the Palm tree that I was going to power water the other day and went around to the side faucet and turned on the hose so that it would water the palm while I fixed the light.
I climbed up the ladder and somehow managed to cut a nice long gash up the inside of my right forearm, so that I had to climb down and hurry into the utility room and get a few Band-Aids. But I had closed the garage door so that I could get to the light and then found out that all the doors of the house were locked, my wife having left for the fitness center.
I checked all the windows and finally found one open in the guest room. I removed the screen and brought the ladder over and climbed in, falling through onto an end table, breaking it along with a potted plant and a lamp my wife had brought home as a treasure she found during one of her many raids at Home Goods.
I took the white end table cloth [I really didn’t know it was her grandmother’s] and wrapped it around my bloody arm and made my way through the house to the utility room and, after using up the cloth and several towels and about 12 bandages, finally got myself together again.
I grabbed the Vacuum cleaner to pick up the broken glass from the lamp and hurried back to the guest room to get that mess fixed up before she returned home. I plugged in the vacuum and began picking up the debris when the vacuum suddenly made a terrible sound and spit stuff out all over the bedspread. Then the thing went “pop” and the lights went out. Smoke came out of the vacuum cleaner.
I grabbed the vacuum cleaner and ran for the hallway, ripping the cord from the wall and made it to the garage and threw the vacuum cleaner into the garbage bin, ignoring the power cord still trailing from the bin to the door to the house.
The door to the house slammed shut, locking me out of the house again. I opened the side door to the garage, made sure it would not lock again, shoved a bag of dry cleaning against the door, ran around the back of the house, threw myself back through the window and spent the next 20 minutes trying to clean up and braced the table with some books and pushed out the lampshade into something that resembled what it used to look like and turned the lamp around to hide the missing side and braced that with the plant shoved into the dirtless pot, missing its bottom.
I shoved everything else, including the dirt from the potted plant onto the bedspread and ran out to the side of the house, shook it out and shoved the bedspread into the washer.
I ran back and got the ladder, replaced the screen and hauled tail to the front of the garage, now an area that was now under water. In fact, the water was running back into the garage. I dropped the ladder, turned off the hose, grabbed a push broom and was pushing water out of the garage when my wife stopped her car in front of the ladder lying across the driveway. She walked up and asked me why the dry cleaning was floating in water.
I told her it was because I was fixing the towel rack in the master bathroom. We stared at each other for a few silent moments. Her eyes narrowed like she was working through something hard in her mind.
She said, “I think I understand. Why is your arm bleeding all over?”
“A bush did it,” I said.
“I see. Well, stop standing in water and pick up the things that are floating around.”
She went into the house but returned a minute later. “Why are you washing the guest room bedspread? It is a Dry-Clean-only cover. Why don’t the kitchen lights work?”
“I fell off the ladder”
“I see.” She looked at me for a second with her head cocked to the side, started to say something, shook her head instead and then headed back into the house.
On the way she stopped and picked up the vacuum cleaner power cord and looked at it, saw that it ended in the trash bin, looked at me again for a long, silent moment.
“Should I ask why my vacuum cleaner is in the garbage? Why is smoke coming out of the bin?”
“Stopped working. Caught fire.”
“Why? Were you using it to fix the towel rack?”
“No, I was vacuuming the bed.”
She actually smiled. Maybe there was hope.
“I see. You were vacuuming the bed. Anything else you want to tell me?”
“Not if I don’t have to.”
“I see.” She wasn’t smiling now. There was no hope.
Saturday was going to be one of those days… I Jumped [well, more like rolled] out of bed with a rare burst of energy. Great day to get a lot done around the house. Things that my wife has been gently suggesting I tend to.
After I showered and shaved, I noticed that the hand towel rack was still loose when the towel fell to the floor. I meant to fix that when she mentioned it around Christmas time. I finished dressing and headed right for the garage to get a screwdriver from my workbench.
When I went to open my tool box, I had to move a pack of outside lights I had bought a few weeks back when the HOA sent the letter telling me that my outside garage lights were out. I figured I better cross that one off my list right now. After bringing out the ladder, I laid it against the side of the house under the light fixture, kind of cramming it in against the very full bougainvillea growing there at the side of the garage door.
