Deseret News | Cremation rates steady in Utah

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Cremation rates steady in Utah

what's with this acceptance? | 5:56 a.m. Oct. 26, 2009

I am 52. I continue to be amazed that those older than I would choose the cremation option.

I read enough books in high school about the Nazi death camps of WWII and the gas chambers--and the ovens--that you could never convince me cremation is a pleasant idea.You would think those who lived closer to that era than I did would have even more aversion to it.

Not only is the idea of burning the body of someone I love completely repulsive and profoundly depressing, its connection will be forever linked to the atrocities of the heartless Nazis who employed it.

Yuck.

CuriousUt | 6:52 a.m. Oct. 26, 2009

Just a comment as to what do people normally do with the ashes after cremation and what are the rules in Utah regarding scattering if that is the case?

Old Fashioned Mentality | 6:58 a.m. Oct. 26, 2009

What difference does it make how you are buried and your body is taken care of after death? Does any of you that don't prefer cremation really think that in a period of a year or two the condition of the corpse is much different? It's a personal choice I hope, not driven by religion or morticians, but quite frankly family choice. In the end there is no difference between the two so do what you want and can afford people. These conventional funerals(emballment) are awfully pricey and we probaly enter into that present day word when talking to the funeral homes and that is greed and money!

Comments continue below

Jim T | 8:04 a.m. Oct. 26, 2009

I told my wife when I die save the money, spend it on the grandkids and spread my ashes across the farm and tell the kids papa still out there at work.

Anonymous | 8:12 a.m. Oct. 26, 2009

If someone is choosing an option other than burial, why not donate your body to a medical school for research and training; the school will then cremate the body and return ashes to the family.

Dave | 8:55 a.m. Oct. 26, 2009

I am active LDS and think cremation is the moral thing to do for the environment. If budgets are tight it is also the responcible thing to do for your family. Embalming fluid, concrete vaults and limited land resouces are all good reasons for cremation. I don't understand why someone would want to rot away??? To the first comment, I would say rotting is more repulsive then being burned to ashes and then having them spread in your favorite setting.

bjdoc425 | 9:07 a.m. Oct. 26, 2009

I liked "old fashioned mentallity comment. Let it be each ones choice. Just beware, The Utah funeral industry has protected itself well, and limited your choice of respectful disposition of earthly remains. Embalming is an old practice, now outdated with refrigeration until burial or cremation. Vaults are never used in Europe. They just leave a large mound of earth above the coffin, which settles flat in one year.
I already have master crafted our own pine boxes, and now I have the peace of mind that I will leave my loving wife, with no unpleasant expense when we die.
I am proud of my grandfather, every time I visit his room of books at the public library. We honored his request for donations to the library instead of flowers which die. His books will enrich others life's for years.
What greater gift, can you give, than donating your remains for science. When in Medical School we were always taught to honor the person who gave their body that we might bless mankind.

Estates Attorney | 9:38 a.m. Oct. 26, 2009

I have numerous clients who are concerned about this issue. And I have spent a great deal of time researching it, especially with regard to the stance of the LDS Church as many of my clients belong to the Church and have expressed grave reservations about cremation as being doctrinally sound. The conclusion that I have arrived at is that this aversion to cremation is purely a cultural, and not a doctrinal, issue. The LDS Church has not taken a stance on cremation other than to say that it is a personal choice. Some LDS commentators have frowned upon it, but never based on a doctrinal foundation. Plus, look at this from a common sense standpoint: if one believes that resurrection will restore the physical body to perfection, and if people die in all manner of ways, ofttimes leaving the body completely unrecognizable or even disintegrated, then why should it matter how one disposes of one's earthly remains? Additionally, for millenia, many cultures around the world have considered cremation to be a honorable and reverent method of parting with their dead. Why should we allow Hitler and his monsters to change that?

Anonymous | 9:49 a.m. Oct. 26, 2009

Jim T, that was awesome. Live a great life, my friend.

It's so much about the $$ | 10:01 a.m. Oct. 26, 2009

My grandmother died last year, and even though she had pre-purchased her casket and had a grave location next to grandpa...the expenses of her final arrangements ASTOUNDED ME. Thousands upon thousands upon thousands of dollars! It blew me away, this being my first experience with taking care of a loved ones burial. It seemed immoral and wrong, how much is charged for final arrangements. An atrocity! I wonder how they can get away with it. It makes me even more inclined to opt for cremation. Why burden your family with thousands of dollars of expenses, just to bury an empty husk of a mortal body? I don't see the logic in spending $3,000 on a beautiful casket, that, although it will look 'lovely' at the funeral service for 3 hours, is just going to be buried in a concrete crypt never to be seen again. Why spend so much?

to Estates Attorney | 10:15 a.m. Oct. 26, 2009

You are exactly right, and I would add the following - It seems immoral to spend thousands of dollars on embalming, a casket, and a vault when it's all going into the ground to wait for resurrection.

It's much more morally satisfying to spend that money on something better. My wife and I will be cremated, and the ashes will be interred. The savings difference will be donated to the PEF to bring education and a better life to someone in the third world. That's satisfaction.

Roland Kayser | 10:23 a.m. Oct. 26, 2009

To what's with this acceptance: I personally find the thought of being put in a box six feet underground to be rather creepy. Cremation it is for me.

