Mormon Baptism after Death

I have multiple reactions to this Mormon practice of posthumous baptisms of strangers. Temple baptism rites performed for Obama's mother in Provo LDS temple

On the one hand, to try and change someone's religion after their death is an astounding act of hubris. "We know so much better than you," such an act says, "that we will change your religion after death." Moreover, God will let them? How does that work? According to Church doctrine, per the article: "The Church does not list persons as members of the Church or 'Mormons' merely because proxy baptisms have been performed. Church doctrine teaches that at some point the spirit of the deceased person will be informed that a baptism has been performed on his or her behalf and will be given the opportunity to accept or reject it." So, the damned are screaming in some pit somewhere and someone walks up and says "hi! you've received a proxy baptism!...." It's like some bizarre encyclopedia salesman skit.

On the other hand, it's cowardly. If you can't convince someone to join your religion during their lifetime, you go behind their back? How is that doing unto others, for that matter?

Finally, but most importantly...it's really meaningless. If someone proxy baptizes me after I'm dead, I haven't done anything to change religion, so as offensive as it sounds, nothings really changed, has it?

Tea report - Adagio Teas Black Tea Sampler

So, Faz gave me a gift certificate ages ago to Adagio Teas and they nudged me a few weeks ago and reminded me to use it. So, I ordered their black tea sampler so I could, you know, sample. Here's the results:

Keemun Concerto. Interesting, mild, probably not going to be a fave but good to serve someone whose tastes you don't know.

Yunnan Jig. Smooth, pretty hearty, good on a rainy day like today. I like it.

Golden Monkey. Sort of an earthy odor in the leaves, mild, smooth flavor. Gee, that sounds like a cigar ad.

Assam Melody. I like it.

Darjeeling #22. Much as I like them all so far, this one probably says "Sidra's day-to-day tea" the most.

Ceylon Sonata. Another good Sidra Daily Tea, I think, but prefer the Darjeeling #22.

Capricorn: Freebie. Some kind of flavored custom blend. Vanilla smell, but I don't taste any. Not a fave but I'll drink the rest of it and be so adventurous as to try other flavored stuff.

I came back and had another Keemun Concerto yesterday, now that I've tried them all, and I think I like it better the second time around.

Anyway, it's a goodly amount of yummy tea for $16 and the tins are cute. I love stuff like that.

Maine Gov Signs Same-Sex Marriage Bill

Maine does the right thing:

Same-sex marriage bill passes in Maine

Baldacci signs same-sex marriage into law

Soldiers for Christ

military prosletyzing in Afghanistan

The special forces guys - they hunt men basically. We do the same things as Christians, we hunt people for Jesus. We do, we hunt them down," he says.

I have to say, aside from the fact that the American military should not be proselytizing, that's in General Order Number One, that's a really creepy metaphor.