This past Sunday, one of the speakers in Sacrament Meeting gave one of those "I'm not saying that it's wrong, but it's wrong" talks. The topic of his talk was that although most families allowed their children to take the sacrament, he and his wife had decided to not let their children do so. He seemed to have two primary reasons for this position.
First, since the purpose of the sacrament is to renew our baptismal covenants, there was no purpose for his children (who were under 8) to take the sacrament. That is, he took the position (which seems common in other Christian sects) that no one who is unbaptized should take the sacrament (generally termed communion in most other churches) and, since his children were not yet baptized it applied to his own children.
Second, he wanted his children to treat taking the sacrament as something sacred and special; something they would not appreciate at their young age. To back this up, he related a story from his own childhood where he kept one of the cups for the water and played with it, pretending it was a monocle. In other words, because he hadn't take it seriously, none of his children could do so either.
Curiously, not only did the bishop not say anything afterward to correct or clarify the man's statements, but the stake president, who was in attendance, also did not say anything. Perhaps they thought that the man's comments about "I'm not saying it's wrong" was enough (although the man wouldn't have given a talk about it if he thought other parents should not be following his example).
It was a bit concerning to me and my wife, however, because this is how certain false doctrine "fads" begin. Most of you are probably old enough to remember when the belief spread through the Church that the Word of Wisdom's prohibition against drinking coffee and tea was because those drinks contained caffeine. A couple of the consequences of that was that you had a large segment of the Church membership (including some of the general authorities) that believed you shouldn't drink colas. In the United States, this was rather harmless, but it was taken so seriously in Japan that drinking a cola was grounds for not getting a temple recommend or having your temple recommend revoked. (Ultimately the Quorum of Apostles heard about this and put a stop to it). On the other hand, some members took the position that it was okay to drink decaffeinated coffee and did so (although, really, what's the point).
But back to the issue at hand: whether unbaptized children should be allowed to take the sacrament. The fact of the matter is that this question has been addressed before and the answer has always been that children are not only allowed to take the sacrament but that parents should encourage it. Joseph Fielding Smith actually addressed this question twice in his Answers to Gospel Questions.
In volume two, section 18, he addresses "Little Children and the Sacrament," and sets out several arguments in favor of little children taking the sacrament even though they had not yet reached the age of accountability and been baptized.
First, he notes that there is no harm to letting the children do so, observing that Christ had very tender feelings toward little children (and citing to Matt. 19:14-15--the famous "suffer little children" passage). In this regard, he notes that Wilford Woodruff had extended the privilege of taking the sacrament "to the children of the Sunday Schools without regard to age," adding:
If little children belong to the kingdom of God how could there be any restriction placed upon them in a matter? Moreover, we are taught by revelation that little children are redeemed, should they die in tender childhood, for this decree went forth from the foundation of the world, that through the mercy and redemption of Jesus Christ all little children who die should be saved, and Satan has no power over them.
Second, he points out that parents are commanded to teach their children to understand the principles of the gospel from their earliest childhood, including the doctrine of repentance, faith in Christ, baptism for the remission of sin, etc., prior to them reaching the age of accountability and being baptized. In that regard, he argues that we underestimate the intelligence of our children and how old they must be to understand.
In short, however, he stated:
There is no reason why any member of the Church should be concerned over the fact that little children may partake of the sacrament. The most important thing is to be sure that we who are grown to full maturity keep ourselves worth of this sacred ordinance.
Later, in volume 5 of his work, section 17, Joseph Fielding Smith returns to this subject in "Why Administer the Sacrament to Little Children?" Although this goes over the same grounds as his prior Answer, he expounds further about children having receptive minds, discussing how Christ gathered the children to him when he appeared to the Nephites, and concludes:
Surety it would be an act displeasing in the sight of our Eternal Father should we who are older withhold from the children the sacred ordinance of the sacrament simply because we feel that they are too young to understand. Children should be taught from the very beginning the purpose of prayer and that we have a Heavenly Father and that his Beloved Son Jesus Christ died that we might live and obtain the blessings of the kingdom of God.
Jumping to something more recently, the October 2016 Ensign included an article entitled "Little Children and the Sacrament" by Aaron L. West. He begins (footnotes omitted):
Have you ever wondered why we allow unbaptized children to partake of the sacrament? Is it just to avoid the inevitable squawks and struggles when they want a piece of bread? Is it just to make the ordinance easier to administer, just to keep the peace?
I don’t think so. I believe there are deeper reasons. I believe this because I believe that when Jesus Christ says “all,” He means all. And when He speaks to a multitude, He doesn’t exclude anyone.
When the resurrected Savior introduced the sacrament to His people in the Americas, He emphasized that the ordinance had special meaning for those who had been baptized.1 Even so, He commanded His disciples to “give [the sacrament] unto the multitude.” That multitude included “little ones.”
When priesthood holders today pronounce the sacrament prayers, they ask Heavenly Father to bless and sanctify the bread and the water “to the souls of all those” who partake. All. Each person who partakes—including each little child.
Similar to President Smith, West also noted that taken the sacrament was a teaching opportunity for young children, pointing out, for instance, that "little children are capable of keeping the promises in the sacrament prayer." He continues (footnotes omitted):
They can understand, in their own small but powerful way, what it means to “always remember” Jesus. They can pledge to “keep his commandments.” They can even show that they are “willing to take upon them the name” of Christ, knowing that they will soon have that privilege when they are baptized and confirmed.
But what about renewing covenants? Church leaders have taught that when we partake of the sacrament, we renew all the covenants we have made with the Lord. Little children don’t have any covenants to renew.
I think again about the time when our children were little. We couldn’t have helped them look back on covenants, but we could have helped them look forward. I picture myself with a young son or daughter on a Sabbath morning:
“When you are eight years old,” I say, “you will be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. You will make a covenant. The covenant you make then will be like the promises you make now when you take the sacrament.
“When I take the sacrament today, I will renew my baptismal covenant, like I’m making those promises again. You will be there with me, but you won’t renew a covenant. You haven’t made one yet. Instead, you can practice making a covenant. Every time you take the sacrament, you can prepare to be baptized and confirmed. That way, you’ll be ready when you turn eight years old.”
Ultimately, there is no commandment against children taking the sacrament, but we are commanded to teach our children and lead them in the paths of righteousness. As both President Smith and Bro. West write, teaching our children can and should include taking the sacrament and the reasons we do so. Moreover, as President Smith indicated, it would surely displease the Lord if we prevented the little children from taking the sacrament.
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