Child baptism

SCRIPTURE: “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.” -Moroni 8:9-10. [source]

COMMENTARY: If children are not “accountable and capable of committing sin” before they are eight years old, then it must be because they are unable to distinguish between good and evil, fact and fiction. Children eventually give up their beliefs in the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny, because when they get old enough to be skeptical, adults will admit that those are just stories. What would happen if such an admission were never offered? Some things they might figure out on their own, but some they might go on believing their entire lives and teach as literal truth to their own children. But what do I know? I’m just another apostate.

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