Mormons Posthumously Baptize Obama's Mother in Strangest Political Scandal Ever

In perhaps the strangest twist to the strange presidential campaign last year, it seems that there is new evidence that has surfaced saying that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints posthumously baptized President Barack Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunham. Church records, originally published by the liberal Americablog, show Dunham was baptized in June of last year, and even received another sacrament a week later.

The process of posthumously baptizing someone in the Church of Latter Day Saints is an unusual one, and one that is supposed to be done at the request of a family member. The Mormon church is now launching a thorough investigation into how Barack Obama's mother could have received two of their most sacred sacraments seemingly without authorization.

Unauthorized posthumous baptisms by the Mormon church are nothing new. In the past, Jewish groups took great offense when the Church of Latter Day Saints posthumously baptized victims of the Holocaust. While the action was well-meaning, in that the Mormon church does not believe any unbaptized soul can reach heaven, Jewish groups took offense at the unauthorized baptisms. They were further angered when the Mormon church even went so far as to vicariously baptize Adolf Hitler.

Church officials have stated that vicarious baptism does not coerce the soul of the dead person to become Mormon. Still, the idea has been controversial since its inception, which is why it was explicitly banned by the Orthodox Church in the 4th century. Mormon practitioners claim that vicarious baptism is referred to in The New Testament (1 Cor. 15:29), and have been practicing them since 1840. Still, the idea is still controversial within religious circles.

The ritual entails the baptism of a person of the same gender on behalf of the deceased person. As with a normal Mormon baptism, the person is immersed, then informed of the baptism by the presiding member of the Mormon church. It is considered the most sacred of the rituals by the Church of Latter Day Saints, and asking for vicarious baptism of someone unrelated to the proxy is seen as a serious breach of doctrine.

"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 spokeswoman Kim Farah in an emailed statement. "The Church is looking into the circumstances of how this happened and does not yet have all the facts. However, this is a serious matter and we are treating it as such."

Ben Smith, Mormon Church investigates baptism of Obamas mother