Queen Beatrix and
Consort Prince Claus of the Netherlands, one-
time members of the Dutch Reformed Church: Welcome to the
Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints. According to recently
uncovered Mormon Church records, Claus and perhaps Beatrix
have been baptized as Mormons – even if they are deceased.
Mormons Perform
‘After-Death’ Baptisms on Dutch Royals (Trouw, The Netherlands)
“Several
members of the Dutch royal family have been made members of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints - after their deaths. ... Church spokesman Hans Boom
says he can’t imagine why there would be objections to posthumous baptism. ‘It
is a gesture of love.’”
Several members of the
Dutch royal family have been made members of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints - after their deaths. In order to do this, members of the
church (better known as Mormons) have performed substitute baptisms for Prince
Claus, Prince Bernhard and Princess Juliana, among others.
This is evident from non-public
information gleaned from the genealogical database of the global church, which Trouw has come into possession of.
The Mormons have a
controversial custom, whereby in place of an ancestor who
did not undergo the procedure while alive, church members can immerse
themselves [in holy water]. This way, the ancestor, who has been identified by
genealogical research, can still enter heaven.
The Mormons rely not only
on the Bible, but on more recent revelations. In the first half of the
nineteenth century, American founder Joseph Smith is said to have received these
revelations directly from God.
In the United States, the
church can count a good deal of media interest. The Republican candidate for
president, Mitt Romney, has long been an active member of the church. According
to its own records, the Dutch branch has 8,900.
The church works with the provinces
The Mormons use civil
registry archives to obtain genealogical information. The church has offered to
scan all documents in every provincial archive in the Netherlands at no charge.
For the archives, which want to digitize and make available their collections,
this is an attractive offer.
But not all regional
historical centers want to cooperate with the goals of the Mormons: expanding
their genealogical database, in order to posthumously baptize more and more
citizens. For instance, the Gelders Archive allows church members to scan
documents, but the Utrecht Archive
does not. The Overijssel Archive is still undecided.
Under to the rules of the
church, Mormons may only “substitute baptize” their own ancestors. But not all
church members adhere to that rule. Reports of baptisms of Holocaust victims
like Anne Frank caused
outrage among Jewish circles.
Theology
It now appears that
members of the Dutch royal family have also been baptized in this manner. The
baptism of Prince
Claus took place at a Mormon temple in the Brazilian city of Campinas in
August 2004 (two years after his death). Hans Boom, spokesman for the Mormon
Church in the Netherlands, suspects that this was done by “overly enthusiastic”
members.
Boom says he doesn’t know
why his fellow believers have such an interest in the Dutch royal family. This might
be traced back to the Mormon theological view that "the noble and the great"
will be chosen to take on leadership roles or become "rulers in the Church
of God."
The Dutch government
information service, RVD, will not respond to questions about the baptismal activity
of the Mormon Church. But church spokesman Boom says he can’t imagine why there
would be objections to posthumous baptism. “It is a gesture of love.”
