Dear Sir:
At first, when I read about the baptizing of the Jewish dead by the
Mormons, I was horrified (“Mormons Target Jewish Dead,” Forward, July 8).
But then the article went on to list some of the notables who have already
been baptized: Judy Garland, Jack Benny, W.C. Fields (who insisted nevertheless,
I am sure, that he would rather be in Philadelphia), Humphrey Bogart, Lucille
Ball, Fred Astaire, Boris Karloff (but he is really the undead, so he doesn’t
count), Marilyn Monroe (what was shewearing?), and Walt Disney (The
Little Mermaid?).
So, why not me? Does my zayde not deserve to be in the company of these illustrious people? Perhaps he’ll think he’s in the mikve?
One suggestion, though. You better get the name right of the founder
of the Mormon religion, whose picture appears on the front page. He was
Joseph Smith, not John Smith. Otherwise, they’ll have to baptize
him again. Do you think that he was Jewish?