Saying “they were too pure, too lovely, to live on earth,” means absolutely nothing. For how are the souls of little children who die built by coming here? A doctrine commonly held is they don’t. Instead, they claim the need for a physical body as the reason for their advent, but it seems quite possible for children to receive bodies without coming to this wicked world.

But even if they needed to come here to receive a body, they have not proved themselves to God to inherit the second estate. Children may be innocent, but they hardly demonstrate a moral rectitude, which mirrors God. Perhaps they have already achieved such a nature before this life. Does God then, as Kent P. Jackson has suggested, have to send celestial beings into all the infant bodies he foreknows will perish to remain impartial? Personally, I think this view of God’s foreknowledge is ridiculous, and so are any suggestions of absolute exhaustive specific foreknowledge. Libertarian free will is incompatible with such a view.

But such a suggestion leads to more dangerous considerations. If such infants achieved perfection through divine acquisition before this life, what is the need for this world in the soul building process at all? If there was an easier way to achieve God’s eternal life, without the massive pains, evils, and sufferings of this world, would we not have avoided coming here? Perhaps we learn quicker here on earth, but statements differ on the matter. For instance, Joseph posited “Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection.” From this view, earthly experience could imprint upon us a benefit in the next world. However, Brigham Young declared, “I shall not cease learning while I live, nor when I arrive in the spirit-world; but shall there learn with greater facility…” Under this system, it appears more beneficial to learn within the spirit world than through extended life on earth. Even if a specific type of knowledge is gained through the earthly experience, it is doubtful an infant could acquire it. It appears some are unjustly exposed to evil in the soul building process, while others circumvent the program altogether. Did Herod’s massacre of the infants at Bethlehem achieve more of the purposes of God than the work of hundreds of missionaries?

To counter my argument, it may be a full scale revelation has not yet come, but this does not solve the philosophical problem. Perhaps, upon the principle of “line upon line, precept upon
precept,” the doctrine of infant salvation will be filled out. An ancient pseudipigraphic document, the Apocalypse of Peter, describes a further understanding of child salvation. Clement of
Alexandria’s explication of the text states:

The children born out of due time… that would have been of the better part (i. e. would have received salvation) are delivered to a care-taking angel, that they may partake of knowledge and obtain the better abode, having suffered what they would have suffered had they been in the body. But the others (who would not received salvation, had they lived) shall only obtain salvation, as beings that have been injured and had mercy shown to them, and shall continue without torment, receiving that as a reward.

Hence, this demonstrates how child salvation has been a difficult topic for Christianity and theism since its conception. I am personally of the opinion that the plan of salvation is dumbed down too much and over emphasis is placed on this world as a place of testing. If people think the next life is a world on heroine (full of joy and easy), I think they are wrong. The journey through eternity and the process towards exaltation is a long one, which will include many struggles with natural and moral evil, and requirements for personal growth. It is possible the Prophet Joseph Smith included the mentoring of deceased infants for exaltation when he expressed our need to work on our godhood and exaltation far beyond this life. My opinion of child salvation is that their early deaths will not hold them back from progressing into the celestial kingdom. But if they will progress forward, they will need all the necessary ordinances and experiences to move forward in their glory. But as it stands, without entering the realm of speculation, the doctrine of child salvation undermines soul building and the Mormon theodicy.

Jeff

Nephi says-”I ponder upon the things of God continually which he has revealed unto me,” and there is no harm for us to do the same. We should not get into that old sectarian notion, that we have no right to know anything about this, that or the other, and that we must not pry into this, that or the other. That is an old sectarian notion, which we have fought against all the day long, and we do not want it to creep into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

I still am uncertain as to who was the first real advocate for growth after the resurrection. I have not read all of Conflict in the Quorum, but Orson refers to others who say the Joseph received more light before he died but that he (Orson) didn’t know or not whether that was the case. Also he doesn’t get into the Millennium at all, which makes sense, but that seems to be a big portion of contemporary popular belief.

I definitely do agree that Orson’s views are severely under-appreciated.

Orson Pratt’s various contributions to modern Mormon theological thought are generally under-appreciated.

Joseph Smith said that the truth “tastes good.” You know it. I believe he wanted those things to be true, I believe there is an element of truth in them, but ultimately, he said a lot of things hoping to comfort mothers.

And I don’t believe it. I think I lost my child forever. He’s now an adult spirit and will be resurrected as an adult.

But wait, his body is small. Well, it will grow fast or something. I still think we haven’t hit on the truth of the situation.

I believe in what SWK said, but the question then becomes, “Why Temple Work for the Dead?” for this, I can only postulate theories, and I’m not prone to doing such.

He said:

we promise you that insofar as eternity is concerned, no soul will be deprived of rich and high and eternal blessings for anything which that person could not help