I had an online Mormon friend, a woman supposedly dying of cancer. I tried sharing the gospel with her, yet it went nowhere. She kept trying to get me to see how the book of Mormon is so good and all, and was urging me to read it. The day before she (supposedly) died, she said she knew she wasn't going to make it through, and she told me to not worry. The next day I got a message from a friend of hers saying she had passed on. As the funeral was in Utah, and we'd never met in person, I didn't go to the funeral.

A few weeks went by, and I was talking to a mutual friend online who was really heartbroken by the whole deal. She told me she'd had a dream about the dead woman - who had a message for me! Next day she told me she actually was 'talking' to her online! She also said she 'saw' the dead person appear in her room and talk to her and she told me the dead woman was trying to send me an email.

Well, that day, sure enough, I got an email saying "It's me." It was a normal email, except that she said she was dead, and knew things about my life that were vague enough to be gotten from our mutual contact, yet sounded real enough. It was really creepy -- especially when she said that she visits me a lot when I'm sleeping. And she went off again about how I need to read the book of Mormon.

I know Luke 16 says that if we have the Word, we don't need people coming back from the dead. So I emailed back and called her bluff and said, "I know you're alive, so find yourself someone else to trick." I then blocked the email address, and haven't heard anything since.

What do you think of this situation, and what would you suggest I do to control the creepy feelings that just won't go away? I've heard that Mormons will use deceit to try and get someone to join their group. Have you heard of such an extreme case? - Anonymous

Yes indeed, what a creepy situation! And I think you are right to totally reject the supposed message from beyond the grave, for the following reasons:

  • You never met the claimant in person; thus you were vulnerable to such a ruse.
  • The "information" she shared with you was vague, not specific. This points strongly to deception, and reminds one of the Psychic Hotline, a palm reader, or a common horoscope.
  • Although I have never heard complaints about Mormons using deceit to gain members, in this case I am afraid that's exactly what we have. Or else someone is impersonating a Mormon. (Nor would I recommend your trying the same trick, even though it would be sure to capture someone's attention!)
  • The Book of Mormon claims to have come through the mediation of an angel. It is merely the word of man, and we can be sure that no human being or angel ever has the right to "update" the message of the Bible. See Galatians 1:7-9.

I actually find the entire situation ironic. Here is a Mormon, who believes that after your death one of your descendants can be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins (!) -- whether you are willing or not -- feigning death as though it were vital to see you embrace the "truth"!

But the means do not justify the ends. Some people never seem to learn their lesson. (I think there's a moral somewhere in there for us, too.) Thanks for sharing this with us. The feelings I am confident will subside as you realize (and accept) that you were tricked. It happens to us all at some time!

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