SLC gal | 10:48 a.m. Oct. 26, 2009

If you believe your body is a temple, burning it, even after death, can seem like a form of destruction.

billybubba | 10:57 a.m. Oct. 26, 2009

my wife hated the small town she is from but wants to be crematted so i told her if that is her choice then i would take her aches west of this town and when the wind is blowing right into town i would let her fly

Susan | 11:11 a.m. Oct. 26, 2009

I agree with Dave, while at the same time I struggle with the break from traditional burial practices. I grew up in Utah where "viewings" were a big part of the funeral process, followed by a permanent burial place that could be visited often, particularly on Memorial Day. In the state I live now, viewings are rare and cremation is common....like Dave says, to help protect the environment. Filling the ground with vaults that slow down the inevitable process of physical deterioration is just as objectional as what it costs to put them there.

It's obvious that Utah's cremation rates do not increase because of it's LDS population that looks to church leaders for guidance on important life and death decisions. Perhaps this will be a topic they will consider appropriate to address more in the future. I hope so, because I'm 70 years old and trying to make plans.

Boris | 11:11 a.m. Oct. 26, 2009

Well, most people who are English, Scottish, Irish and French all like to be buried in the ground so that their descendants can dig them up in 100 to 200 years as to see how the ground has been treating their bones. A very good English or European tradition. Bury them to day dig them up tomorrow ;o]

$$$$ | 11:13 a.m. Oct. 26, 2009

I fear the cost of burial. Even cremation costs double to three times in UTah what Consumer advocates say it should cost. Why is this? It's expensive to die. I'm LDS, but fear that I will leave my family with a huge expense. I've told them I would prefer cremation. What if we can't even afford that? Then what?

A thin metal box...... | 11:34 a.m. Oct. 26, 2009

Costs over $7,000--- the cement vault costs $2,000
so you end up spending around $10,000 to be buried-
I'm 65-- cremate me and bury the ashes in a hole in the back yard--- I don't even want a funeral ---

Knowwhat | 2:11 p.m. Oct. 26, 2009

What most of you selfish people don't realize is that the funeral is not for you, its for the family that is left behind to help the greaving process. Whether you are burried or burned.

Michael | 2:45 p.m. Oct. 26, 2009

About 25 years ago a book was written pushing for reforms in the funeral industry-20 years later the author revisited the whole matter and concluded that no appreciable changes had occurred either with the practices or with state(s) legislation. I guess global warming is a much more popular topic. . .

Susan | 5:28 p.m. Oct. 26, 2009

My thanks to "Estates Attorney." What you wrote was very helpful and makes total sense.
Coincidentally, a mailer advertising cremation was in my mailbox today. I'm sending it back for more information.

Stephen | 5:55 p.m. Oct. 26, 2009

The fact is, the popularity of cremations is growing almost exponentially in Utah and will continue to be a very viable option for final disposition. Local funeral homes are greatly concerned that individuals and their families choosing the cremation option be treated with the utmost dignity and have invested heavily in tasteful and comfortable facilities. By the way, due to technological advances, the sensory and environmental impacts of cremation are nil. No ashes spew into the air and flames are not visible. Everything is contained in a unit called a retort. According to the National Funeral Directors Association, 27% in Utah will choose the cremation option by 2010. It is a dignified and viable option for final disposition and I urge everyone to take the time to get informed and educated. I am not a funeral director but know that we have some of the most professional and well-trained individuals who work in this industry right here in Utah who can answer many questions including those of a religious and cultural nature.

Dead Letter Writer | 11:57 p.m. Oct. 26, 2009

I'm LDS and prefer to to be laid out in a modest casket for my viewing. However, cremation is acceptable to me if the circumstances of my demise indicate a closed casket: violence to the body, contagion, or perhaps unattended decomposing remains. Clearly, if a viewing is not possible or would distress my survivors, cremation would be more sensible. If cremation could follow the viewing and graveside service, I could accept it.

grieving mom | 12:11 a.m. Oct. 27, 2009

My thought is that the body is the temple of one's spirit, and is to be treated with respect and reverence during life and when death occurs. Whenever possible, the body of a loved one should be consigned to the earth, and nothing should be done to it that is destructive or disrespectful. The loss of a loved one can be so very painful. Having a special place where their remains have been buried, and which has been dedicated by one who holds the priesthood, can be a great source of comfort to those left behind.
Although we know a loved one's spirit doesn't dwell there, the grave can be a special place that helps in the grieving process.

No right or wrong | 1:06 a.m. Oct. 27, 2009

Such an incredibly personal choice - no one is in the wrong. Both my beloved grandparents donated their bodies to the U of U. Their ashes were returned to us in time, and they are buried in their plot in the cemetary. I've told my husband I want to be cremated and my ashes spread over the ocean - my favorite place, where I've always felt the most at peace. It's my hope that when (in 40 more years!) my family visits the ocean, they'll feel my presence and be happy.

bjdoc425 | 2:00 a.m. Oct. 27, 2009

Thank you small metal box.
Vault companies charge $200.00 for a vault, and bill the Mortuary. If they sell direct, they are blackballed and driven out of business. What did you pay for the vault thru your funeral director.
You can no longer have your Doctor sign your death certificate, it must be done by a Funeral Director. The Health Department will no longer give you a Death Certificate to be signed my your Doctor.
The Death industry in Utah, really has it morbid hands in your pocket.

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