Baptism of inactive child?

[_lostindc]

Can an 8 year old child be baptized if they are considered not active? Meaning, if the family does not go to Church but the child wants to be baptized because of family tradition will Church leadership permit the baptism?

[_RockSlider]

yes, in a heart beat

[_The Mighty Builder]

Minor children must have parental approval to be Baptize. So the answer is NO.

[_lostindc]

My kid is the kid in question (I am sure this was difficult to guess). Our oldest child somewhat wants to be baptized and the big reason is due to family tradition. My wife's side is heavily LDS and she has watched cousins go through the process and wants to do the same.

We support her decision, but our daughter absolutely hates going to Church. The last time she went was some time early summer.

We have considered many options some of which include:
1. going back to Church to ensure baptism is done and act like we have no problems with the Church and suggest that inactivity was due to work.
2. ask if the baptism is possible even if my daughter does not want to attend Church and have her grandfather do the baptism.
3. join a different Church to get baptism done, such as a Universalist faith (of course there would be an immense family fallout from the inlaws and I believe my daughter is set on an LDS baptism).
4. Hire an actor to pose as the Bishop and have him attend the baptism so the family thinks the whole thing was legit.

[_Dr. Shades]

Rockslider is correct. As long as an 8 year-old or older has permission from at least one parent, he or she can be baptized. The membership status, non-membership status, or inactivity status of either parent has no bearing on the first sentence whatsoever.

[_sock puppet]

My kid is the kid in question (I am sure this was difficult to guess). Our oldest child somewhat wants to be baptized and the big reason is due to family tradition. My wife's side is heavily LDS and she has watched cousins go through the process and wants to do the same.

We support her decision, but our daughter absolutely hates going to Church. The last time she went was some time early summer.

We have considered many options some of which include:
1. going back to Church to ensure baptism is done and act like we have no problems with the Church and suggest that inactivity was due to work.
2. ask if the baptism is possible even if my daughter does not want to attend Church and have her grandfather do the baptism.
3. join a different Church to get baptism done, such as a Universalist faith (of course there would be an immense family fallout from the inlaws and I believe my daughter is set on an LDS baptism).
4. Hire an actor to pose as the Bishop and have him attend the baptism so the family thinks the whole thing was legit.

I really don't see much difference between ## 2 and 4. Nevertheless, I vote for # 2. It doesn't matter. Grandfather and daughter are appeased, low chance for fallout like # 3. As for # 1, lying to them is giving them some legitimacy.

[_palerobber]

it would be an interesting experiment if you were to do this:
- tell the bishop your child wants to be baptised and you consent.
- ask right off about scheduling and lock in a date.
- the bishop will set some low bar of "readiness" your child needs to meet in the meantime.
- completely but politely ignore any and all "readiness" requirements, offering well meaning excuses as needed.
- when the date comes, see if they allow the baptism to proceed

i'd be willing to bet "yes", in most wards.

best of luck to you. i've been in a similar situation and it's no fun.

[_The Dude]

My kid is the kid in question (I am sure this was difficult to guess). Our oldest child somewhat wants to be baptized and the big reason is due to family tradition. My wife's side is heavily LDS and she has watched cousins go through the process and wants to do the same.

We support her decision, but our daughter absolutely hates going to Church. The last time she went was some time early summer.

We have considered many options some of which include:
1. going back to Church to ensure baptism is done and act like we have no problems with the Church and suggest that inactivity was due to work.
2. ask if the baptism is possible even if my daughter does not want to attend Church and have her grandfather do the baptism.
3. join a different Church to get baptism done, such as a Universalist faith (of course there would be an immense family fallout from the inlaws and I believe my daughter is set on an LDS baptism).
4. Hire an actor to pose as the Bishop and have him attend the baptism so the family thinks the whole thing was legit.

No way, an 8-year old is not old enough to sign up for a credit card, let alone a credit card with falsely claimed eternal-salvation currency. Tell her "No" and see if she's still interested when she turns 12.

You KNOW this religion is a man-made bunch of fairy tales. Surely you have shared some of this with your inactive daughter. If you haven't, I'd say it's about time.

[_Aristotle Smith]

#2 is almost surely possible (as Shades points out). Plus, in my mind, it's the only ethical option.

No way, an 8-year old is not old enough to sign up for a credit card, let alone a credit card with falsely claimed eternal-salvation currency. Tell her "No" and see if she's still interested when she turns 12.

You KNOW this religion is a man-made bunch of fairy tales. Surely you have shared some of this with your inactive daughter. If you haven't, I'd say it's about time.

Since they don't go and the kid hates going, I'd say that message was already received as well as an 8 year old can receive it. 8 year olds simply don't have the cognitive capacity to understand most of the arguments for the truth/falsity of LDS truth claims.

It sounds like she just wants to get baptized because that's the tradition. What's the difference between this and young secular Jewish kids getting bar/batmizvated because that's what Jews do? Sure, the LDS church and the relatives will likely delude themselves into thinking that this is some big deal, but they are already deluded, so what's going to change?

[_Themis]

My kid is the kid in question (I am sure this was difficult to guess). Our oldest child somewhat wants to be baptized and the big reason is due to family tradition. My wife's side is heavily LDS and she has watched cousins go through the process and wants to do the same.

We support her decision, but our daughter absolutely hates going to Church. The last time she went was some time early summer.

We have considered many options some of which include:
1. going back to Church to ensure baptism is done and act like we have no problems with the Church and suggest that inactivity was due to work.
2. ask if the baptism is possible even if my daughter does not want to attend Church and have her grandfather do the baptism.
3. join a different Church to get baptism done, such as a Universalist faith (of course there would be an immense family fallout from the inlaws and I believe my daughter is set on an LDS baptism).
4. Hire an actor to pose as the Bishop and have him attend the baptism so the family thinks the whole thing was legit.

Start a new family tradition. It doesn't need to a baptism. Children don't want to feel left out, and if everyone else is doing it, they want to as well. She may be excited if you start a new tradition for a coming of age tradition/ceremony.