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My son had his baptism preview today. He will turn 8 this year. I am glad that he wants to be baptized, but I was a little miffed during the preview because of this topic: Baptism for the Remission of Sins. What sins have seven year olds who are yet to be fully accountable by the age of 8 responsible for? I know I bought into this false doctrine and it screwed me up all the way until I went into the MTC (I held on to guilt and a sin I committed at age 9, just a year after baptism thinking I had blown it). A lot of my grief came because of the error of how repentance is taught to a 7 year old. Repentance is often taught as a step to be baptized, while for the seven year olds going on 8, it should be taught as an inevitable step after baptism that happens every week between partaking of the sacrament. One of the biggest pet peeves that I have is when someone preaches false doctrine that is widespread in the Church (that those candidates for baptism that will turn the magic number of 8 need to be forgiven for sin. What “sins” have those under 8 have committed? In the Book of Mormon it teaches that young children (those under 8, or the age of accountability) are alive in Christ and are not capable of sin. So why does an adult waste their time preaching to seven year-olds that when they are baptized all of the “bad” they have done will be washed away. What does my 7 year-old son need washed away?
The preaching or teaching moment should be discussing that they are being baptized like Jesus “To fulfill all righteousness, and to fulfill the commandment by the Father that all should come unto Christ and be baptized. The new life is a life partnered with Jesus Christ by entering into a covenant with him, and how special that relationship is. The sister at Church was speaking to the wrong choir. Her choir are those that are beyond the age of accountability and have sinned, and have to some degree sinned more so than a little seven year-old, who if dies to day (according to Church doctrine) would be exempt from the baptism ordinance. Therefore, if the child is between the ages of birth to 7.9999, and dies then they DO NOT need baptism. But, if the child dies after the age of eight, then baptism is needed.
I know the point is important to make that if you sin after baptism then you should repent and then be cleansed by the atonement of Christ through partaking the sacrament (renewing the baptism covenant ). I think this would be a better way to go about it, then by arguing that a seven year old who is baptized within a day, a week, or a month of his eighth birthday needs to be baptized for the remission of sins.
Quote:My son had his baptism preview today.
jamison, IMHO, your point is valid, I echo your reason, all I can say is this is another one of those things(perhaps your exact point) that causes us to think about what the Savior and the atonement are really about vs. what some members do and say in the church.
By the way, I hope the rest of your son’s baptismal experience is exactly what the Savior himself would want! I sense a great love and concern on your part for your children, that IMO is what God wants us to experience and learn in this short life. If all parents only cared so much as you do …
Now I feel really stupid. My son is getting baptized tomorrow and he mentioned one purpose was washing away his prior sins. I suppose he’s had a few in the week or two since he turned 8, but, your point is well-taken. I make it a point that his baptism made him a member of the Church with a willingness to be kind to others in the Church, and a commitment to live the commandments for the rest of his life. We did tell him he was probably going to make mistakes after baptism, and the role of reptentence and taking the sacrament. Frankly, I’m not sure how much of all this he got, but he keeps saying he wants to do this….
Yeah, sometimes you just have to vent privately – and teach them the “correct” doctrine on your own. Just for consideration, however:
Doctrinally, 8-years-old is a general approximation for accountability. There are 20-year-olds who aren’t accountable in our eyes (and we get that and allow for it all the time) – but I bet there are those who are not 8 yet who probably are accountable. So, for them, maybe baptism includes remission of sins. I don’t know, since I tend to view it symbolically, anyway – and I teach my kids the principles underlying repentance as early as I think they can understand them whether or not they qualify doctrinally as being accountable to God.
Old-Teimer wrote Quote:Doctrinally, 8-years-old is a general approximation for accountability. There are 20-year-olds who aren’t accountable in our eyes (and we get that and allow for it all the time)
Yes, what kind of conundrum am I in when I think about my son who has Autism. Do I baptize him “to fulfill all righteousness”? or do I just wait and see to see if he really understands the whole process. Chances are, he ain’t gonna get it.
I had two sister missionaries teach me before I was baptized. I fully understood that once I turned 8 I was fully accountable for myself. I also understood that after Baptism I could continually repent for the sins and mistakes I make through the Atonement of Christ and the Sacrament. The misunderstanding comes into play when people apply the 4th Article of Faith to children under the age of 8.
It is unfortunate that there is a disconnect between baptism at 8 or above and the reasons for Sacrament.
Yes, I have heard it taught both ways over the years. I don’t think most members would blink at a gentle correction on the subject, if done in the right way.
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