Children who die before age 8 automatically go to the Celestial Kingdon, right? So what's the point, besides another incentive for the father to pay his tithing and avoid the embarrassment of not being able to bless his own kid?

To get the name of the child on the records of the church.

Are you saying that -- as meticulous as the Morgbots are with their recordkeeping -- that they will not record the child born to members of the church unless they go through the ritual of having the baby blessed?


I know that is the "official" reason the Morg gives, but I rather doubt that they let a little ritual keep them from chalking up another one for that 14 million person statistic.

It was made pretty clear to us that IT IS NOT A SAVING ORDINANCE! Well thank Gawd.

I guess its just like a christening, a welcoming into the community. It also gets the name on their "roles of the church"

In mainstream Prostestant/Catholic/Orthodox churches, babies are baptized to bring them asap into "the body of Christ" i.e. his Church. It IS considered a saving ordinance*. The purpose of confirmation, in churches that practice it (I don't mean LDS instant confirmation, but rather as it is bestowed on kids in their mid to late teens), is to make a semi-adult profession of faith and to reaffirm baptismal vows made on the kid's behalf when he/she was a baby and the parents/godparents took the vows on their behalf. The reason it is not administered LDS-style to eight year olds is that a 15 to 18 year-old teen is more or less capable of making his/her own adult profession of faith.

*Prior to Vatican II, the Roman Catholics used to teach that unbaptized babies who died went to limbo, where you never got out. It wasn't hell but it wasn't heaven. This was the reason behind baptisms in the first several months of life, and in the hospital for any babies with health problems (JFK Jr was born premature and was baptised in the hospital chapel). After Vatican II, teaching changed to where unbaptised babies go to Purgatory, from where they eventually can enter Heaven if enough people on earth pray for them (I'm not Catholic and don't believe in Purgatory, I'm just sayin'....)

"another incentive for the father to pay his tithing"


Bingo.

actually, that's very true. It would be embarrasing for a new father to not be able to bless his own child. So that puts a lot of pressure on a soon to be daddy to attend church and pay tithing and pass a worthiness interview in order to be deemed worthy to bless his child. I was a TBM when I blessed my son and started to fade into semi activity afterwards, but has always been in my mind that if I were to have another child, i might have to step my activity level in order to do the blessing. Same issue for when my son was to get baptised, I was thinking I was going to have to be more active and pay tithing. Luckily for me I found the truth and left the church prior to my son turning 8 so he will NOT be baptised at all

"another incentive for the father to pay his tithing"



Ah, now the truth comes out.

It would indeed be embarrassing for a father to not be allowed to bless his own child, which is exactly what I did last August despite not believing. However, I certainly didn't pay any tithing and was only semi-active at the time. I think Bishop was just glad I wanted to, and never even interviewed me to determine my 'worthiness'.

I 'blessed' him with a keen mind and intellect, and that he might understand logic and reasoning. It wasn't really for him.

it was lds inc's answer to catholic baptism. and to get their names on church records without baptism. Has to be an ordinance of some kind.

It makes sense that they would want to get the name on record, so they can count the kid and then go after him or her if the parents fail to grow a proper tithe-paying adult. Worst case, they can use the name in their temple scam.

To give a half-assed Mormon equivalent of the baptism/bris that nearly everybody else in the country has--to bring the family together to celebrate the new arrival.

It is also a way of welcoming the baby and recognizing it as part of the community. Other religions and cultures do this in some way.

...throughout their lives, like my nevermo kids.

Establish jurisdiction over the young helpless newborn with parental consent.

Beats the hell out of me.....I refused to bless my children. My wife is Catholic and we didn't do anything in her church either. And they turned out just FINE.....

This is what makes Mormondumb so disgusting, all eventful fun family times are twisted so the Q15 can get their money coffers, not full, mind you, but overflowing to the point of utter disgust.

A dad cannot bless his little baby, baptize his little girl, confer the Aaronic Priesthood on his little guy, ordain his teen to an office in the AP, or go to his child's wedding - UNLESS HE PAYs HIS TITHING. Who was it that came up with this stuff - wan't it N. Eldon Tanner, the financial brain child of the church who tied all into tithing? I think it was. People, once indoctrinated, will pay what is needed to be and participate with their own children, in this life and in the next.

Control.