Parents "Making" Kids Go To Church

[Anonymous]

On Own Now wrote:

I will simply point out for the record that most people exhibit more maturity when they are 8 than they do when they are 16… Bazzinga! (thanks for the idea, Sheldon).

Nice! I couldn’t agree more.

Of course, when I made the crack about being okay at 8 but not 16, I had my doctrinal tongue planted firmly in my cheek. My own child turns 8 in the next year, and is actually quite excited to be baptized. While I do think my child is mature enough to understand that he/she’s making a promise with God, I’m fairly certain he/she doesn’t have the faculty to understand the life-long implications of baptism, from a pur doctrinal perspective.

[Anonymous]

Kumahito wrote:

My own child turns 8 in the next year, and is actually quite excited to be baptized. While I do think my child is mature enough to understand that he/she’s making a promise with God, I’m fairly certain he/she doesn’t have the faculty to understand the life-long implications of baptism, from a pur doctrinal perspective.

Congrats. That’s a great moment to be a parent.

In regards to the life-long implications… I look at baptism as more of an opportunity than a commitment. It’s an opportunity to begin to live a god-centered life, putting away human frailties, and being underwritten by the power of the atonement.

Generalizing, perhaps that is an alternate way to teach our kids rather than simply making them go to church. I think too many young people do not understand in the slightest that “church” is about spirituality, worship, finding inner peace and strength, and sharing that with others for mutual benefit. I think instead, that teenagers too often think of church as a chore for which their parents have volunteered them.

[Anonymous]

Ann wrote:

With tears in her eyes my daughter recently said, “Now I know how ______________ felt.” So, if nothing else, she’s developed more empathy.

Wow. That’s a great thing for them to develop at that age. Well done.

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