Baptism at 8 years

[JAHS]

"And again, inasmuch as parents have children in Zion, or in any of her stakes which are organized, that teach them not to understand the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ the Son of the living God, and of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost by the laying on of the hands, when eight years old, the sin be upon the heads of the parents." (D&C 68: 25)
Obviously when they are very young if you go to church the children have to come with you. They can't stay home alone.
The above scripture says parents should "teach" it to their children, but should it be part of LDS parents responsibility to make the choice for their children to see that they are baptized at 8 years of age or is such an important decision, something that should wait until they are old enough to make a more educated choice about what religion, if any, they should belong to?  What do you think are the pros and cons of each choice?

Edited January 31, 2016 by JAHS

[Glenn101]

   I did not vote, but pretty much go with the second option. I do not think that Bishop would assent to the baptism of a child who does not wish to be baptized, nor do I think that the Lord will hold the sins of a child against the parents if that child has been taught the principles and still refuses to be baptized.

 

I reject the third option. The age of accountability has been established by revelation, although it is not a hard and fast rule. It is designed to come into play when a child is old enough to understand the difference between right and wrong, not when he or she is old enough to understand the covenants that are entered into. I think there are many children who understand right from wrong well before they are eight years of age.

Glenn

[theplains]

21 minutes ago, Glenn101 said:

 I think there are many children who understand right from wrong well before they are eight years of age.

Glenn

I've heard them referred to as "little devils" as they pass through the "terrible-twos" phase.

Regards, Jim

 

[JAHS]

41 minutes ago, Glenn101 said:

   I did not vote, but pretty much go with the second option. I do not think that Bishop would assent to the baptism of a child who does not wish to be baptized, nor do I think that the Lord will hold the sins of a child against the parents if that child has been taught the principles and still refuses to be baptized.

 

I reject the third option. The age of accountability has been established by revelation, although it is not a hard and fast rule. It is designed to come into play when a child is old enough to understand the difference between right and wrong, not when he or she is old enough to understand the covenants that are entered into. I think there are many children who understand right from wrong well before they are eight years of age.

Glenn

But does an 8 year-old really know what's best for him and his future? When an 8 year-old says he doesn't want to get baptized it could be that he is just afraid of being dunked under the water.

[The Nehor]

If you believe the Doctrine and Covenants then at eight they are aware enough. If you do not it does not matter as baptism is just a highly ritualized meaningless bath.

I am of the opinion that almost no one is aware enough to make the decision. God disagrees with me so I will trust his conception of how it should work.

[Traela]

16 minutes ago, JAHS said:

But does an 8 year-old really know what's best for him and his future? When an 8 year-old says he doesn't want to get baptized it could be that he is just afraid of being dunked under the water.

 

Actually, that's exactly why my younger son didn't want to get baptized.  A few one-on-one swimming lessons later, he was good to go.

 

[JAHS]

1 minute ago, Traela said:

 

Actually, that's exactly why my younger son didn't want to get baptized.  A few one-on-one swimming lessons later, he was good to go.

 

Same thing sort of happened to me. I hadn't learned how to swim yet and didn't want to get baptized. But I decided to practice holding my breath in a sink full of water and made it through the baptism.

[Calm]

One of the reasons I had my youngest take swimming lessons.

[Glenn101]

50 minutes ago, JAHS said:

But does an 8 year-old really know what's best for him and his future? When an 8 year-old says he doesn't want to get baptized it could be that he is just afraid of being dunked under the water.

 

No, an eight year old does not know what is best for him or her and his or her future. Give an eight year old the choice between a piece of chocolate cake or a plate of vegetables, most would take the cake. (That was bad, I know.) The being scared of water is a good point, and is something that should be discovered in the baptismal interview or by the parents.

Other posters have made some good comments on that also.

 

Glenn

[JLHPROF]

3 hours ago, JAHS said:

wait until they are old enough to make a more educated choice about what religion, if any, they should belong to? 

Nope.
It's true, children aren't fully capable of making 100% educated choices.
And neither are we.
You know what can aid in making correct choices?  The spirit of God and the Gift of the Holy Ghost.  Not giving such a blessing to your child out of respect for their future agency is like not teaching them to read english in case they want to learn french later.

It's not like they can't reject the truth later on.

[The Nehor]

4 hours ago, Glenn101 said:

 

No, an eight year old does not know what is best for him or her and his or her future. Give an eight year old the choice between a piece of chocolate cake or a plate of vegetables, most would take the cake.

How are adults any different?