I did notice the hose lying out by the Palm tree that I was going to power water the other day and went around to the side faucet and turned on the hose so that it would water the palm while I fixed the light.
I climbed up the ladder and somehow managed to cut a nice long gash up the inside of my right forearm, so that I had to climb down and hurry into the utility room and get a few Band-Aids. But I had closed the garage door so that I could get to the light and then found out that all the doors of the house were locked, my wife having left for the fitness center.
I checked all the windows and finally found one open in the guest room. I removed the screen and brought the ladder over and climbed in, falling through onto an end table, breaking it along with a potted plant and a lamp my wife had brought home as a treasure she found during one of her many raids at Home Goods.
I took the white end table cloth [I really didn’t know it was her grandmother’s] and wrapped it around my bloody arm and made my way through the house to the utility room and, after using up the cloth and several towels and about 12 bandages, finally got myself together again.
I grabbed the Vacuum cleaner to pick up the broken glass from the lamp and hurried back to the guest room to get that mess fixed up before she returned home. I plugged in the vacuum and began picking up the debris when the vacuum suddenly made a terrible sound and spit stuff out all over the bedspread. Then the thing went “pop” and the lights went out. Smoke came out of the vacuum cleaner.
I grabbed the vacuum cleaner and ran for the hallway, ripping the cord from the wall and made it to the garage and threw the vacuum cleaner into the garbage bin, ignoring the power cord still trailing from the bin to the door to the house.
The door to the house slammed shut, locking me out of the house again. I opened the side door to the garage, made sure it would not lock again, shoved a bag of dry cleaning against the door, ran around the back of the house, threw myself back through the window and spent the next 20 minutes trying to clean up and braced the table with some books and pushed out the lampshade into something that resembled what it used to look like and turned the lamp around to hide the missing side and braced that with the plant shoved into the dirtless pot, missing its bottom.
I shoved everything else, including the dirt from the potted plant onto the bedspread and ran out to the side of the house, shook it out and shoved the bedspread into the washer.
I ran back and got the ladder, replaced the screen and hauled tail to the front of the garage, now an area that was now under water. In fact, the water was running back into the garage. I dropped the ladder, turned off the hose, grabbed a push broom and was pushing water out of the garage when my wife stopped her car in front of the ladder lying across the driveway. She walked up and asked me why the dry cleaning was floating in water.
I told her it was because I was fixing the towel rack in the master bathroom. We stared at each other for a few silent moments. Her eyes narrowed like she was working through something hard in her mind.
She said, “I think I understand. Why is your arm bleeding all over?”
“A bush did it,” I said.
“I see. Well, stop standing in water and pick up the things that are floating around.”
She went into the house but returned a minute later. “Why are you washing the guest room bedspread? It is a Dry-Clean-only cover. Why don’t the kitchen lights work?”
“I fell off the ladder”
“I see.” She looked at me for a second with her head cocked to the side, started to say something, shook her head instead and then headed back into the house.
On the way she stopped and picked up the vacuum cleaner power cord and looked at it, saw that it ended in the trash bin, looked at me again for a long, silent moment.
“Should I ask why my vacuum cleaner is in the garbage? Why is smoke coming out of the bin?”
“Stopped working. Caught fire.”
“Why? Were you using it to fix the towel rack?”
“No, I was vacuuming the bed.”
She actually smiled. Maybe there was hope.
“I see. You were vacuuming the bed. Anything else you want to tell me?”
“Not if I don’t have to.”
“I see.” She wasn’t smiling now. There was no hope.
MY MARCH 2009 NEWSLETTER
ED DECKER'S NEWSLETTER FOR MARCH 2009
A note from Ed
It is been a tough month or two in a lot of ways. Two of our dear ministry friends have gone on to be with the Lord and both Carol and I have sisters in advanced stage four Cancer. Our families are so focused on their care and well being. It seems like each day brings another crisis.
So many of the prayer requests that have come in lately deal with serious illnesses, loss of jobs, loss of or the refinancing of homes and the list goes on. And of course, as always, the cry of your hearts for your unsaved loved ones.
I want you to know that we are praying with a fervor for each of your requests. This is not a time to become prayer lazy.
Please remember that every prayer request ends up on my personal desk and I do pray for each one personally. Don’t you give up because I sure won’t stop.
