PRESIDENT’S MOM SUBJECT OF BREACH: Baptism after death in question.

      *The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is investigating the posthumous "baptism" of President Barack Obama's mother. Church records show that Stanley Ann Dunham, who died in 1995, was baptized last June 4 in Provo, Utah, and received endowment, another sacrament, a week later.

     Reported by Politico.com, a church spokesperson said Dunham’s posthumous baptism might have been a "serious breach" of religious code.

      "The offering of baptism to our deceased ancestors is a sacred practice to us and it is counter to Church policy for a Church member to submit names for baptism for persons to whom they are not related," spokeswoman Kim Farah told Politico.com in an emailed statement. "The Church is looking into the circumstances of how this happened and does not yet have all the facts. However, this is a serious matter and we are treating it as such."

      Mormons believe that souls cannot enter heaven without undergoing baptism and other sacraments, and that those sacraments can be given by proxy after death. Church leaders say the proxy could have been submitted by non-relatives or even pranksters.