What do Mormons think of infant baptism?
Personal Response by Alex Capanna
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) does not teach or practice infant baptism, basing its disapproval of the practice upon the foundation of modern day revelation, as well as, doctrine taught in the Bible and the Book of Mormon; as an aside, the evidence for the LDS position as found in the Book of Mormon, is always supported by the Bible and I have included those validating Biblical references. Moroni 8:10-11 states:
“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.”(1) (Emphasis added)
As the prophet Moroni states, baptism is required of those seeking repentance from sin, and the Latter-day Saints maintain that children are born into the world without sin and are not to be held accountable until the age of eight (the age at which most LDS children are baptized), on two accounts. The first is a paramount doctrine of the church, so much so that it was included as the second of thirteen articles of LDS faith:
“We believe that men will be punished [held accountable] for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.”(2)
In other words, Latter-day Saints abjure the doctrines of original sin and original guilt, and approach the concept of infant baptism within that context. A citation of LDS scripture that invalidates the afore mentioned doctrines, can be found in Moses 6:54 which teaches:
“Hence came the saying abroad among the people, that the Son of God hath atoned for original guilt, wherein the sins of the parents cannot be answered upon the heads of the children, for they are whole from the foundation of the world.” (Emphasis added)
In support of this scripture are the words of the Apostle Paul to the Romans:
“For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one [The Lord] shall many be made righteous.”(3)
Secondly, the church teaches that it is crucial that someone be cognoscente of the commandments, have a general understanding of right and wrong, and be- at the very least- teachable about the concept of accountability for one’s actions, prior to baptism; all of which are traits not typically associated with younger children, especially infants. Support for this position comes to us from the words of Paul to the Romans, once again:
“For where no law is, there is no transgression.”(4)
It goes without saying, that newborn children are neither aware of the law nor do they possess the cognitive ability to a choose sin over righteousness, and according to Paul, are therefore without “transgression”. Another aspect to this argument is that the Lord petitioned his apostles and prospective members of the early church, to “believe and be baptized”(5). An infant cannot express a belief in anything, let alone faith in a Savior who atoned for sins they haven’t even committed yet.
So, in conclusion, based on the evidences shown above, the LDS Church has determined that infants are not born into this world guilty of Adam’s or anyone’s sin, and that their inability to comprehend the laws and commandments of the Gospel, leave them without need of a baptism “unto a remission of sins”(6) until they are age eight or older.
- Alex C.
(1) Moroni 8:10-11, The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ
(2) Articles of Faith, article 2
(3) Romans 5:19
(4) Romans 4:15, (Ibid.)
(5) Mark 16:15-16, Romans 10:14
(6) Mark 1:4, Luke 3:3
Tags: Baptism, Infant, Mormons, Mormons & Catholics, Original, sin
This entry was posted on Thursday, September 11th, 2008 at 3:54 pm and is filed under Mormons & Catholics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
September 22nd, 2008 at 10:02 pm
hi, as a member of the church who married a catholic I have a few thoughts on this topic as well. I in every regard do not believe in “original sin.” Nor do I personally believe in infant baptism. Though, I have to say that God does require us all to be baptized. We in the church hold 8yrs old to be the age of accountability -though i could no more see god condemning an eight year old than an infant. My point merely being: if all must be baptized regardless-what does it really matter when one is baptized. Also, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one [The Lord] shall many be made righteous.” only makes a case for original sin. No the best support quote. For as one’s -Adam’s sin-made many sinners, the lord made us righteous by way of atonement. that totally reads that original sin takes hold until we are baptized. Great article though. beautiful quote from Moses.
November 11th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
i know the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints is the very true church of jesus christ
December 9th, 2008 at 1:50 am
Thanks for the comment Jared. In regards to your suggestion about eight years old being too young for God to ‘condemn’ someone, I completely see where your coming from but feel that your use of the term ‘condemn’ is a bit too strong. I think it is reasonable to conclude that an eight year old cannot sin so grievously that they should receive excommunication, but it is also reasonable to conclude that a child at that age has more of an understanding of right and wrong and who the Savior is than a new born. It is also interesting that you disagree with my use of Romans 5:19 and then reverie over my citation from Moses, when they reflect not only the same idea but parallel each other in construction. All verse 19 is saying is that Adam ushered in sin (and death) into the world; so, while someone could attempt to use this scripture as evidence in favor of infant baptism, it would serve as weak support at best. Reason being, that if one continues to assume that from the time of Adam to the epoch of Christ’s atonement, no one was receiving repentance, they are completely ignoring the blood sacrifices of the scape goat and firstlings of the flock found in the old testament, that were used as a type for the atonement. Yes, “by one man’s disobedience, many were made sinners”, but it is unclear from this scripture alone whether they were made sinners because they choose to sin after the fall, or were made sinners inherently as a product of the fall. With the exegesis from the Book of Moses it becomes clear that Adam brought the condition or option to sin into the world, and that infants will not be held accountable for their innocence. I like to think that baptism at the age of eight is not setting a child for up failure, but with good parenting and the teaching of strong values, is more like giving them a head start for the tough times ahead. You asked, “what does it really matter when one is baptized”, and my answer to you is that the age someone is baptized obviously matters to God, who is all-knowing and merciful, and that beyond the reaches of my article, our Father in Heavens word and our faith in Him trumps all else.