Spring is officially here. Warm weather seems imminent, and for many, the memories of the Easter Holiday are still fresh in the memory. For some Easter represents little more than egg hunts, chocolate bunnies, and perhaps a nice ham for Sunday dinner. For others--for believers--Easter represents Christ's atonement, and the idea that there will be life after death. And then there is what it means for Mopologists.
I'm sure that there are some here who recall Dr. Peterson's post entitled, "Elegaic Thoughts on Why It Matters So Very, Very Much." In it, DCP recounts a story that he has told more than once, in which he and his wife, while visiting his parents' graves, bump into a chap named "Frenchy" who is also at the cemetery in order to visit the grave of his late wife:
I have already expressed criticism about this story. In essence, I find it rather sadistic that Dr. Peterson would actually *excitedly* check to see whether poor, lonesome 'Frenchy' had at last "kicked the bucket." Rather than wishing that Frenchy would find some kind of solace in the years he had left, Dr. Peterson was rather giddily hoping that the guy would die as soon as possible. (A hope that, as Dean Robbers correctly pointed out on another thread, is never extended to aging LDS General Authorities.)DCP wrote:I think it was on our first visit to the cemetery after my mother’s passing that my wife and I, driving up the rather steep hill toward my parents’ graves, noticed an elderly man who was toiling painfully up the road. We pulled over and asked him whether he could use a ride. Yes, he said, he could. He was walking to put flowers on the grave of his wife, whose loss, it soon became clear, he still felt with acute pain.
We invited him to ride with us and asked him to tell us where to turn. To our astonishment, his wife’s grave turned out to be about four or five feet from my parents’ burial place. It was separated from their graves by his own tombstone, with his name, “Frenchy M. Morrell,” and his birthdate inscribed on it but, obviously, no death date. We talked for a while, and he spoke movingly about how much he missed his wife, Wanda, who had died in 1985. He was horribly lonely, and he longed to be with her again. We offered him a ride back down the hill and to wherever he wanted to go, but he had planned on spending several hours there by his wife’s grave, and he declined our offer. We never saw him again.
We’ve returned, and I’ve come back alone, many times since then. Whenever I’m in southern California, if I can do it, I visit the cemetery. Every time for years, I looked to see whether Frenchy had finally gotten his wish.
Visiting in the spring of 2013, we immediately noticed that the grass next to my mother’s grave was fresh, and so, with some excitement, I hurriedly walked over to confirm what I suspected: Frenchy was gone. He had died on 30 August 2012.
I was deeply happy for him.
But it turns out that there are other elements to this story. Thanks to the work of an anonymous "Informant," some new information has come to light. It turns out that the Mopologetic selfishness at the core of this narrative goes beyond perhaps anything we have ever seen from them. We have known all along that their work is fundamentally self-serving and that they will freely exploit vulnerable people to accomplish their aims, or to craft highly tendentious "narratives" that suit their agenda.
Shortly before wrapping up his post and wishing his readers a "Happy Easter," Dr. Peterson notes that he placed flowers on Frenchy's grave:
Note that this was in 2013. So, what happened after that? DCP writes thatWe took some of the flowers that we’d brought for my parents that day and placed them on his grave.
Except not quite, right? Recall that one part of the LDS Church's "Four-Fold Mission" is to "Redeem the dead." This would mean that, in order for Frenchy to *actually* reunite with his wife, per DCP's wishes, that someone would have had to do his ordinances for him and his wife. So, did someone do that?"After twenty-seven long years of sorrowful separation, he [i.e., Frenchy] was with his wife again. And my faith tells me that he really is, not merely metaphorically.
According to my "Informant," the answer is yes: per Family Search--someone, whose name my Informant did not recognize, created an entry for Frenchy in 2017--a good 5 years after DCP placed flowers on his grave. This raises a question: If Dr. Peterson was really so happy for Frenchy, and if he truly does believe in the Church's four-fold mission, then why didn't *he* do the priesthood work for Frenchy? It seems a bit like he hung the poor, lonely widower out to dry, doesn't it? And it's worth bearing in mind that during all these years, Dr. Peterson has maintained his usual busy schedule of flying around the globe, dining out, and courting donors for his various film projects. I guess he was too busy to be bothered with something as trivial as ordinances for this old man?
Luckily, it turns out that the Mopologists have what might be generously described as "lackeys." According to my Informant, the frequent "SeN" contributor known as "t. tangata neneva" was quite busy in an effort to take care of these matters. Tangata Neneva was so busy and so zealous, in fact, that he actually deleted the original 2017 record so that he could create a new one. As my Informant put it:
Why on Earth would n. tangata neneva go to the trouble? The most logical answer would seem to be: so as to kiss Dr. Peterson's butt. Indeed, Neneva writes about his doings in the comments second on DCP's "Why It Matters" post:Family Search indicates that [neneva] was quite busy on March 31. He changed the death, added a source (Find a Grave Index), added a relationship (Frenchy's marriage), and then did a merge (deleting a record for Frenchy Marceau Morrell). Notes next to these changes state: "I added before finding an existing record." He also added an alternate name: "Frenchy M Morrell."
Family Search indicates that the original record was created in 2017....Frenchy was married twice, so two sealings will need to be done.
Of course "mortal family" *had* already discovered them: the surname of that discovering family happens to be "Peterson." Again, one has to ask: does the Four-Fold Mission of the Church not actually matter? Filmmaking, dining out, hosting parties for Mormon Interpreter---these things all take precedence, I guess?n. tangata neneva wrote:I am grateful for the restored Gospel of the risen Lord. I am grateful for the priesthood keys that were delivered. This past month, I have been assigned to work in the sealing offices. It has been a phenomenal month observing the binding authority of priesthood keys. I am grateful that Brother "Frenchy" Marceau (1925-2012) and Sister Wanda Dale Hamilton Morrell (1926-1986) can be sealed (they are both in FamilySearch, waiting for mortal family to discover them).
Meanwhile, what *about* Frenchy? In the end, he seems like little more than a pawn in the Mopologists' games. Dr. Peterson did not care enough about him to bother with his temple work: in fact, he left Frenchy hanging out to dry for over a decade--merely recycling his story over and over again for rhetorical purposes and to score points with his most slavish disciples. And it worked: so zealous and anxious to please was tangata neneva that he actually deleted a pre-existing record for Frenchy! And there may be reason to think that the original record was created by one of Frenchy's family members. Scoring Mopologetic points would thus seem to take priority over a family's wishes for how to honor their dead.
In any case, the selfishness running through this chain of events is staggering. Dr. Peterson in particular ought to be ashamed of himself--not only is he shirking the Brethren's direct statement that he should be serving a Senior Mission, but he apparently also thinks that the Four-Fold Mission needn't apply to him (and bear in mind that he's posted many times about visiting various temples: I guess one has to assume that he was merely there for "sightseeing," as it were?).
All that said, I do see a possible path forward for the Mopologists. As my Informant pointed out, "Frenchy was married twice, so two sealings will need to be done." It seems to me that Dr. Peterson and/or tangata could redeem themselves here by taking care of these ordinances and ensuring that Frenchy gets to be a polygamist beyond the veil. Will they do it, though? We will have to wait and see.
In the meantime, we can continue to reflect upon just what it means, exactly, when Dr. Peterson says that "It Matters So Very, Very Much."
