Years ago I read a brief newspaper article written by a reporter interviewing a distraught mother. She had been told by a clergy from a prominent church, that her little baby, who had died, could not be buried in the church’s cemetery because the child had not been baptized. She was also told that the child’s spirit would be sent to a less than favorable place. That doctrine is obviously contrary to Christ’s teaching, “Suffer the little children to come unto me”. The subject of that article comes to my mind every once in awhile and I wonder how such an erroneous doctrine could have been adopted by a Christian church.
Moroni, the son of Mormon, after being called to the ministry and while living apart from his father, exchanged epistles with him when important doctrinal issues came up. The following is part of one such epistle. “ And now, my son, I speak (write) unto you concerning that which grieveth me exceedingly; for it grieveth me that there should disputations rise among you. For, if I have learned the truth, there have been disputations among you concerning the baptism of your little children.” (Moroni 8:4 – 5) With that, Mormon went on to write what appears to be a revelation given him directly from the Lord. It is written very much like many of the latter day revelations given to Joseph Smith, the prophet of the restitution. “Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God. Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance; the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore, little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin; wherefore the curse of Adam is taken from them in me, that it hath no power over them.” (Moroni 8:6-8) Mormon than went on to explain, in his own words, what he felt should be taught in the church and how he felt about those who might promote the false doctrine of baptism for little children.
“And after this manner did the Holy Ghost manifest the word of God unto me; Wherefore, my beloved son, I know that it is solemn mockery before God, that ye should baptize little children. Behold I say unto you that this thing shall ye teach—repentance and baptism unto those who are accountable and capable of committing sin; yea, teach parents that they must repent and be baptized, and humble themselves as their little children, and they shall all be saved with their little children. And their little children need no repentance, neither baptism. Behold, baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments unto the remission of sins. But little children are alive in Christ, even from the foundation of the world; if not so, God is a partial God, and also a changeable God, and a respecter to persons; for how many little children have died without baptism! Wherefore, if little children could not be saved without baptism, these must have gone to an endless hell. Behold I say unto you, that he that supposeth that little children need baptism is in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity; …(Moroni 8:9-14)
Oh, how I love Mormon, his wisdom and his courage, there are many places in the Book of Mormon where he is found standing up for right and justice. In family history work, children who die before eight years of age are not baptized in our temples but are only sealed to their parents if they were not ‘born in the covenant’. Only those who die as accountable persons (8 years of age or older) are baptized in the temples of our God .
“Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?”(1 Corinthians 15:29). All, who are accountable, must be born again of water and of the spirit to enter into the kingdom of God, as Christ informed Nicodemus.