I will be doing a series of new studies on Mormonism over the next 6 months or so. This month I will be giving you a look at the greatest of all the LDS heresies, The Mormon Doctrine of Earned Godhood. Please take the time to read it fully. It will give you an in-depth understanding of why Mormonism is a cult.
Next month I will be sharing the details of the death grip of Freemasonry within the core of Mormon Doctrines and Secret Rituals. I will reveal the soul ties of the Satanic Enochian keys that bind Mormonism and Freemasonry and the reason Joseph Smith called himself Enoch.
Again, as I have said before, we can only stay on the internet with the financial support of our viewers. Please, if you can, send in a donation today. Just go to our website and click on the Donation marker on the front page.
Your Brother in Christ,
Ed Decker
PS: watch for the notification that my blog is up and running. It will give you an avenue to discuss any of the subjects we cover.. and then some. And remember to look for me on twitter.
In Memory of Donald A. J. Meyers
December 24, 1920 – February 21 2009
It was probably 30 years ago when I met Don Meyers in Ogden Utah, during one of my first missionary trips through that State. His wife, Gwen, a life long Mormon, was saved at one of my early meetings in Salt Lake. Don and Gwen had an immediate passion for the lost and dedicated their lives to the calling of reaching out to the LDS community by sharing the Word of God as presented in the Bible.
Don lived the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20 and spent his time sharing his passion with everyone he met about salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Anyone who ever met him knew where Don stood with his faith within minutes of meeting him.
Don was always coming up with new ideas to evangelize the lost and had great success over the years in souls saved. I had the privilege of speaking with him on February 20th. The next day he went to heaven, into the arms of his Lord and Savoir, Jesus Christ, surrounded by family and friends..
Don was truly one of the Lord’s Mighty Men of Valor. He was faithful to his calling from the first day through his last hour. Our sincerest prayers are with his wife, Gwen and the rest of the family. Don [and Gwen] had 9 children, 27 grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren. His friends are far too numerous to count.
In Memory of Clifford Van Spring
February 2, 1922 - January 19, 2009
Another great man of God and a dear friend of our ministry passed away just recently. Cliff and Betty were among the very first people to begin praying for and financially supporting Saints Alive. They were always here for us, never far away. They were just plain “faithful.”
Cliff and Don Meyers would have been great buddies had they lived near each other. Cliff had that same boldness and ability to share Jesus with anyone who would listen to him, no matter where they met him. He was a true family man, loving his wife, children, brothers, sons-in-law, numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren and all the nieces and nephews. His last words were “Tell everyone I love them.”
Betty and family, we send our love and prayers. He, too, was one of the Lord’s Mighty men of valor.
Big Love
Goes to the Temple
Those who watch the HBO series, Big Love were treated to an insider look at the LDS Temple Ritual, on March 15th.
While there were a few technical errors, this Temple Episode, gave non-temple Mormons and the rest of the world a quick look at a strange and bizarre ritual. The same material is far more accurately covered in our DVD, The Temple of the God Makers, but this show was seen by many millions .and the impact is still being felt. Even before the airing, The Brethren were letting it be known that they were very unhappy.
HBO, Mormons square off over airing of sacred rite
By JENNIFER DOBNER, Associated Press Writer Wed Mar 11, 3:42 AM PDT [in part]
Monday, Mormon church leaders criticized HBO for its decision to include the ceremony and said airing the material shows the insensitivity of the network's writers, producers and executives.
"Certainly church members are offended when their most sacred practices are misrepresented or presented without context or understanding," the church statement said.
"Certainly church members are offended when their most sacred practices are misrepresented or presented without context or understanding," the church statement said.
“Only church members in good standing can enter temples to perform or witness sacred ceremonies. The ceremonies are centered on religious teachings and re-enactments of Bible stories to help Mormons prepare an eternal place for themselves -- and others by proxy -- in heaven.”
Members take a vow not to discuss the rituals outside temple walls, although details of the ceremonies are widely available on the Internet.
The dramatization of the ceremony was vetted for accuracy by an adviser familiar with temple ceremonies who was on set during filming, said series creators and executives producers Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer.
