Sunday, November 9, 2008

Why don't Latter-day Saints baptize infants?

We believe that little children are free from guilt, and thus sin, until they reach the age of accountability. I must admit that I do not know the exact time for when a child becomes accountable before God, whether it be when he is baptized or before or after. I will continue to research it, but for now I'll just have to leave that question unanswered. It would be my guess, though, that it is different for every person.

Since we believe that little children are sinless, we believe that they are saved if they should die. Some of our good Christian friends might ask, "What about the Fall of Adam?" I say, what about it? Article of Faith #2 states that "we believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression." Christ's Atonement takes care of Adam and Eve's transgression, so we are born into this world as innocent as can be. Little children who die are made alive in Christ. (Mark 2:17, Mark 10: 13-16) (Moroni 8, D&C 29:46)

1 comment:

rainy said...

some of my extended family are being bad bad about my daughter's decision to become a member of the church. I thought she was blessed to have such good "sister missionaries"
It makes me kind of sad even though I am not
what can I do