Respecting the Dead

   Thomas S. Monson, President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, passed away recently at the age of 90. Many news outlets published obituaries. One obituary, published by a newspaper in a large eastern city, upset many members of the LDS church. ( I'm not naming the paper because I don't want to give it more publicity than it already has.)
  The obituary started out by mentioning that President Monson despite lowing the age at which women could serve as missionaries, did not allow women to be ordained as priests and mentioned his opposition to same-sex marriage. Many people were bothered by the fact that the newspaper wrote positive or neutral obituaries about other public figures who had recently passed away. Some viewed this as an attack on religion and religious people.
   There have been several articles about the outrage and anger felt by many LDS church members who feel that the late President Monson was posthumously attacked. An online petition is being circulated asserting that the newspaper used the obituary to attack the late leader and the church for political purposes. The petition requests that the obituary be rewritten and published and that the newspaper apologise. The petition has over 160,000 signatures.
   There are some who feel that the outrage is silly. They hold the opinion that President Monson has had negative things said about him before. He would not have cared about it. He would have gone on doing good deeds regardless of what is said or written about him. They believe that if the offended would truly honour President Monson's memory, they would go find those in need and help them. I can vouch for this. President Monson, during his presidency, did advocate kindness to all and serving others.
  I personally do find the obituary offensive, but not for the reasons given in the petition. My first complaint is that the late President Monson is identified as the leader of the Mormon church. There is no Mormon church. There has never been a Mormon church. The word Mormon has never appeared in the name of the church. Since 1838, the full, legal and proper name of the church is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Any responsible news organization should be able to get this right. (Although every obituary that I have seen, except two, have the Church's name wrong.)
  My other objection to the obituary is my belief that there should be respect for the dead. You can argue that one who has died no longer cares what is said or written about them. This is true. However, the vast majority of people who have died have at least one person who cared about them. The family, friends and associates of the one who has died should not have to hear about bad things that person has done. If nothing can good can be said then keep silent.
   I find it interesting that both sides of the political and cultural spectrum demand that they and their beliefs be given respect, yet they are unwilling to give respect to those who do not share their beliefs or culture. I also find it interesting that we pick and choose what to protest. The LDS church is often criticised for its stance on the ordination of women and on same-sex marriage.Yet the Roman Catholic Church, two Lutheran synods and the Baptist Church hold the same views and are not criticised as often.
  The group that is not outraged have also said that the newspaper is not going to apologise or rewrite the obituary. I've read where some think that the petition is a waste of time. I would disagree. I believe it is important to speak up even when it seems to be a lost cause. Asking a new organization to be respectful of another human being despite differences in political and cultural views is a cause worthy of speaking out.