Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe strongly in the ordinance of baptism. We believe that it is a necessary step toward returning to our Heavenly Father. We are taught that no unclean thing can enter Heaven, and it is through baptism and repentance that we become clean, and therefore, we must be baptized. There is no way around it.
However, we do differ from some other churches in that we do not baptize our infants. We wait until the child is eight years old. We do this because we believe that baptism is more than just a symbol. When we are baptized, we are making a sacred covenant with our Heavenly Father that we will remember Him and do His will. A child who has reached the age of eight is old enough to understand the promises they have made, and to choose for themselves if they want to be baptized. They learn about the ordinance from their parents and at church, and then they meet with the bishop, who asks questions to determine if the child truly understands the choice they are making. It is only after these steps have been followed that a child is baptized into the Church.
We have another ordinance that we perform for our infants. We give them a name and a blessing. Men who are worthy Priesthood holders take the infant in their arms and pronounce a blessing upon its head, stating the name for the records of the Church. This is always a fun occasion – the mothers dress the babies in darling outfits and at the close of the prayer, the father, or another man who was chosen to say the prayer, holds the baby up so everyone in the congregation can see it. It’s a special moment.
Newborns are so sweet and pure. When we are baptized, it symbolically washes away our sins, and as newborns are not capable of sin, and this is another reason to delay the baptism until a later time, when the process of repentance can be explained and understood.
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