Infant Baptism and the Sacrament

INFANT BAPTISM AND THE SACRAMENT. BY JOHN V. BLUTH, CLERK OP THE WEBER STAKE OP ZION. In a letter received from an elder now laboring in Germany, a question is propounded relative to infant baptism and the partaking of the sacrament by unbaptized children. His question is in effect as follows: Why do the Latter-day Saints permit their children to partake of the sacrament before baptism? We teach that infant baptism is "solemn mockery before God," and that those who teach its necessity are "in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity." If the children need no baptism before they reach years of accountability, then why do they need the sacrament? If one is solemn mockery why not the other, the children needing neither baptism nor the sacrament? If permitted, I would like to answer the above question through the columns of the Era, in order that the answer may reach all the missionaries at present in the field,and who may meet with the same arguments which have prompted this elder to present the above questions. At first reading, these questions may readily be answered in brief, thus: "Because the ordinance of baptism is instituted for an entirely different purpose than that of the sacrament. In the one ordinance, God has declared infant baptism to be a solemn mockery in his sight; in the other, he has given no restrictions except that the partakers shall be worthy." I do not know but that in the world this would be a sufficient answer if supplemented by an explanation of the purpose of each ordinance; but this elder says further: We read that none are members who have not been baptized; (Doc.

INFANT BAPTISM AND THE SACRAMENT. 97 and Cov. 20: 37; III Nephi 28: 5; 26: 21;) and, further, none but members are permitted to partake of the holy emblems. (Ill Nephi 38: 11.) Should children who have not been baptized be given the sacrament? Apparently it is the same proposition as infant baptism. These assertions, neither of which, by the way, is borne out by the references quoted, makes it necessary to explain, first: The purpose of the ordinances of baptism and the sacrament; second: to dispel the inference that children of the Latter-day Saints are not entitled to rights in The Church until baptized. First: — Baptism by immersion has been instituted as a principle of the Gospel since the days of Adam. It was practiced then as it is by the Latter-day Saints now, and the avowed purpose of it was the remission of sins. No references need be quoted in support of this statement, as every elder in the field is fully conversant with them, and can produce them in defense of this proposition, whenever opposed by either an unbeliever or an honest investigator. The sacrament, however, is of later date. It was instituted by Jesus Christ some four thousand years after the principle of baptism was first preached to man, if we may accept the present Bible chronology as correct. Instead of being for the remission of sins, it was instituted for the purpose of calling to the remembrance of the Saints the sufferings and death of our Savior, by which remission of sins was to be obtained through obedience to his laws. He said at the time of instituting the sacrament in Jerusalem: "This do in remembrance of me." (Luke 22: 19.) On this western hemisphere he said: "And this shall ye always observe to do, even as I have done, even as I have broken bread, and blessed it, and gave it unto you; and this shall ye do in remembrance of my body, which I have shown unto you. And it shall be a testimony unto the Father, that ye do always remember me. And if ye do always remember me, ye shall have my Spirit to be with you.'7 (Ill Nephi 18: 6, 7.) To sum up: Baptism is for the remission of sins; the partaking of the sacrament is for the purpose of calling to mind our Savior, and the work he accomplished for us. Little children are without sin, hence, need no baptism; but they do need continual teaching to impress on them the infinite goodness of God and his Son Jesus Christ. Though without sin, it is incumbent on them to always

98 IMPROVEMENT ERA. have with them the Spirit of God; this they will do if they always remember him; to be able to always remember him, they are to partake of the sacrament, for for that purpose was it instituted. This is the only conclusion to be drawn from the quotation given above from III Nephi, the important part of which has been italicised. From the above, I must conclude that the partaking of the sacrament by children, instead of being a solemn mockery before God, is commendable and permissable. Second: Children born in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the parents being members, are entitled to the same privileges in relation to the sacrament as members of The Church until they reach the years of accountability, that is eight years. For the purpose of continuing the rights of membership and assuming the responsibilities thereof, it is God's law that they shall be baptized when eight years of age; to be prepared for baptism at that age, it has been made incumbent on the parents to teach them 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 hands when eight years old." (Doc. and Cov. Sec. 68.) If thus properly taught, they are prepared on the day they become eight years of age to take the next step provided for the enjoyment of full membership. If baptized on that day, they have a right to the sacrament continuously as long as they remain worthy. It would seem peculiarly unjust to deprive those who are without sin from partaking of the emblems that will enable them to remember our Savior, when those who have come to years of accountability and who, I believe, can never truly say that they are entirely free from sin, are permitted to partake. To make it still clearer, it may be laid down as the doctrine and practice in The Church, that children have a right to the sacrament until they are eight years of age. After that, they become accountable to God, and if they do not take immediate advantage of the blessings offered them by being baptized, they are neither members, nor enjoying any rights of membership, and hence, have not the right to partake of the sacrament, neither do we administer it unto them until they are baptized. It may be well to suggest here that we must not strive to

INFANT BAPTISM AND THE SACRAMENT. 99 place greater stress on the ordinance of the sacrament than Christ did himself. This ordinance, in my humble judgment, is one of the most sacred in the Gospel, but it receives its sanctity from the commemoration of our Savior, its association with the Redeemer of mankind, and not from any peculiar sanctity in and of itself. If the sacredness lies in the solemn remembrance of Him, who died for us, the earlier a child can be made to partake of the hallowed influence attending a proper observance of this ordinance, the more clearly that child will sense its nature as its infantile mind grows and develops. Now, I find that the Savior did not scruple to administer the sacrament to children, or, for that matter, to grown men and women who had not been baptized. An account of his visit to this land is found in III Nephi, commencing with the 9th chapter. Chapter 11: 21 reads as follows: "And the Lord said unto him, I give unto you power that ye shall baptize this people when I am again ascended unto heaven." Prior to his ascension, and consequently before any of the Nephites had been baptized, he commanded the multitude to be seated, and administered to them bread and wine and instituted the sacrament. This multitude numbered "about two thousand and five hundred souls, and they did consist oj men, women and children," none of whom had been baptized (III Nephi 17: 25; 18: 1-9.) It was not until after this, (Chapter 19: 11, 12) that the Twelve disciples were baptized. The Savior then again brake bread and blessed it and gave to the multitude to eat, and likewise gave the wine to drink. (20: 1-7.) It was not until after his ascension that the disciples began baptizing as many as would receive the truth (26: 17.) We see here that he did not hesitate to give them the sacrament before baptism, neither were the children deprived of it. This is shown, not for the purpose of proving that others than members should partake of the bread and wine, but simply as a caution against a too technical construction of words, forgetting the spirit of revelation by which we are guided, and also to correct the evident misunderstanding in the elder's query, as to the rights of membership of children under eight years of age. If an organization had existed, in the above cited case, there would have been no occasion for this action. Jesus was preparing the people for membership. The charge that we treat the sacrament too lightly which,