Scott,

I apologize if I've offended you or anyone else by my discussion of my own
experience and views.  It is good to know that the LDS church does discuss
ethics in genealogy.  However, the church's recent collaboration with
Ancestry, Inc. as well as Ancestry's business practices regarding the rights
of the original creators of genealogical work, suggest to me that the church
perhaps needs to engage in a bit of introspection and teaching on this
subject.  You asked if I thought it fair to hold the church to account for
Ancestry's business practices. In this case, yes, I do.  The relationship is
apparently very close and the church appears to profit by it.

Libbie Griffin
>
> Date:    Sun, 5 Oct 2003 04:45:46 -0700
> From:    Scott Simpson <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: LDS Church and posting data
>
> A recent post on VA-ROOTS included this paragraph:
>
> "Some of my 'cousins' were members of the LDS church, and were a great
> help to me, as were the holdings of the church made available to me via
> microfilm.  However, other members of the LDS church who were also in
> this family have essentially destroyed much of the value of my work by
> placing much of it on the Internet and also into the AF, contributing
> it to Ancestry, etc.  They not only did this without my permission, but
> against my expressed wishes.  I've frankly wondered if the church
> encourages that kind of behavior in accomplishment of its greater
> goals."
>
> As a long-time member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
> Saints and a long-time genealogist, I'd like to assure everyone that
> there's no such encouragement from the church.  There is no
> encouragement to post one's genealogy on the Internet or otherwise to
> disseminate genealogical information.  (I have not, for example,
> contributed my data to the Ancestry File or the Pedigree Resource File,
> and have no intention of doing so.)  We are, however, encouraged to be
> honest and ethical in all of our dealings.  Anyone who would share
> information contrary to the wishes of the originator is departing from
> the teachings of the church.
>
> The same posting included this comment:
>
> "Ancestry's original owners were members of the LDS church, and I
> suppose there is still a personal connection between that corporation
> and the church which creates a close relationship -- in other words,
> even the church is, to some degree, 'managed' by Ancestry, Inc."
>
> Do you really think it's fair to attribute to the church, as an entity,
> the actions of a private corporation that happens to be based in Utah?
> (Would you do so in relation to the Baptist Church and a company based
> in Birmingham, or the Catholic Church and a company based in Boston?)
> There is no relationship between Ancestry, Inc. and the Church of Jesus
> Christ.  And the idea that a worldwide church with more than 11 million
> members (more than half of them outside the U.S.) would let itself be
> "managed" by a private corporation like Ancestry ... does that really
> make sense?
>
> As anyone knows who has visited my Web site
> (http://va.genealogy.tripod.com), I would never grab someone else's
> data and add it wholesale to my own
> (http://va.genealogy.tripod.com/sources.htm).
>
> Scott

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