Infant baptism — Section 34
Is the baptism of infants correct or incorrect practice?
Representative of a Christian church:
I read in the Book of Mormon (Moroni chapter 8) that Mormons consider it solemn mockery to baptize little children, yet we read in Psalms 51:5 the following: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me.” This, with Christ’s own word, “Unless a man be born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God” demonstrates that it is an unkind and incorrect teaching to damn little children by not baptizing them
Missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:
We teach and feel strongly that innocent little children are not damned because they should miss the ceremony of sprinkling. When David spoke the words you just quoted, he had been recently chastened by Nathan the Prophet who had prophesied the death of David’s child that was to be born of Bathsheba, with whom he had committed adultery. In this moment of great sorrow and anguish, he spoke bitterly of himself and his sins – even to the point where he felt he was “shapen in iniquity” and “conceived in sin”. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians: “What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price; wherefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” In other words, the scriptures tells us that our very bodies are God’s. Isn’t it logical, then, that babies, who come right from God’s presence, are God’s children, and that they are not sinful? Paul taught, “Where there is no law, they have no transgression.” (Romans 4:15) Since little children have no law, the have no transgressions. The only sin they have is that which they inherited from Adam, which Paul addressed when he said, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned, even so by righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” (Romans 5:12-19) Therefore, Paul taught that physical death was the only sin inherited from Adam, and that Christ paid for that sin so “all would be made alive”. (1 Corinthians 15:22) Yet, baptism and the Holy Ghost are necessary, so Peter taught “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, and the promise is unto you, and to your children”. (Acts 2:37-39) Which children? The ones that are able to repent, as Acts 2:38 points out. Whenever baptism was taught, it followed belief and repentance. Hence Christ said “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned.” (Mark 16:16) That is why we don’t baptize little children. Baptism is for remission of personal sins (Acts 2:38) and not for remission of Adam’s sin, because the precious blood of Christ has paid for it (Romans 5:12-19 and 1 Corinthians 15:21-22). Therefore, Christ taught, when he took little children in his arms, that “of such were the Kingdom of Heaven.”
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