The Cemetery Gates

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_subgenius
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The Cemetery Gates

Post by _subgenius »

Why do you suppose there are no Mormon cemeteries per se?
Most every major religion has institutionalized the burial, memorial, and bereavement process in the public forum - yet not the LDS church. Apart from an abandoned asset from last century the church has all but left members to their own devices with regards to final earthly disposition. Not to mention the ignored opportunity for the church to utilize a cemetery to proselytize like the Catholics have...and even endorsed by GA:

Wherever I travel, I try to pay a visit to the town cemetery. It is a time of contemplation, of reflection on the meaning of life and the inevitability of death.
- President Thomas S. Monson

Funerals.... are designed for the comfort, blessing, and edification of the living. ...They are proper occasions on which to preach the truths of salvation; to testify of the reality of the resurrection; to give comfort, solace, and counsel to the bereaved...
- Bruce R. McConkie

Three elements combine in a funeral as in no other meeting: the doctrines of the gospel, the spirit of inspiration, and families gathered in tender regard for one another. .... Many attend funerals who do not come to church regularly. They come subdued in spirit and are teachable. How sad when an opportunity for conversion is lost because a funeral is less than it might have been.
- Elder Boyd K. Packer

Show me the manner in which a nation or a community cares for its dead. I will measure exactly the sympathies of its people, their respect for the laws of the land, and their loyalty to high ideals.
-William E. Gladstone / Benjamin Franklin


So, anyone have any ideas about this rather obvious absence from the LDS infrastructure?


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_hagoth7
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Re: The Cemetery Gates

Post by _hagoth7 »

subgenius wrote:Why do you suppose there are no Mormon cemeteries per se?...

I don't quite follow. What would be the purpose of excluding others? What's wrong with community cemeteries where everyone's remains can be laid to rest, side by side, regardless of what church, if any, they attended? :question:
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https://www.lds.org/scriptures/Book of Mormon/alm ... ang=eng#20
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_moksha
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Re: The Cemetery Gates

Post by _moksha »

Congress authorized the Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Salt Lake City in 1874 so Jews and Gentiles would have a place to be buried in Zion. Prior to that time, Mormons put their dead in long boats and let them drift down the fjords to the Great Salt Lake, while at some point firing an arrow dipped in Brigham's Valley Tan Whiskey into the dragon sail, setting the long boat ablaze. This practice disappeared after the American Prohibition and whiskey became a premium commodity.
Cry Heaven and let loose the Penguins of Peace
_subgenius
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Re: The Cemetery Gates

Post by _subgenius »

hagoth7 wrote:
subgenius wrote:Why do you suppose there are no Mormon cemeteries per se?...

I don't quite follow. What would be the purpose of excluding others? What's wrong with community cemeteries where everyone's remains can be laid to rest, side by side, regardless of what church, if any, they attended? :question:


As with any "church" cemetery, by law, one cannot exclude anyone. This is true with Catholic cemeteries and other properties throughout the US.

The point is not the creation of a place for exclusion, but rather a place being created that becomes "something" in the community. A Catholic cemetery is certainly adorned with Catholic liturgy and is a desired location, via doctrine, within the Catholic community.
It just seems that an opportunity is being ignored by the LDS Church
Seek freedom and become captive of your desires...seek discipline and find your liberty
I can tell if a person is judgmental just by looking at them
what is chaos to the fly is normal to the spider - morticia addams
If you're not upsetting idiots, you might be an idiot. - Ted Nugent
_moksha
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Re: The Cemetery Gates

Post by _moksha »

subgenius wrote:It just seems that an opportunity is being ignored by the LDS Church


Do you envision such a cemetery it as being adorned with CTR Ring and McConkie Doctrine statues?
Cry Heaven and let loose the Penguins of Peace
_subgenius
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Re: The Cemetery Gates

Post by _subgenius »

moksha wrote:
subgenius wrote:It just seems that an opportunity is being ignored by the LDS Church


Do you envision such a cemetery it as being adorned with CTR Ring and McConkie Doctrine statues?

I don't believe I was envisioning anything at the moment, but your suggestions are good effort.
Seek freedom and become captive of your desires...seek discipline and find your liberty
I can tell if a person is judgmental just by looking at them
what is chaos to the fly is normal to the spider - morticia addams
If you're not upsetting idiots, you might be an idiot. - Ted Nugent
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