O fairest flower no sooner blown but blasted,
Soft silken Primrose fading timelessly,
Summers chief honor if thou hadst outlasted
Bleak winters force that made thy blossom dry;
For he being amorous on that lovely die
That did thy cheek envermeil, thought to kiss
But killed alas, and then bewailed his fatal bliss.
This opening stanza to John Milton’s poem “On the Death of a Fair Infant Dying of a Cough” crystallizes our feelings whenever we hear about the untimely death of an infant. Each child is a promissory note to the future. Each child represents the marshaled hopes of all of its predecessors. And when these hopes are (in the words of Milton) “blasted,” then the pain hits us with a double blow.
Joseph Smith, the founding prophet of the Mormon Church experienced such losses in his family. His older brother Alvin died at age twenty five. And six of Joseph and Emma Smith’s children died shortly in infancy.
Not surprisingly, Joseph Smith wondered about infant mortality.
“In my leisure moments I have meditated upon the subject, and asked the question, why it is that infants, innocent children, are taken away from us, especially those that seem to be the most intelligent and interesting. The strongest reasons that present themselves to my mind are these: This world is a very wicked world; and it . . . grows more wicked and corrupt. . . . The Lord takes many away, even in infancy, that they may escape the envy of man, and the sorrows and evils of this present world; they were too pure, too lovely, to live on earth; therefore, if rightly considered, instead of mourning we have reason to rejoice as they are delivered from evil, and we shall soon have them again. . . .”
“. . . The only difference between the old and young dying is, one lives longer in heaven and eternal light and glory than the other, and is freed a little sooner from this miserable, wicked world. Notwithstanding all this glory, we for a moment lose sight of it, and mourn the loss, but we do not mourn as those without hope.” (“Chapter 14: Words of Hope and Consolation at the Time of Death,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, [2007],171–81.)
This is profound, especially when we remember that the question was not an intellectual or an academic toy. His and Emma’s pain was real. Their hard questions needed equally hard answers.
And they got those answers.
Earlier in his life, Joseph Smith received a revelation for God. He had a vision of what life was like in heaven. He also learned about the fate of children who die young:
“The heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory thereof. . . . I also beheld that all children who die before they arrive at the years of accountability are saved in the celestial kingdom of heaven.” (D&C 137:1, 10)
This message from God changed everything. Joseph Smith could now put his and Emma’s personal tragedies into perspective. Not only could they be stoic about the deaths in their families, they could also look forward to a future reunion with rejoicing.
Joseph Smith had other things to say about the destiny of children who die. One teaching is that there is no original sin. Children do not need to be baptized.
“Baptism is for remission of sins. Children have no sins. Jesus blessed them and said, ‘Do what you have seen me do.’ Children are all made alive in Christ, and those of riper years through faith and repentance.”
“The doctrine of baptizing children, or sprinkling them, or they must welter in hell, is a doctrine not true, not supported in Holy Writ, and is not consistent with the character of God. All children are redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, and the moment that children leave this world, they are taken to the bosom of Abraham.” (“Chapter 7: Baptism and the Gift of the Holy Ghost,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, [2007], 88–100.)
There is also a promise. Mothers and fathers will be reunited with their children in heaven:
“A question may be asked—‘Will mothers have their children in eternity?’ Yes! Yes! Mothers, you shall have your children; for they shall have eternal life, for their debt is paid.”
“” (“Chapter 14: Words of Hope and Consolation at the Time of Death,” Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith, [2007],171–81.)
I once heard a former mission president talk about an encounter he had with a person who was not Mormon. This person said, “I want to ask you Mormons some hard questions.”
The mission president replied, “Ask away—that is where Mormonism does its best.”
These teachings about the destiny and promise of children who die in infancy answer some of the hardest questions that we all face. But we have these wonderful answers from a prophet. We see Mormonism at its best.
I believe that they are true, and they have been of immense help to me when I talk with other people who have had such tragedies. We see how great God is, and the power of Jesus Christ’s Atonement. It reaches to “the least of these,” the children.
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