"In approaching the dramatization of the endowment ceremony, we knew we had a responsibility to be completely accurate and to show the ceremony in the proper context and with respect," Olsen and Scheffer said in a separate statement issued through HBO. "We therefore took great pains to depict the ceremony with the dignity and reverence it is due.
The Fastest Growing Church in America? Not!
According to the latest edition of the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches. published by the National Council of Churches, an ecumenical group based in New York.
Among the 25 largest churches in the U.S., four are growing, the yearbook found: the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or the Mormon church (up 1.6 percent), the Assemblies of God (up nearly 1 percent), Jehovah's Witnesses (up 2 percent), and the Church of God of Cleveland, Tenn. (up 2 percent).
The next time the Mormons tell you their church must be true because it is the fastest growing church in America, tell them that the Jehovah’s Witnesses much be truer since they are growing faster than the Mormon Church.
KINDLED AT LAST
The God Makers and Fast facts on False Teachings
Now available on Kindle!
Talk about being on the leading edge of Technology!
If you use the Kindle Reading system , I or II, go to Amazon.com and download your copies of these two excellent, best selling books to read and use at your leisure.
My encyclopedic work, Decker's Complete Handbook on Mormonism, is now on the web in a down-loadable format and on CD-ROM and now available at pre-pub prices at Logos Bible Software. This means it can sit on your computer as a resource tool, right there whenever you need it.
The book has been expanded and updated from its original hard copy print release at Harvest House and is an excellent resource tool that should be in every church and Christian School library and on the desk of every pastor... as well as in use by the many people you know who are concerned with reaching Mormons for Christ.
The URL for its web page is:
http://www.logos.com/products/prepub/details/4889
We will soon have all our books available for download at a fraction of the cost to buy the hard copy.
Pssst: Look for Ed on Twitter
Ed's new and final book on Mormonism,
The book has been expanded and updated from its original hard copy print release at Harvest House and is an excellent resource tool that should be in every church and Christian School library and on the desk of every pastor... as well as in use by the many people you know who are concerned with reaching Mormons for Christ.
The URL for its web page is:
http://www.logos.com/products/prepub/details/4889
We will soon have all our books available for download at a fraction of the cost to buy the hard copy.
Pssst: Look for Ed on Twitter
Ed's new and final book on Mormonism,
My Kingdom Come: The Mormon Quest for Godhood is available!
1-800-861-9888 (for orders only)
Order online at our website www.saintsalive.com
or pick up a copy at Amazon.com
Letters and E-Mails
Dear Ed: I am a Mormon and have been for almost 30 years. Have been "married and sealed" in the temple. It wasn't until about 2 years ago that I started questioning everything that I felt and knew. My mother died and all of a sudden I couldn't understand all of my "teachings", they just didn't feel right.
I was very active in the LDS church, in various callings from the stake down to my ward level. I was always in leadership callings. And now I didn't believe anymore!
I went inactive and went on a quest to find out what was going on inside of me. I love the Lord and I knew Heavenly Father, but why was life so confussing now. I"ve tried to pull away but I think I've been a "member" too long.
The members don't care about one another, they don't go out looking for "lost sheep". They only care about getting their poor children on missions and to the "sacred castle in the sky", the temple. None of my 4 children go to church, even though they were all raised in the church. None of them have been on missions or to the temple.
It was hell watching other "proud" parents send off or marry off their prosterity, and then bare "testimony" of how good they were as parents or as a family. I've been a failure in the church since I joined in 1981. We were never quite good enough, because we didn't go on a mission or we weren't generational.
I can't pull myself from the church, I don't know how to live without it. I don't believe the gospel the way other churches teach it, I understand it the way the church teaches it and I love the stories in the BOM. So, sadly, I go only to sacrament every other Sunday, if I feel like it, and I will not ever go back to the temple as long as I live. And I will not pay tithes or accept a calling. I am miserable.
Letters and E-Mails
Dear Ed: I am a Mormon and have been for almost 30 years. Have been "married and sealed" in the temple. It wasn't until about 2 years ago that I started questioning everything that I felt and knew. My mother died and all of a sudden I couldn't understand all of my "teachings", they just didn't feel right.
I was very active in the LDS church, in various callings from the stake down to my ward level. I was always in leadership callings. And now I didn't believe anymore!
