Glad you asked and brought up the Phelps example.
1.The Baptist Church leadership, and the millions of Baptists do NOT, in any way, approve of Phelps actions while the LDS leadership is in FULL approval, nay even COMMANDS the practice of proxy baptism:
GREAT! So now you start to see a difference between a church and a faith, Mormons keep saying we are Christians for we believe in Jesus Christ, and many on this forum keep saying: no your not you don't believe X which all Christians believe. The really sad thing is they have no more right to say I am not a christian than Phelps has to say both of us are not Christian (for that is his position).
2. What Phelps does, repugnant as it is, is done OPENLY and he and his followers suffer the consequences of their actions, such as the lawsuit just recently filed against them. They do not perform their actions in secret "behind closed doors" while the relatives of the dead go uninformed.
OK, lets get something straight, unless you are not descended from Adam, you are my relative some way or another, probably much more recently than that (Noah comes to mind...) So everyone is my relative, if I am a descendent of John Jacob Jinglehimer Smith, why should you be able to stop me from doing his work just because his name is your name too? Besides, we PUBLISH everything that has been done ONLINE on the busiest and best Geological web site in the world
familysearch.org/
As for the Jews, I am a direct descendent of Abraham, and I have my genealogy to prove it, if I do his work, i should have that right and everyone else I can connect to as well, why not? Because you don't believe? Fine, you go off somewhere and have an anti Mormon vicarious unbaptisem for your family, by whatever authority you can scrape together, and you will not hear a peep from me about it, laughter maybe, but no complaints.
3. The actions of the Phelps group offend millions, but directly affect a smaller number of people. The proxy baptism of the dead, IF IT WERE KNOWN has the potential of directly affecting millions if they KNEW of this practice. Jews have protested the practice of baptizing their dead, the church leaders have agreed to stop the practice, but members continued the practice as late as 2004 after a 1995 agreement by church leaders to stop.
The protest by the Jewish community was because the rolls compiled by an organization collecting names of those who died in the holocaust were submitted by a well meaning member to be done, and they thought it was in poor taste, and I agree. The names they are finding now were submitted by descendants, and if another descendant objects well... Sorry about that, but what do they expect us to do, tell Jewish descended members they can't do temple work? Not gonna happen
"It's ridiculous for people to pretend they have the key to heaven," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. "And even if they say they want to do somebody a favor ... it's not a symbol of love. It's a symbol of arrogance."
What a quote, this guy fits right in with your group telling me if I love my ancestors or not...
The emphasis was on your assumption that what you did was
(a)somehow increasing your spirituality;
(b) instructed by GOD;
(c) serving Jesus the way HE has asked us to; (d) therefore benefiting you personally...NOT on your pleasant "date". How about E, all the above? I had a good time with my wife and we enjoyed it, is it your assertion that you can't enjoy doing God's work?
B
In other words, the experience to YOU, from your description, was noteworthy because of the effect on your self-esteem and YOUR eternal glory, for "doing the work", rather than benefiting the unknown dead for whom the "work" was performed. THAT is why I remembered your post so vividly.
Well, at least you remembered it.
Are Mormons doing this work to benefit the dead by giving them, what they believe to be a "second chance at salvation:"
It's not a second chance, it's the only chance, and yes, that is why, I could have done many things with my wife and do not *always* go to the temple. There is a down side to going to the temple, you see, I have a very resonant voice, and the celestial room is a place for revelation, not conversation, so if I want to talk to my wife, I need to leave.
Or are they doing it to further their OWN quest for "exaltation"?
Why are things always Either or with you people?
I suggest you answer your own question: Remember that both groups claim to be doing this out of belief, and that Fred Phelps' group are Baptists, and the people inside a building, being quiet are the Mormons, which is more offensive?
Interesting, I ask A question, and you decline to answer, but instead ask me to answer my own questions, very well, I will if you will.
IMHO what Mormons do inside their temples is beautiful and completely innocuous, for if we are wrong, at least we are not out knocking on door while we are doing it, and since if we are wrong we have no authority, it does not matter what we are doing, as long as our intent is to be respectful, and we do it quietly.
On the other hand, if we are right, then we are performing a service to all those whose names we perform ordinances for and we are acting according to God's commands.
Reverend Phelps and his followers however are trying to be disrespectful of the dead and the mourners in the loudest and most obnoxious way possible, they do not act in any way discretely, and on top of that, they intend to cause emotional pain and suffering on those they disagree with, it does not matter if they are wrong or right in their doctrine, their behavior is such that they are abhorrent to the very notion of good manners and propriety.
There, your turn.