Re: Baby Blessings

russell.anderson@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

> Why do you think we bless babies?

Because babies need blessings?

Because the next chance a dad will have to give his kid a real,
official church-building style blessing won't happen for another 8
years?

Seriously, I think it's close to this latter answer. I know that I
felt the need to give them a bit of a priesthood blessing to start
them rolling in the right direction. This was like a "launch" point.
Eight years later, I would get a chance for any course corrections
that might be needed, but this was the first take and offering them
an official blessing.

> They can't understand it.

From a pragmatic language-decoding point of view, you're clinically
correct. I wouldn't want to bet that they can't understand it on
some other level. Besides, not all of us blessed our children as
newborns, and a child of, say, 2 and a half does understand quite a
bit of what they hear.

> It seems
> unfair to assume that a blessed baby has a higher chance of going on a
> mission, marrying in the Temple, and returnig to the Celestial kingdom
> than a baby who is not blessed.

Could be. I don't think blessings on children have anything to do
with higher degrees of chances of higher degrees of glory.

> Here's another way to
> think about it. If a baby is blessed by his bishop and left to grow up
> in the home of an inactive family, will he have the same propensity to
> make righteous chioces as a baby who is blessed by his father and
> raised in an active family? How will both of these two babies compare
> to a baby who is born in an inactive family and not blessed?

I think the propensity to make right choices is a quality of the
person that is the child far more than the blessing or the family.
[Okay, I admit there are really bad environments that can turn a
normal child into a broken adult, but that's not going to be a
factor of having been blessed or not as a child, as I see it.]
> It's just
> hard for me to understand this idea of blessing babies.

It sounds like you are looking at it in some unusual ways, which may
have led you to some odd conclusions. If your conclusions seem odd,
question your assumptions.

I see the blessing on children to offer comfort, counsel and
protection for them during the time while they are under the age of
accountability. That's just me, personally, but that's how I see it.
I also think this is why we don't give converts names and blessings.
I don't think there is any harm in offering a broader range of
blessings, just not necessarily of any practical value. I've home
taught a number of hostile, inactive members who I am sure were
blessed with all kinds of righteous wishes when they were infants.
Perhaps they simply haven't claimed those blessings yet.

> Quite generally, the blesser says the same 3 or 4 things, (1. You will be an
> example to your brothers and siters. 2. You will grow up and serve a
> mission. 3. You will find the right girl and marry her in the temple.
> 4. Righteousness, humility, faith, or some other Christlike attribute,
> etc.) So, why do we do it?

Well, you obviously haven't listened to any of the blessings I gave
my children. I didn't bless any of them to be an example to their
siblings, didn't bless any of them to grow up and serve a mission,
didn't bless any of them that they would marry in the temple.

Personally, I happen to feel very strongly that the person giving
the blessing shouldn't have a list of things that they want to say,
shouldn't put their agenda or their words into a blessing. When I
give a blessing - either as a "baby blessing" or a confirmation or
an ordination or a setting apart or a healing blessing - I try to
remain open to the influence of the spirit and say what I am
prompted to say. I have to tell you that I am very often surprised
by what I hear myself say.

The result are probably blessings that don't fit the BIC,
Intermountain West member's opinion of what a blessing should sound
like. But I'm comfortable with the outcome.

Craig


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