I went inactive and went on a quest to find out what was going on inside of me. I love the Lord and I knew Heavenly Father, but why was life so confussing now. I"ve tried to pull away but I think I've been a "member" too long.
The members don't care about one another, they don't go out looking for "lost sheep". They only care about getting their poor children on missions and to the "sacred castle in the sky", the temple. None of my 4 children go to church, even though they were all raised in the church. None of them have been on missions or to the temple.
It was hell watching other "proud" parents send off or marry off their prosterity, and then bare "testimony" of how good they were as parents or as a family. I've been a failure in the church since I joined in 1981. We were never quite good enough, because we didn't go on a mission or we weren't generational.
I can't pull myself from the church, I don't know how to live without it. I don't believe the gospel the way other churches teach it, I understand it the way the church teaches it and I love the stories in the BOM. So, sadly, I go only to sacrament every other Sunday, if I feel like it, and I will not ever go back to the temple as long as I live. And I will not pay tithes or accept a calling. I am miserable.
How did I ever get myself or my family involved? Just know that I appreciate all that you said about the temple. I have a long way to finding peace again. Just please know that there are many more like me out here, just keep telling it like it is. Anon.
Dear Ed: I just recently finished re-reading The GodMakers. (about the fifth time through) I tremble for those still in this horrible web of deceit, like all my extended family. I am so glad you are happy in letting the world know how wrong and evil Mormonism and Masonry are, because that is also very close to my heart. I, like you, lived under it's (Mormonism's) dark shadow way too long.
Dear Ed: I just recently finished re-reading The GodMakers. (about the fifth time through) I tremble for those still in this horrible web of deceit, like all my extended family. I am so glad you are happy in letting the world know how wrong and evil Mormonism and Masonry are, because that is also very close to my heart. I, like you, lived under it's (Mormonism's) dark shadow way too long.
Keep it up...and know you have people praying for you. Your ministry is so important! I pray for those deceived and caught in Mormonism's web...that they will see light in Jesus Christ....not the false christ of their cult.....before it is too late. Be blessed in Christ, always Julia
Dear Ed: I feel the need to tell you how much your organization has help my life. In January of 1987 my wife was pregnant with our oldest child. We were faithful members of the local ward. All was right with the world, just not right with the spirit. I was in the Navy and a buddy was listening to a local Christian station when Walter Martin came on talking about his book "Kingdom of the Cults" I was irate.
I was going to become the next great Mormon apologist, so I went to the local book store and bought his book along with "God Makers". As I read them both, it took all of 3 days I began to realize that I had lived a lie.
I went to my local bishop and we sat down to talk I had 27 handwritten legal pad pages of questions. After the first one which he differed any answer and asked "what else I wanted to know" I knew this was going to end poorly. After the third question he asked to see my pad I handed it over and he didn't even get through the first page before he asked when I could be available for an ex-communication hearing.
Dear Ed: I feel the need to tell you how much your organization has help my life. In January of 1987 my wife was pregnant with our oldest child. We were faithful members of the local ward. All was right with the world, just not right with the spirit. I was in the Navy and a buddy was listening to a local Christian station when Walter Martin came on talking about his book "Kingdom of the Cults" I was irate.
I was going to become the next great Mormon apologist, so I went to the local book store and bought his book along with "God Makers". As I read them both, it took all of 3 days I began to realize that I had lived a lie.
I went to my local bishop and we sat down to talk I had 27 handwritten legal pad pages of questions. After the first one which he differed any answer and asked "what else I wanted to know" I knew this was going to end poorly. After the third question he asked to see my pad I handed it over and he didn't even get through the first page before he asked when I could be available for an ex-communication hearing.
I left there feeling giddy but unsure what to do next. I called the number in the back of your book and was led to a relationship with the real Christ over the phone. While life since then was difficult at times it was rewarding.
The long and the short of it is that now I am the Senior Pastor of a Christian Church and have been blessed to have been used since my ordination in 2001 to lead the lost to Christ and baptize 172 souls. While I know it is the Spirit of God that call all men to Christ I feel that without your following of the Spirit's guidance all those years back I may have been lost to God as well. Pastor Chuck
Dear Ed: I called your office to ask for advice, specifically on the issue of Mormon "Baptism of the Dead". My brother married into a Mormon family, and I have recently become very concerned that my sister in law was planning to try to have this ritual conducted on behalf of my grandparents and mother. This would be extremely upsetting to me, and it certainly would be to them!
