Ashes to ashes

When Cory West's mom died, he knew what to do: Take her to the mountains.

Frances Miller, who died in 2002, wanted to be cremated and have her ashes sprinkled high in the mountains "so she could see what was going on with us later in life," said West, a Bountiful resident.

So, following a family viewing and a memorial service in which her ashes were present, the family, elders and all, made the hike.

"It was pretty inspiring, I guess, seeing that," West said. "We went up, shed a lot of tears, talked about her and spread her ashes. Usually, we go up on Memorial Day and Mothers Day and spread a bunch of wildflower seeds up there. And then the next year, there's a bunch of different flowers coming up."

Cremations are becoming increasingly common among Americans. But the trend has been slower to catch on in Utah. Nationally, 32 percent of deaths resulted in cremation in 2005, the most recent data available from the Cremation Association of North America. That's up from 27 percent in 2001. Pacific states and the Mountain region, which includes Utah, led with 55 and 53 percent of deaths resulting in cremations.

But in Utah, it's just 22 percent less than half the regional average.

Income, educational levels and how far from "home" a person now lives weigh into the decision to cremate, said Mark Matthews of Palm Springs, Calif., second vice president of CANA's board of directors. But Utah's trends appear based less on finance and more on faith. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the predominant religion in Utah, doesn't ban cremation. But it is somewhat frowned upon here, one scholar says. That, however, could be changing. The practice has a long history.

Cremation was customary in ancient times in the Middle East and Asia. It was widely practiced among ancient Greeks and Romans and remains so in predominantly Buddhist and Hindu areas.

But cremation was opposed by ancient Jews, who viewed it as an act of idolatry or one befitting of criminals or the unrighteous, Roger Keller, a Brigham Young University professor or church history and doctrine, wrote in a 1991 Ensign article.

Early Christians took a similar stance, traced to the biblical book of Genesis that says God created all things, including the body, and pronounced them "very good," Keller wrote.

Customs began to change in the 19th century, however, due to unsanitary conditions in European cemeteries, Keller writes.