SKYE - I sat through a Luthern service and they were baptizing the cutest baby. The love was there but I listened to the pastor speak of the child being a sinner and born in sin, etc etc and remembered all the LDS doctrine I have studied that young infants and children do not require baptism. And now in seeing the ceremony, I was thinking immersion suddenly makes more sense if you ARE washing away the sins of a person.
JOEL - It is hard to understand how anyone could believe that
a baby is sinful, simply for being born. He is born
into a sinful world and has within him the potential
to sin later in life, but in order to sin a person has
to be able to make a conscience decision to disobey a
commandment of God; something infants and small
children simply cannot do. Scriptures speaking of
baptism associate it with faith in Jesus Christ,
repentance, and forgiveness of sins, none of which are
appropriate requirements for infants.
Jesus Christ said of children, "Suffer little
children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of
such is the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. 19:14)
Requiring infant baptism is as though we are forbiding
them to enter the kingdom of heaven unless they are
baptized. What happens if they die before anyone has a
chance to baptize them?
We all suffer from the effects of Adam's transgression
but we are not responsible for the transgression
itself.
Here are a few scriptures that support baptism by
immersion:
"And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." (Acts 22:16)
"And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:" (Matt 3:16)
"And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came
from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in
Jordan.
And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the
heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending
upon him:" (Mark 1:9-10)
"Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." (Rom 6:4)
"And John also was baptizing in Aenon near to Salim, because there was much water there: and they came, and were baptized." (John 3:23)