Moroni 8

1. Moroni 8

2. MISSIONARY MOMENT “We already baptized our children, but thanks anyway…” Moroni 8

3. What people who are guaranteed to make it to the celestial kingdom? • Endure to the end • Baptized in spirit world • Special needs • Little Children Moroni 8

4. Moroni tells of two things little children can't do: • 1. Moroni 8:8 • 2. Moroni 8:19-20 Moroni 8-9

5. Moroni 8:19,20, 23 Why is infant baptism so abhorrent to the Lord? Infant Baptism

6. Acts 10:15 What God has cleansed, call not thou unclean…

7. "Joseph Smith taught the doctrine that the infant child that was laid away in death would come up in the resurrection as a child; and, pointing to the mother of a lifeless child, he said to her: 'You will have the joy, the pleasure, and satisfaction of nurturing this child, after its resurrection, until it reaches the full stature of its spirit.' There is restitution, there is growth, there is development, after the resurrection from death. I love this truth. It speaks volumes of happiness, of joy and gratitude to my soul." (Joseph F. Smith, Gospel Doctrine, p.455‑56) Moroni 8

8. “Truly it is one of the sweetest and most soul‑satisfying doctrines of the gospel! It is also one of the great evidences of the divine mission of the Prophet Joseph Smith. In his day the fiery evangelists of Christendom were thundering from their pulpits that the road to hell is paved with the skulls of infants because careless parents had neglected to have their offspring baptized. Joseph Smith's statements, as recorded in the Book of Mormon and latter‑day revelation, came as a refreshing breeze of pure truth: little children shall be saved. Thanks be to God for the revelations of his mind where these innocent and pure souls are concerned.” (Bruce R. McConkie, Ensign Apr 77, p. 7) Moroni 8-9

9. Where will they go when they die? • When will they be resurrected? • Will they ever be baptized? • How old will they be when they’re resurrected? • Who will raise them? • Mom’s story Doctrines

10. Why are the Catholic bishops so concerned about Mormons baptising dead parishioners? The Mormons didn’t invent baptism of the dead. The practice has a significant history within mainstream Christianity. What’s the difference, anyway, between baptising the dead and baptising babies? A tiny infant will have as much understanding as a dead person — none at all. Indeed, given that all Christian Churches believe that the soul lives on after death, doesn’t it make more sense to baptise dead adults than live babies? Apart from which, if the Catholic bishops hold that the beliefs of the Mormons are pure baloney (as they must), and their rituals meaningless, how can it matter to them what mumbo-jumbo Mormons might mutter? Let’s look at the facts as understood by the early followers of Christ. For more than 300 years after the Crucifixion, baptism of the dead was widely accepted, its biblical basis located in 1 Corinthians 15, 29: “Otherwise, what shall they do who are baptised for the dead if the dead rise not again at all? Why are they then baptised for them.” In other words, a deceased person could be baptised by proxy: otherwise, how could such a person be included in the Resurrection? A good question.

11. The radical Cerinthians and the Marcionites were especially energetic baptisers of the dead. The Synods of Hippo (393AD) and Carthage (397AD) voted, after bitter debate, to condemn the practice. Interestingly, a clear trace of baptism of the dead has lingered in official practice to the present day, in the form of prayers for divine intercession on behalf of the unbaptised souls. Whether Hinduism, Presbyterian, Jainism, Judaism, Islam, Catholicism or whatever is the true religion, what if it’s Mormonism? What if it’s an everyday occurrence on the other side that Catholics and Protestants are left standing dumbstruck at the Gates, gasping: “Mormons! Who’d have believed it?” And maybe a wife berating her husband: “There! I told you it would be the Mormons! But would you listen?! Now it’s eternal hellfire for the two of us, I hope you’re satisfied.” In that scenario, shouldn’t all members of all other religions be literally eternally grateful to the Mormons for sharing their saving grace even unto and after death? If, on the other hand, it isn’t the Mormons at all, those who turn out to have been right can wave a merry farewell to the followers of Brigham Young as they trundle downwards to their eternal comeuppance. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/opinion/columnists/eamonn-mccann/eamonn-mccann-what-if-mormons-are-right-and-catholics-and-protestants-wrong-28532064.html