As a worldwide Church with members in over 160 countries, we emphatically attest that Mormons do not practice temple baptisms to separate people from their heritage. Instead, we seek to unite generations of a shared heritage in eternal family units.

Whether a religion has existed for more than 5,000 years or less than 200 years, its survival and identity are built around sacred beliefs. It is critical that we respect one another’s religious beliefs and freedoms, and the Church believes that our 1995 accord with the Jewish group respects the rights of Holocaust victims while preserving the rights of Mormons today to honor their ancestors in one of their most sacred expressions of faith.

Elder D. Todd Christofferson is a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.