Can little children sin? Mosiah 3:16

Can little children sin? Mosiah 3:16

Didn't King Benjamin *literally* just say that little children could not sin?

King Benjamin, a righteous Nephite King, is giving a big sermon to his people. It was written down and shared with the people who were not within the sound of his voice.

He explains that prophets have always been sent to prophesy of Jesus Christ's coming. King Benjamin testified that Jesus Christ's atonement is the way to receive remission of sins, and that people (like him and his people) who live before Christ's coming should rejoice and consider their state as though Jesus had already come. He explained that the Israelites were stubborn and prideful, and that was the reason why they were given the strict Mosaic law, yet through it all there were many signs, wonders, types, and shadows given by prophets to the Israelites about the coming of Jesus Christ. King Benjamin testified that the law of Moses doesn't matter at all without the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Then he explains an essential doctrine: If it were possible for little children to sin, they would not be able to be saved [under the Mosaic law]. However, the blood of Christ atones for their sins.

Dallin H. Oaks said in 2006 in a talk called All Men Everywhere:

We also read that “his blood atoneth for the sins of those … who have died not knowing the will of God concerning them, or who have ignorantly sinned” Similarly, “the blood of Christ atoneth for [little children.]” These teachings that the resurrecting and cleansing power of the Atonement is for all contradict the assertion that the grace of God saves only a chosen few. His grace is for all. These teachings of the Book of Mormon expand our vision and enlarge our understanding of the all-encompassing love of God and the universal effect of His Atonement for all men everywhere.

President Russel M. Nelson quoted this same verse in a 1987 talk called Life after Life. By the way, it's really moving for me personally to listen and watch him speak, some 31 years earlier. He is an articulate, intelligent, scholarly man of faith. His intelligence is something that I both admire and trust. In his talk, he affirms that life after life exists. This is a wonderful message for me to hear.

I thank God for his Son, Jesus Christ, for his mission in mortality, and for his ministry as the resurrected Lord. He brought about his own resurrection. Testimonies of thousands, from ancient and modern times, attest to the truth that the resurrected Jesus is the Savior of mankind. He brought about a universal resurrection: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive”.

Whether children do or do not sin is not really ours to judge. It probably is something similar to "when does a person become a person?" I don't think we know the answer to that question definitively. That is why we should err on the side of extreme caution. We have been promised by a loving God that children under the age of eight are not responsible for their sins, that these are covered by Jesus Christ's blood that he shed during the atonement.

As a mother, I can tell you that there's a really wide spectrum of behavior of which children under the age of eight are capable. Not all of it is pleasant. I know without any doubt that infants like my son Joey are not capable of sin. Holding this precious child, I feel so close to my heavenly parents. Every day, for hours, I hold this baby close to my skin. He is my darling child. I love him so much, and I feel his love for me. He is a calm, happy, content baby. He is also enormous, and growing very fast!

I felt this same great, deep love for all of my children as babies, but it is somehow easier for me to recognize and appreciate now. I think perhaps it's because I have a better appreciation for how quickly this time is.

I would never have told my younger mother self to, "try to appreciate it more, you're going to miss it" - actually, today, a memory came up in my Facebook feed that I wrote on a day that was a "good" day, with kids aged 2, 4, 5, and 6. I remember that it was a good day because I only lost my temper once, because the kids were having an "apple juice spitting contest" while I was changing a blow-out diaper of the 2 year old. Spitting is not only gross, it's just asking to spread germs. Imagine the apple juice all over the kitchen floor, and the inglorious job of mopping that up, bathing all those little kids. That was a difficult time.

No, I really like where I am at in my parenting journey. I would not go back. But I do think I am somehow able to cherish the sweet moments with my baby just a little bit more, and that is a blessing from God. It is probably some kind of compensating blessing; I did not have the same kind of health problems after the births of my other four children that I am dealing with now. The migraines and panic attacks, jitters - I keep hoping they will go away or even out, but the truth is that they have been a real challenge to deal with. The only effective way of addressing these issues is either through preventative measures like eating well, exercise, and trying to get enough sleep, which don't really prevent but do somehow lessen the pain - and distraction with some very challenging, interesting, worthy mental projects like learning Czech, immersion into scripture study, and the start of my journey to pursue an advanced degree (!!!).

Answer:
If they do, they are completely covered by the Jesus Christ's atonement, meaning the child himself does not bear responsibility.