I've also been very worried about how the discussion of this issue would affect my relationship with my brother and sister in law. However, after calling your office last Friday, I called my brother and brought up the subject.
I feel somewhat relieved after talking with him about it - he seems to feel that my sister in law doesn't have much interest in the church; however, I think he may be underestimating her interest, based on comments she has made to me.
What I am trying to find out is what specific steps are required in order to carry out this "baptism". I am assuming that they need specific birth and death dates, but I'm not sure where else to go to find out exactly what the process is.
To be blunt about it, if my sister in law intends to do this, I want to do anything I can to prevent it. I have read that some Mormons consider "redeeming the dead" to be one of their greatest missions. Maybe I'm misunderstanding that, but I take it to mean that they would like to "baptize" everyone who's ever been born!
I don't know how you feel about this ritual, being a former Mormon, but I consider it to be a mockery of baptism, and feel that it's sacrilegious. If I ever learned that any of my deceased relatives had been added to the Mormon rolls, I would have demand they undo it - but I would like to prevent it from happening in the first place, if I can.
visit me at
I've also been very worried about how the discussion of this issue would affect my relationship with my brother and sister in law. However, after calling your office last Friday, I called my brother and brought up the subject.
I feel somewhat relieved after talking with him about it - he seems to feel that my sister in law doesn't have much interest in the church; however, I think he may be underestimating her interest, based on comments she has made to me.
What I am trying to find out is what specific steps are required in order to carry out this "baptism". I am assuming that they need specific birth and death dates, but I'm not sure where else to go to find out exactly what the process is.
To be blunt about it, if my sister in law intends to do this, I want to do anything I can to prevent it. I have read that some Mormons consider "redeeming the dead" to be one of their greatest missions. Maybe I'm misunderstanding that, but I take it to mean that they would like to "baptize" everyone who's ever been born!
I don't know how you feel about this ritual, being a former Mormon, but I consider it to be a mockery of baptism, and feel that it's sacrilegious. If I ever learned that any of my deceased relatives had been added to the Mormon rolls, I would have demand they undo it - but I would like to prevent it from happening in the first place, if I can.
visit me at
ALL MY KIDS ARE MIDDLE AGED
All My Kids are Middle Aged..
I was sitting with a friend at a local Starbucks. Our table was situated so that I was facing the counter and as I idly watched a young woman ordering a latte’ she asked, “Where are the napkins?”
Without looking up, he said, “Over behind the old guys.” She nodded and walked directly behind us, picked up the napkins and walked out of the shop. It was defining moment in my life.
I could see how they would label my white-haired friend as an ‘old guy’, but my hair was still ‘blondish.’ I guessed the clerk was talking about him.
A few days later, as we were walking out of church, the pastor’s wife commented on a new suit I was wearing. “I really like your suit, Ed. It goes so well with your hair.”
As we walked to the car, I asked my wife, “Do you think that this gray suit goes that well with my blonde hair?” She said, “You have to be kidding.”
I let it go, not wanting to correct her on a Sunday morning.
A few days later, one of our sons came by to visit and I made a comment about the bald spot starting to gain territory on the back of his head.
He laughed and said, “Like father, like son.”
I wanted to ask him what he meant by that but felt it was better for him to not talk about his balding any further.
Later, after he left, I asked my wife, “I wonder what he meant by ‘like father, like son.’ Funny remark, don’t you think?”
She shook her head from side to side and sighed deeply. “Come with me,” she commanded, taking me by the hand and marching me to the bathroom.
She took a large make-up mirror and held it to the back of my head. I jumped with a start. I had a bald spot twice the size of my son’s.
“When did that start?” I gasped. She smiled and said, “About ten years ago, when your hair turned gray.”
I left her there, smirking at me in the mirror and vowed to never use a mirror like that again. Easy enough for her to judge someone. Her hair seems to get darker every time she goes to the beauty parlor.
A few weeks later, the kids all came over for my birthday dinner. You feed them and they all come; wives, husbands and kids. I don’t know about you, but I really like having birthday parties and getting presents. Not big ones, mind you. I just like getting any presents. I can’t figure out why my wife avoids birthday parties.
