LDS Church investigates possible ordinances performed for Obama's late mother

Investigating published reports that posthumous temple ordinances were performed on behalf of President Barack Obama's deceased mother, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reiterated its policy regarding proxy baptisms.

"The offering of baptism to our deceased ancestors is a sacred practice to us, and it is counter to church policy for a church member to submit names for baptism for persons to whom they are not related," said LDS Church spokesman Scott Trotter.

"The church is looking into the circumstances of how this happened and does not yet have all the facts," he added. "However, this is a serious matter, and we are treating it as such."

Temple ordinances that included baptism for the dead were performed for Obama's mother — Stanley Ann Dunham, who passed away in 1995 — in June 2008 at the Provo Utah Temple, according to Salt Lake City resident and researcher Helen Radkey, who reported having found the ordinance records while doing research in the LDS Family History Library.

For much of the LDS Church's 179-year history, members have performed proxy baptisms in church temples on behalf of their deceased relatives.

Teaching that baptism and other sacraments and ordinances are required in order to enter heaven, the LDS Church also believes a just God will provide opportunity for all who have ever lived to receive gospel teachings and these ordinances, either in this life or the next.

In regards to the latter, church doctrine says a departed soul in the afterlife then has the chance to either accept or reject the ordinance work and that such proxy-ordinance offerings are both freely given and freely received.

Any teaching of coerced conversion or forced membership in the afterlife is contrary to church doctrine, and the names of those involved in proxy baptisms are not on church membership records.

The LDS Church has counseled its members to request temple baptism and other temple ordinance work only on behalf of their relatives, but it recognizes that sometimes well-meaning members bypass the instruction and submit the names of non-relatives.

The church also recognizes that due to pranks or carelessness, names of famous or infamous individuals or even fictitious names are sometimes submitted for temple work — all contrary to policy and often resulting in pain and embarrassment.

With millions of members providing names for proxy work worldwide, the church acknowledges the difficulty in preventing such incidents and often learns of them after the fact.

The reported LDS temple baptism of Obama's late mother is the latest of three incidents over the past year involving the church's proxy ordinance work.