Bruce - I'll bet we all have ancesters in our closets that we are not proud of. I'm a Carpenter and I know I do. So what. Why get into a spiritual truth vs historical truth argument. It isn't just a few Mormons who do not verify their lineages. From what I've seen most people do not. We all have to go on the best information we have at the time and then work from there. Even birth, death, etc., records aren't always reliable. As an attorney I can tell you, I've handled many paternity/custody/divorce cases where the father named on the birth certificate was not the biological father. Today this is something that can be challenged in our courts and today we can do DNA testing but that was not true for our ancesters. So don't be so quick to accuse. What genealogists rely on as evidence or proof of lineage is not always what would stand up in a Court of law. A birth certificate for example is only good for determining who the mother named as the father. It is not proof of anything. I think we all owe the Mormon church a great deal for the genealogical work they have done. And they did that work because of their belief in baptism for the dead. And we all benefit. Well I say praise the Lord. I'm off to my local FHC. Hava a great day. Kris