I checked out my other sons and noticed that two others were facing the same problem as the first and was more than shocked to see that my youngest daughter’s hair was almost as gray as mine. By now I had spent enough time with my wife’s magnifying mirror to believe that I was at least starting to turn gray.
One of my grandsons gave me a gift he had wrapped himself. He hugged me and with a wide smile exclaimed, “It’s for you Poppa! Daddy and I picked it out.”
I opened it as he jumped up and down and I finally pulled out a new cap. Across the front, it read “Old Guys Rule.” Everyone laughed and clapped. I went to another package to sort of move everyone off that subject, and with my new cap on my head, pulled out a Tee shirt, picked up by one of the kids when they were in Hawaii.
The front of the shirt read, “Older than Dirt.” Everyone laughed. This wasn’t going well.
A few days later I received a call that ended it all. It was a fellow I knew from high school. He wanted to be sure I would attend our 55th class reunion.
“We old guys have to stick together,” he laughed. I sighed deeply.
I looked in the bathroom mirror long and hard that night. I finally figured it out. It really wasn’t me. It is just that all my kids are middle-aged.
I was sitting with a friend at a local Starbucks. Our table was situated so that I was facing the counter and as I idly watched a young woman ordering a latte’ she asked, “Where are the napkins?”
Without looking up, he said, “Over behind the old guys.” She nodded and walked directly behind us, picked up the napkins and walked out of the shop. It was defining moment in my life.
I could see how they would label my white-haired friend as an ‘old guy’, but my hair was still ‘blondish.’ I guessed the clerk was talking about him.
A few days later, as we were walking out of church, the pastor’s wife commented on a new suit I was wearing. “I really like your suit, Ed. It goes so well with your hair.”
As we walked to the car, I asked my wife, “Do you think that this gray suit goes that well with my blonde hair?” She said, “You have to be kidding.”
I let it go, not wanting to correct her on a Sunday morning.
A few days later, one of our sons came by to visit and I made a comment about the bald spot starting to gain territory on the back of his head.
He laughed and said, “Like father, like son.”
I wanted to ask him what he meant by that but felt it was better for him to not talk about his balding any further.
Later, after he left, I asked my wife, “I wonder what he meant by ‘like father, like son.’ Funny remark, don’t you think?”
She shook her head from side to side and sighed deeply. “Come with me,” she commanded, taking me by the hand and marching me to the bathroom.
She took a large make-up mirror and held it to the back of my head. I jumped with a start. I had a bald spot twice the size of my son’s.
“When did that start?” I gasped. She smiled and said, “About ten years ago, when your hair turned gray.”
I left her there, smirking at me in the mirror and vowed to never use a mirror like that again. Easy enough for her to judge someone. Her hair seems to get darker every time she goes to the beauty parlor.
A few weeks later, the kids all came over for my birthday dinner. You feed them and they all come; wives, husbands and kids. I don’t know about you, but I really like having birthday parties and getting presents. Not big ones, mind you. I just like getting any presents. I can’t figure out why my wife avoids birthday parties.
I checked out my other sons and noticed that two others were facing the same problem as the first and was more than shocked to see that my youngest daughter’s hair was almost as gray as mine. By now I had spent enough time with my wife’s magnifying mirror to believe that I was at least starting to turn gray.
One of my grandsons gave me a gift he had wrapped himself. He hugged me and with a wide smile exclaimed, “It’s for you Poppa! Daddy and I picked it out.”
I opened it as he jumped up and down and I finally pulled out a new cap. Across the front, it read “Old Guys Rule.” Everyone laughed and clapped. I went to another package to sort of move everyone off that subject, and with my new cap on my head, pulled out a Tee shirt, picked up by one of the kids when they were in Hawaii.
The front of the shirt read, “Older than Dirt.” Everyone laughed. This wasn’t going well.
A few days later I received a call that ended it all. It was a fellow I knew from high school. He wanted to be sure I would attend our 55th class reunion.
“We old guys have to stick together,” he laughed. I sighed deeply.
I looked in the bathroom mirror long and hard that night. I finally figured it out. It really wasn’t me. It is just that all my kids are middle-aged.
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