I'm not sure why the vagaries of the LDS Church's genealogical database continue to fascinate those of us who are not in the LDS Church's IT department, but I can never resist Helen Radkey's updates ---on famous personages whose names somehow end up slated for posthumous baptism and/or marriage. I think it's because I've got a little crush on Helen. She truly is a remarkable woman, and a colorful character on Utah's Landscape of the Unusual.

That being said, I sometimes wonder if these reports really merit the kind of Sturm und Drang with which they're normally accompanied in the media. I asked Radkey if the mere presence of a name in the New FamilySearch database indicates that an actual ordinance was performed in the LDS Temple -- and, if it does, why should we care?

Radkey's answers to the Q&A will appear in an upcoming post. Till then, here's a rundown of recent reports of celebrity Temple activity:

Radkey Update -- June 1, 2010: "Jesus Christ was baptized and 'sealed' to Mary Magdalene in the Salt Lake (Mormon) Temple"

Of course, the prospect of The Big JC's purported marriage to Magdalene opens up a whole theological can o' worms -- for one thing, it gave us The Da Vinci Code and Tom Hanks' famous uber-geek quotation "I have to get to a library -- fast!" (I still maintain, however, that Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum got the whole Grail/Illuminati conspiracy thing better.)

The LDS Church tries to prevent frivolous and/or fraudulent entries from being entered into the New FamilySearch database system. Radkey says the person who entered the names into the New FamilySearch database may have intentionally misspelled names in order to bypass automated system safeguards.

According to Radkey:

On May 27, 2010, there were two similar records for Jesus in New FamilySearch which had been submitted by the same person. One listing was titled “Jesus Christian,” and showed “Jesus Christian” was born “before 1500 Bethlehem, Israel,” and died “before 1550 Jerusalem, Israel.” LDS ordinances were tagged as “Not available” on this record. The other entry was for “Jesus Cristian,” who was born “before 1502 Bethlehem, Israel,” and died “before 1539 Jerusalem, Israel.” The entry for “Jesus Cristian” gave a description of LDS ordinances, along with the name of a spouse—“Maria Magdelena.”

“Jesus Cristian” was baptized and confirmed a member of the LDS Church by proxy on April 8, 2010 in the “Salt Lake City Utah Temple.” “Jesus Cristian” was also subjected to initiatory temple ordinances on April 8, 2010; an endowment ceremony on April 9, 2010; and a marriage “sealing” to “spouse” “Maria Magdelena” on April 9, 2010—all rites occurred in the “Salt Lake City Utah Temple.”

Radkey Update -- June 3, 2010: Gary Coleman

Here are copies collected today from New FamilySearch for Gary Coleman. ...

... Note the LDS ordinances have a block on them.

Puzzling evidence, indeed.