Why don’t children who die before the age of 8 need to receive their endowment?
John
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John,
Thank you so much for your question.
You may or may not know that we, as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, believe that the age of accountability is 8 years old. This information can be found in Doctrine and Covenants 68:27:
27 And their children shall be baptized for the remission of their sins when eight years old, and receive the laying on of the hands.
Prior to the age of 8 years old children cannot sin. The power to even tempt them was taken from Satan. Because they are without sin, there is no need for baptism or repentance. We also believe children before this age are pure and innocent and totally without sin and are received in the Celestial Kingdom.
In Moroni 8:9-11 it states:
9 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.
10 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.
11 And their little children need no repentance, neither baptism. Behold, baptism is unto repentance to the fulfilling the commandments unto the remission of sins.
The natural order of ordinances is baptism and then endowments. In order to receive endowments one must be baptized. Since children under the age of accountability have no need for baptism, they therefore have no need for endowments.
Gramps
