In reply to Barbara Logan.

Nothing in LCMS doctrine would state one way or the other. However, I would argue that burial makes a better confession of the body that God has created. The burning of the body has very few positive examples in the Scripture; it's almost always a consequence of God's wrath. When we bury a body, I believe we are making a better confession that God has redeemed this body and this body is worthy of our respect as a creation of God. Furthermore, the burning of the body often has connotations in many world religions with the release of the spirit, connotations that are decidedly un-Christian. It's something to keep in mind.