I am an amateur genealogist. I have been researching my family's history for over 17 years, and I have an extensive database of information and photographs. I can trace some branches of my family back over 500 years. If I could choose any career, it would be to be a professional genealogist and historian.
As a genealogist, I know that one of the greatest resources for researchers like me is the extensive collection of records compiled and archived by the Church of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons). This ever-expanding, searchable collection is one of the first stops for any new researcher and a reliable source of primary records. Genealogists can visit Salt Lake City for the greatest access, but there are also family history centers at Mormon churches throughout the world.
The reason for this, in simplistic terms, is that Mormons believe that it is important to provide everyone, even people who have died, with the opportunity to be baptized into the LDS church. In order to do that, you have to know who they were.
Andrea Stone, at the Huffington Post, has a great article that explores the potential ramifications of this practice for the Mitt Romney campaign. The loudest voices in opposition to the practice have come from Jews who protest that the posthumous baptism of Holocaust victims is a terrible insult to the faith that they were killed for having. The Vatican has also weighed in, directing Catholic churches not to release records to the LDS church for microfilming.
As a genealogist, I know that one of the greatest resources for researchers like me is the extensive collection of records compiled and archived by the Church of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons). This ever-expanding, searchable collection is one of the first stops for any new researcher and a reliable source of primary records. Genealogists can visit Salt Lake City for the greatest access, but there are also family history centers at Mormon churches throughout the world.
The reason for this, in simplistic terms, is that Mormons believe that it is important to provide everyone, even people who have died, with the opportunity to be baptized into the LDS church. In order to do that, you have to know who they were.
Andrea Stone, at the Huffington Post, has a great article that explores the potential ramifications of this practice for the Mitt Romney campaign. The loudest voices in opposition to the practice have come from Jews who protest that the posthumous baptism of Holocaust victims is a terrible insult to the faith that they were killed for having. The Vatican has also weighed in, directing Catholic churches not to release records to the LDS church for microfilming.
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